BIO BUZZ Issue MGS will be handing out free signs to post at your farm for Biological and Perishable product Deliveries and Water sample pickup. These are intended to provide a simple plan for handling perishable products coming to your farm and assure consistent pickups and deliveries. Please keep the area clear of other materials. Let us give you a hand in finding an appropriate spot for year-round deliveries. 65 July 2010 A GROWERS REFERENCE TO PEST MANAGEMENT Get Your FREE Sign & Avoid The Confusion! Out And About In Southwestern Ontario Tomatoes: Russet mites in low numbers have just been reported. Powdery mildew infections have started again at many farms. Constantly changing weather and environment have been difficult to control, leaving good conditions for mildew. Although spot spraying is not very effective for mildew, some Tomato Russet Mites growers have found that the use of Pristine in hotspot areas (doorways, walkways, cold corners) or specific varieties that are sensitive to mildew, has helped with their overall control. They are treating specific areas with their regular spray equipment rather than a Heavy Mildew In Tomato backpack sprayer. Botrytis infections are generally lower now that early infections have been removed. Consistent preventative sprays for Botrytis have made a difference in plant loss. Workers that are diligent in finding small wounds have been able to save some plants. Pasting clean wounds with Scania- vital has worked well. Practices to reduce Botrytis: clean removal of suckers and leaves, regular fungicide sprays, environmental control. Several growers have tried the new Scala fungicide with very good results. Botrytis On Fruit Whiteflies are on the rise. Influxes from outside are starting. You should have your parasitism (Encarsia and/or Eretmocerus) to a steady 80-90% by now to handle changes each week. Compatible sprays may be necessary if high numbers come in from outside or there are hotspots already developed and spreading. Sooty mould grows easily on Botrytis At Node honeydew when the humidity is high. Sooty Mould On Honeydew 50 Hazelton St., Leamington, ON, N8H 3W1 519-326-9037 BioBuzz Newsletter prepared by MGS Pest Management Technologies Photo contributions for this issue: T. Wildman, T. MacDonald & Biobest
Spider mites are showing up at most farms. Significant pesticide resistance issues plagued some farms last year and they have turned to a biological control strategy for long term control for 2010. So far the results are good. Stay tuned for updates on our new control strategies. Loopers have made their way into the vents and doors. Overall the population is still fairly low but it is building. Warm temperatures are leading to vents open into the evening or night when these evening-flyers can get in. Watch for a trend in bigger loopers and rotate insecticide sprays. Continue with a regular spray interval that follows each new generation of loopers. This will reduce the overall population and reduce overlapping generations. More Larger Loopers Present Foxglove aphids have made their way into tomatoes. Note the damage that can be done by just a few aphids. Foxglove aphids can be identified form others by the green pigmentation at the base of the cornicles (tail pipes). Potato aphids are also around, but many free Aphidoletes are also making their way into the greenhouse. Treat if spots are going to get sticky. Foxglove Aphids, Damage Foxglove Aphids Potato Aphids Free Aphidoletes Cucumber Fusarium Sp Cucumbers: Whiteflies are slowly on the rise. Swirskii has been found helping out a bit with predation where there are few thrips available. Expect Swirskii to handle a small percentage of whiteflies; they have been found mostly eating eggs and first instar larvae. If you are getting 2nd or 3rd instars, you may need to treat chemically unless you are using Encarsia or Eretmocerus on a regular basis. Spider mites have descended on the county. Most growers will find they have small spots under the vents. This will be in addition to any you had left from last crop. Thorough clean-up is essential to reduce carry-over and final cost of mite control. Unless you have extremely low pressure for mites, blanket applications of predators on a weekly basis will reduce hotspots from forming and give you an overall cleaner crop. Using a variety of predators helps with thorough control. Each predator plays its roll. See our article about mite control with Feltiella. Fusarium sp. has been found in some cucumber houses; salmon coloured fungal growth was noted after the plant had been wilted for several days. This disease has been quite low for several years. Melon aphids are popping up at many farms. So far, the control has been good. Watch for viral symptoms. Cucumber beetles have not been spotted thus far. Early July is common to start finding them. Melon Aphids Striped Cucumber Beetle Spotted Cucumber Beetle
Peppers: Degenerans pulls its own weight again this year! Early introductions of Degenerans have built to astounding levels in the crops now. Top to bottom, these mites can be found in great numbers. They like the heat and are not afraid to stay at the top of the pepper canopy to handle thrips larvae. An added bonus we have noted this year is the spider mite control attributed to Degenerans. We have found mite colonies swarming with Degenerans (Biobest) Degenerans and dead bodies throughout. This is in crops that had early introductions of Degenerans and usually get steady mite pressure from outside. They are just now getting any significant numbers of mites; when usual pressure is April. A couple of extra months without mites would make anyone smile. Powdery mildew is back. Watch the sensitive pepper varieties for quick spreading. Early Nova applications are essential for good overall control. Preventative applications of Actinovate have shown good results. Mildew In Peppers, Early Damage Fusarium sp. stem lesions and wilting plants are on the rise. Removal of all infected tissue is important to keep innoculum down on your farm. i Internal fruit rot is still hanging around. All colours are showing infections. Preventative sprays with Prestop are an option for disease management. Fusarium Stem Lesions Are On The Rise Fusarium Interanl Fruit Rot Pollination Update Despite the high heat, bees have been working hard and handling the pollination well. Randy will be out looking for Melittobia parasites during the summer months to assure continued hive viability and consistent pollination. Melittobia Wasp Is Tiny & Unwanted
Scout s Corner Bacterial Canker The fears of bacterial canker raging through a seemingly healthy tomato crop are real. The ruthless bacteria spread from plant to plant by picking or clipping, equipment and people can destroy an otherwise healthy plant within a couple of days. The bacteria are not visible and symptoms can be mild for several days depending on the area of infection. Early symptoms are difficult to detect and require some experience to find in a timely fashion: Wilting: a section of a plant or one-sided leaf wilting, while other sections remain turgid; in some cases the entire plant collapses at once. A plant with canker will not recover from wilting, for example, on hot day. Tan lesions: tan coloured lesions within leaflet tissue with no signs of mechanical damage, fungal growth, or irrigation problems. Affected tissue around the tan lesion may be dull and almost bluish coloured due to wilting. Fruit symptoms: Other less obvious symptoms are marbling of the fruit: This appears as expanded white veins under the skin of the tomato. Unfortunately, this coloration often appears naturally in some unripe tomatoes such as cocktails and cherry varieties. In this case look for another symptom on the same plant; follow up daily if it is suspicious. Unfortunately, canker is usually first found when the disease is already in its final stages of plant destruction, and thus other plants in the surrounding area may already be affected. When canker is detected be sure to thoroughly inspect surrounding plants for less obvious symptoms, remove all affected plants and disinfect. The entire row should be quarantined and monitored daily for additional plants to prevent an epidemic. Workers that stay in their own sections can reduce spreading to other areas of the range on equipment, A Wilting hands, clothes and tools. Verifying canker by appearance alone is never easy nor can you be 100% certain. Sending plants away for Disease identification at a lab or using a quick bacterial canker test kit can be done though MGS Horticultural. Fruit Marbling Tan Lesions, Watch For Wilting
Love is in the Air Love may not be first on your mind when you think of spider mites. But in this case, it s a great word for a mite strategy that is easy to use and well suited for greenhouse vegetables. Feltiella is not a new predator, but our new system of introduction is cost effective and efficient. This strategy allows us to introduce another predator that can pick up the slack from predatory mites. The strategy for Feltiella use includes being Proactive. We are firm believers in IPM. Use the compatible miticide to reduce the population, introduce the biologicals to hold the fort and monitor your success. Feltiella is well suited to be paired with Persimilis introductions and has the following rewards. Bonus #1: Feltiella is a predator that flies: they are introduced on the slab under the spider mites spot, the lid is removed and they self-distribute from there. This is where the Love comes into play. The Feltiella adults hatch from the cocoons and mate in space around the foliage. A pheromone/sugar spray is provided to attract them to the area and provide food for the adults. Do not leave them in the container on your desk! They want to be free! Bonus #2: since they are provided as a cocoon, or resting stage, they are easily stored for introduction when you need them. We are able to hold extra inventory for that surprise spot that needs a little love. Bonus #3: They like the heat and humidity of a greenhouse. Hmmm sounds just like Southwestern Ontario! The warmer the greenhouse the faster they reproduce. They are not afraid to head to the top of that cucumber, pepper, eggplant or tomato crop when the Persimilis is thinking about getting out of the heat. Bonus #4: overlapping generations are quick to develop. You will have different life stages available each week flying or eating. For anyone who does their own cucumber propagation, this is an excellent tool to get started on those transplants with mite pressure before moving them into their final production area. As long as no general insecticide sprays are done between crops, they are very effective at flying into other areas on their own. Bonus #5: They like to EAT! Feltiella will kill more than they will eat. Anyone familiar with Aphidoletes, an aphid control, has seen this happen with midges before. Although they are worm-like, they are quick for something that has no legs. They will eat any stage of the spider mite. Bonus #6: They will eat the carmine-type mite (we have had increasing problems with this in the past few years). Bonus # 7: They eat diapausing mites. It s not too late to get a population built up for the summer and fall. Feltiella Adult (Biobest) Feltiella Larva (Biobest) Feltiella Coccoon