UConn Extension Vegetable IPM Pest Message & Reports from the Farm, Friday, Sept 9th, 2016 Jude Boucher UConn Extension

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1 UConn Extension Vegetable IPM Pest Message & Reports from the Farm, Friday, Sept 9th, 2016 [Comments/answers in brackets/red by Jude Boucher, UConn Extension]. Jude Boucher UConn Extension Pepper maggots It is official: I went around and confirmed that PM was present in every pepper field I visited this year which has never even come close to happening before! That means you will probably have a big problem with this pest on your farm next year, so you will need a plan to stop them. Watch for the PM article in the Crop Talk Newsletter next month. ALERT All cucumbers and cantaloupe should be protected from downy mildew (DM) at this time. Zampro, Tanos (Curzate) and Previcur Flex all seem to be working on the strain of DM we have on our cucumbers and cantaloupe this year. Copper seemed to work reasonably well on one organic farm and held the disease off until this week. There is still no sign of DM on pumpkins or squash (summer or winter). These crops do not need to be treated for DM at this time. Corn earworm (CEW) moths in pheromone traps ranged from 0.25 to 4 moths per night this week, down slightly at all locations. Most farms fell back to a 5 or 6 days schedule on silking corn, although there were still a few fields on a 4-day schedule. Moths per night Spray interval no spray days days days >13 3-days Fall armyworms ranged from 0-5 moth in traps. European corn borer (ECB) trap captures ranged from 0-3 moths again this week. Pepper fields do not need spraying for borers at this time. Hawaiian Beet Webworm A few weeks back Jamie Jones (Jones Family Farms in Shelton) sent us a picture of pigweed that was all eaten up (see photo below). At that time, a couple people reported that they thought the feeding was caused by the three-lined potato bug (maybe!). However, the Long Island Fruit and Vegetable Newsletter stated this week that if you see lots of holes in pigweed it is very likely this pest is around (the HBW). L.I. is having trouble with this webworm for the second year in a row on their beets, chard and spinach and a few cut flowers (i.e. celosia). Since The Jones Farm is just across the Sound from L.I. this may be evidence of a new pest in CT. Radiant/Entrust and Avaunt are registered on all three crops, if you find the caterpillars feeding on your leafy greens. The caterpillars are pale green. Boy, talk about moving North with global warming now we are getting critters from Hawaii?!

Red root pigweed with many feeding holes, photo by Jamie Jones Fred Monahan, Stone Gardens Farm, Shelton, CT We have been talking with some other growers, and it seems that there is no actual CT

2 Red root pigweed with many feeding holes, photo by Jamie Jones Fred Monahan, Stone Gardens Farm, Shelton, CT We have been talking with some other growers, and it seems that there is no actual CT Vegetable Growers Association. After talking with Jude and with the Commissioner of Agriculture s office, everyone thinks it would be a good idea to get a group organized to be able to have a stronger voice concerning what we do. Jude is allowing us to use this message to see if there is any interest in this. You can contact us at Stonegds@comcast.net if you would like to be involved in forming this association. I had high FAW pressure all year and Coragen mixed with Hook [spreader/sticker adjuvant] seemed to work well. Sweet corn yields are way down and ears are sometimes not filled out, but we are educating the consumers of what it takes to grow food. CEW trap/field 1= 4/night [4-day schedule] CEW trap/field 2=1/night [5-day schedule]

3 CEW trap/field 3 =.33/night [6-day schedule, note how different locations have different levels of pest pressure. That is why it is always best to run your own pheromone traps rather than go by what neighbors are catching.] I saw my first cross-striped cabbageworm in fall brassicas. What should I use? [Most products that work well on other caterpillars will also kill CSCW, including B.t products. When you have heavy pressure and multiple egg batches hatching on one plant, sometimes a systemic that can get to all the possible hiding places, will provide better control than protectants, especially when it is tough to get under-leaf coverage.] Previcur Flex seems to hold off Downy mildew better than Ranman. I m going to switch to Tanos next cycle on my cucumbers A lot of blossom end rot on peppers because of lack of water. We have kept tomatoes irrigated well and have started bringing some to get processed into tomato sauce. I am actually watering our fall crops with a portable 300 gallon water tank on my pickup truck. I have a 7HP gas pump and a 100 foot 1 inch firehose and a nozzle that our firehouse uses for brush fires. It is taking a lot of time but we need the water that is left in our ponds for our summer crops. Steve Bengtson, Cold Spring Brook Farm, Berlin, CT CEW traps averaged 1 moth per night leaving me on a 4 day spray schedule on fresh silking corn. ECB traps were both empty this week. I've been finding small areas of white fly in our late tomatoes. We should be done harvesting within two weeks. Do you think I should try to control them or just leave them alone? [If they are not at really high levels, then you may just want to leave them alone for the last two weeks and mow/plow down the planting as soon as you are done.] We've noticed that our hot peppers are not very hot this year. Just wondering if other farmers have noticed the same thing. Also, do you have any idea what would cause the peppers to not be hot? We have noticed in the past that there can be some variation but this year is really unusual. [Actually, other farmers have mentioned that their peppers are really hot this year! The amount of capsicum (hot chemical in peppers) produced varies with the stress on the plants. Usually drought and extreme temperatures cause hot peppers to become hotter. Maybe you irrigated a little too heavily, so that your planting wasn t stressed???] Bob Handel, Handle Farm, E. Hartford, CT I have been getting 1 CEW moth per night in my traps [5-day schedule]. This will be my last report because we will be harvesting my last block of corn this weekend. Mary Concklin, Fruit IPM Educator, UConn There is brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) injury on tomatoes at Tom and Karen s farm in E. Lyme (Scott s Yankee Growers). I didn t find any in the peppers next to them. See attached pictures.

BMSB injury on tomato. Note the dark pinpoint hole in the middle of the bruise where the bug stuck in its proboscis to feed. This is on the farm south of the stand on Rt 1.

4 BMSB injury on tomato. Note the dark pinpoint hole in the middle of the bruise where the bug stuck in its proboscis to feed. This is on the farm south of the stand on Rt 1. Last week s trap numbers - there were 11 adults. I believe Tom sprayed the apples. This week s number was 6 adults. I expect that to go up next week. Threshold for apples is 10 adults. There is no threshold established for vegetables. In the mid-atlantic region they generally spray once they find one adult. [Mary s traps in the lower and central part of the CT River Valley also captured high levels of BMSB last week. Other areas of the state were well below the apple threshold at that time. Numbers rise in late summer and early fall. I didn t put out my traps this year, but it looks like we will have to deploy them next year on vegetable farms. Check your tomatoes and peppers, legumes and sweet corn for damage now. Some of the more effective products for tomatoes on this pest include: Lannate LV, Venom, Brigade, and Actara.] Randy Rogowski, Laurel Glen Farm, Shelton, CT [reported by J.B.] Sweet corn O.33 CEW moths/night = 6-day schedule on silking corn. 5 FAW moths this week. Peppers 0 ECB moths. Randy removed all the pepper plants dying from Phytophthora and a few heathy plants, just to be sure, then dug a trench through the beds so that the swimming spores couldn t move down the row from root to root killing more plants. The Phyto on Randy s farm was at the end of the block, so he just cut the drip line and plugged it. If it was in the

middle of the block he would have just left the drip line whole and dangling in mid-air so he could still irrigate the rest of the row.

Husk tomatoes Randy hadn t harvested most of his husk tomatoes on the ground between the rows due to a lack of time.

that he and another worker can just pick up a section of cloth and let all the fruit slide down into a white plastic bucket.

5 middle of the block he would have just left the drip line whole and dangling in mid-air so he could still irrigate the rest of the row. Sick plants removed from beds Beds broken to stop Phyto spread Winter Squash and pumpkins no downy mildew was found. Husk tomatoes Randy hadn t harvested most of his husk tomatoes on the ground between the rows due to a lack of time. We got talking about an easier way to harvest and he decided that next year he will use Lars Demander s method of putting landscape cloth down between the plastic mulched beds so that he and another worker can just pick up a section of cloth and let all the fruit slide down into a white plastic bucket. Husk tomatoes left unharvested Lars and Eric Demander, Clover Nook Farm, Bethany, CT [reported by JB] Sweet corn Lars captured 2.3 CEW moths per night in his trap, which calls for a 4-day schedule on silking corn. Brassica 30% of the plants were infested with diamond back moth larvae and cabbage loopers. He will treat again with Asana or B.t. A little bit of Alternaria leaf spot was starting on

Value-added tomato sauce from Clover Nook Farm Dan Slywka, Daffodil Hill Growers, Southbury, CT Sweet corn Dan captured 1 CEW moths per

6 his Brussel sprouts. Bravo will slow that down but he will look into using resitant varieties for next season. Cabbage looper larva Pumpkins and winter squash were scouted and no DM was found. Value-added tomato sauce from Clover Nook Farm Dan Slywka, Daffodil Hill Growers, Southbury, CT Sweet corn Dan captured 1 CEW moths per night this week putting him on a 5-day schedule on silking corn. 2 FAW moths were captured in his trap, but since all his corn is silking, silk sprays should take care of the FAW and he can put away his trap for the year.

7 Pumpkins and winter squash no DM found. Brussel sprouts Almost 100% were infested with CSCW or ICW and need to be treated. About 10% of the plants are also infested with cabbage aphids up near the growing point at the top of the plant. He could top the plants to physically remove the aphids before the infestation gets worse, or he could spray. Assail may take out both the aphids and cabbageworms. Some other products that have been reported to work well in tests or on farms on Long Island include Movento, Fulfill and Beleaf or Admire pro with a nonionic surfactant. For organic growers, L.I. Extension suggests a mix of horticultural oil (Suffoil-X or Sunspray Ultra Fine) plus insecticidal soap (M-Pede) for cabbage aphids. Cabbage aphids on the tops of Brussel sprout plants

8 Cross-striped cabbageworms on Brussel sprouts Josh Bristol, Bristol s Farm Market, Canton, CT [reported by JB] Sweet corn Josh captured 0.25 CEW moths/night this week, leaving him on a 6-day schedule on silking corn. Peppers - He captured just 3 ECB moths this week and we confirmed that he had pepper maggots emerging from his pods and causing fruit rot. He will need to treat for these next year to prevent the pressure from PM from rising. Cucumbers The cucumbers showed symptoms of downy mildew infection this week. He will try to hold it off with copper. Summer squash there was no DM present. Owen Jarmoc, CT Valley Growers, Enfield, CT [reported by JB] Owen went back to school last week, but I stopped by and confirmed that his peppers had a low infestation of pepper maggots. Colin Burson, Pinecroft Farms, Somers, CT [reported by JB] Colin went back to school last week too, but I stopped by their pepper field and confirmed that they too had a minor infestation of pepper maggots. There was no sign of downy mildew on their summer squash. An application of Zampro seems to have stopped the DM on their young cucumber field in its tracks. Gordon says that they will alternate with Tanos or Previcur Flex next spray.

9 Leanne Pundt, Greenhouse IPM Educator, UConn A workshop on: Practical Applications in Greenhouse Nutrient Management will be held at the CAES, Jones Auditorium, 123 Huntington St., New Haven, CT on Sept 27. Contact Leanne Pundt to pre-register ($25) or for more information: , leanne.pundt@uconn.edu. Winter Vegetable Conferences in CT (mark your calendars!) Growing Vegetables and Small Fruit in Tunnels Conference Nov. 17 th (snow date 18 th ), Tolland County Extension Center, Vernon, CT. Pre-registration will start in October. Northeast Greenhouse Conference & Expo Nov. 9 &10, Holiday Inn, Boxboro, MA. For more info: CT Vegetable & Small Fruit Growers Conference Jan. 9 th (no snow date), Maneeley s Conference Center, South Winds or, CT. Pre-registration will start in late November. That s all for this week. The last IPM pest message will be sent on Friday afternoon September 16th.

UConn Extension Vegetable IPM Pest Message & Reports from the Farm, Friday, Sept 16th, 2016 Jude Boucher UConn Extension

UConn Extension Vegetable IPM Pest Message & Reports from the Farm, Friday, Sept 16th, 2016 [Comments/answers in brackets/red by Jude Boucher, UConn Extension]. Jude Boucher UConn Extension ALERT Late-season