By Heather Cooper •
Plant & Pest Advisory – May 24, 2024 – Andy Wyenandt Phytophthora blight, caused by Phytophthora capsici, can cause crown and fruit rot in eggplant.Unfortunately, most of New Jersey has been plagued by heavy rains and pop-up thunderstorms these past few weeks making conditions ideal for pathogens such as Phytophthora blight on pepper, eggplant, tomato, […]
By Heather Cooper •
Plant & Pest Advisory – June 9, 2024- Andy Wyenandt Symptoms usually begin to appear on random plants throughout the field as green fruit begins to mature. The bacterium (Pseudomonas corrugata) is ubiquitous to soils and develops when weather conditions (cooler nights/very hot, humid days) and cultural practices (i.e., excess heavy N use) lead to […]
By Heather Cooper •
Plant & Pest Advisory – June 7, 2024 – Andy Wyenandt Anthracnose and Alternaria leaf blight can become problematic in cucurbit crops during long periodsof wet, humid weather. Both can cause significant losses if not controlled properly. With the productionseason in full swing, now is a good time to review a few of these important […]
By Heather Cooper •
Plant & Pest Advisory – June 8, 2024 – Andy Wyenandt Pepper anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum spp. has become a significant problem on some farms insouthern New Jersey. Unlike in tomato, where symptoms are only present in mature (red) fruit, pepper anthracnose can infectpepper fruit at any growth stage. Currently, there are no commercially-available bell […]
By Heather Cooper •
Plant & Pest Advisory – May 31, 2024 – Andy Wyenandt Copper resistance in bacterial leaf spot of tomato and pepper crops has been detected at a high level inNew Jersey the past few summers. While not surprising, copper resistance has been known to developfor decades now. Copper applications for the control of bacterial diseases […]
By Heather Cooper •
Plant & Pest Advisory – June 4, 2024 – Andy Wyenandt Asparagus growers should consider scouting their fields regularly during the summer months for foliardisease development. Important pathogens that growers need to scout for on a regular basis includePurple spot, Cercospora, and Rust. These pathogens are easily diagnosed by the characteristicsymptoms they produce on infected […]
By Heather Cooper •
Plant & Pest Advisory – May 27, 2024 – Andy Wyenandt Septoria leaf spot (SLS) in Parsley can cause significant losses in fields where it has become established.Like other Septoria’s, the leaf spots produced on parsley look much like the leaf spots produced ontomatoes and other crops. Septoria leaf spot overwinters from year to year […]
By Heather Cooper •
Plant & Pest Advisory – May 26, 2024 – Andy Wyenandt Verticillium wilt has been reported in eggplant this summer. It is a common soil-borne fungal pathogen that once it has infested soil can remain for a very long time. Verticillium wilt is caused by either Verticillium albo-atrium or Verticillium dahlia and has a wide […]
By Heather Cooper •
Plant & Pest Advisory – The Rutgers Farm Health and Safety Working Group: Kate Brown, Michelle Infante-Casella, Stephen Komar and William Bamka – June 16, 2024 When it comes to hydration, the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicinerecommends an adequate daily fluid intake of about 15.5 cups (3.7 liters) of fluids a day […]
By Heather Cooper •
Plant & Pest Advisory – May 27 , 2024 – Kate Brown New workers are vulnerable to heat-related illness because they have not acclimatized to working inthe heat. Acclimatization is a physiological process that occurs when exposure to heat takes placegradually over an extended period. Once acclimatization is achieved, working in the heat results inproduction […]
By Heather Cooper •
Plant & Pest Advisory – June 4, 2024 – Kate Brown Evaporation of sweat from skin is the body’s primary mode of temperature regulation on hot days.Clothing can impact heat and sweat production, as well as the rate of evaporation, so clothingdecisions are important to prevent heat stress. Choose lightweight, loose-fitting clothing made of a […]
By Heather Cooper •
Plant And Pest Advisory – June 18, 2024 Wes Kline, Meredith Melendez And Jennifer Matthews Scheduling USDA audits GAP, Harmonized or Harmonized PlusAnyone who has not scheduled their audit needs to be aware of the documentation needed to be sentto the New Jersey Department of Agriculture prior to the audit. They will want to see […]
By Heather Cooper •
Kate Brown, Chair of Farm Health and Safety Working Group for RutgersCooperative Extension, informed us that an OSHA inspector conducteda 3.5-hour inspection which included worker interviews, wet bulb globetemperature recordings, and a complete evaluation of heat stress preventionpractices in the Hammonton area last week. Every grower should be awareon how to protect your workers from […]
By Heather Cooper •
Plant and Pest Advisory – Andy Wyenandt – 6/19/24 Cucurbit downy mildew has been confirmed on cucumber in SalemCounty in southern New Jersey. This is the first report of CDM in the stateand region this growing season. All cucumber and cantaloupe growersshould scout on a daily basis and initiate a preventative fungicide programimmediately. All other […]
By Heather Cooper •
Plant and Pest Advisory – Andy Wyenandt – 6/18/24 Basil downy mildew has been confirmed in field grown sweet basil in centralNew Jersey (Hunterdon County). This is the first confirmed report of BDM inthe state and region this growing season. All basil growers are encouragedto scout their fields or greenhouses on a daily basis and […]