uconn extension department plant science and … · bear a crop the 3rd and 4th years. at the same...
TRANSCRIPT
UCONN EXTENSION AND DEPARTMENT OF PLANT SCIENCE AND LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
COMMERCIAL VEGETABLE AND FRUIT CROPS NEWSLETTER VOLUME 13, ISSUE 2 - MAY 2017
C ROP TALK In This Issue
Calendar of Events………….….………………..…....1
Dual Magnum gets Special Local Needs……...1
Elderberries, Why Not…….....……………...........2
Counter Intuitive…………………………………........2
Springtails…………………………………….….………...3
Mustard Cover Crops………………………………….4
FREE One-on-One Agricultural Sessions........5
Monitoring Corn Earworm……..………………..6-7
Small Vegetable Equipment Day………...…...8-9
Biological Control Short Course.……...……….10
Jude’s Farewell……………..…….………….……...…11
Calendar of Events May 18th - FREE Social Media One-on-One Advising Session, 4:30-9:15pm Tolland County Extension Center, Vernon, CT. Contact: [email protected] or 860-875-3331
June 2nd - Small Vegetable Farm Equipment Field Day, Suffield, CT. Contact: [email protected] or 860-875-3331 (see page 8)
June 13th - Xerces Society’s Conservation Biological Control Short Course, 9:00am –4:30pm, 4-H Education Center at Auer Farm , Bloomfield, CT. (see page 10)
June 22nd - Hands on Biological Control Workshop for Greenhouse Growers, 8:45am-3:30pm, UConn Floriculture Greenhouses, Storrs, CT. Contact: [email protected] or 860-626-6285
By: Jude Boucher, UConn Extension, Commercial Vegetable Crops
Dual Magnum gets Special Local Needs [section 24(c) label] for use on Winter Squash in CT
Karl Reichle, from Reichle Farms in South Windsor, first asked about
getting a Special Local Needs (SLN) label for Dual Magnum on winter
squash about a year ago. He then worked with Jatinder Aulakh, the
new weed scientist at the CT Ag Experiment Station’s Valley Lab,
Valerie Bodner from CT DEEP Pesticide Division, and Jeff Zelna from
Syngenta, and others, to keep the process moving towards the new
registration in time for the 2017 season. The label expires on
December 31, 2021.
To use the product on winter squash, users must agree by electronic
signature on Syngenta Crop Protection’s internet site to the terms and
conditions required by Syngenta, including assuming all risk of crop
injury, yield reduction and crop loss. The label must be in the
possession of the user at the time of application.
Rate & Timing: Apply Dual Magnum at a broadcast rate of 0.67-1.33
pints per acre (before the weeds have emerged), post-transplant
(within 72 hours), or post-emergence to a crop having at least 4 true
leaves. Can be applied broadcast over-the-top or to the row middles.
Use the lower rate on soils light in texture or low in soil organic
matter. Weeds present at the time of application should be
controlled by another means. Note and observe all directions, pre-
cautions and restrictions on the SLN label.
Looking for a fruit crop that not everyone has, is easy to grow, and that will bring you extra income? You may want to give elderberries, Sambucus nigra and Sambucus canadensis, a shot. They are hardy to zone 4 with a few varieties even hardier. This isn’t a fruit often eaten out of hand. Though it has value as a pick-your-own crop, you may want to look at this crop as one to be used as a value-added sale. Sell fresh and your customers can process it, or process it yourself into jam, jelly, juice or wine, pies, etc. It is gaining a reputation as a high nutritional fruit, particularly high in vitamin C and anthocyanins. Elderberries are planted in the spring in full sun, in well drained soils with a pH of 5.8 to 6.8, at 3-5 feet between plants and 10-12 feet between rows. They have a shallow fibrous root system and therefore will need irrigation right from the get-go. That also means they will not out-compete weeds for available water and nutrients. Weed management will be critical particularly the first year or two while the plants are becoming established and fill their space. Once established they tend to shade the ground enough to keep weeds to a minimum. Elderberries require cross-pollination to produce a crop. Varieties include Adams No. 1, Adams No. 2, Samyl, Samdel, Beauty, Nova, York, and others. They bloom in June which is a positive because it essentially eliminates the risk of bud damage from spring frosts. The fruit is harvested in August through September, variety dependent, by removing the entire cluster, not the individual berries. Elderberry canes grow the first year and produce a crop the second on well branched two-year old canes. Those canes can be left to bear a crop in years 3 and possibly 4, but the best crop is on the second-year canes. Pruning options: (1) remove the 2-year-old canes by pruning them
to the ground after you have harvested the crop, leaving the new 1 year old canes to bear a crop the following year; or (2) keep the 2nd year canes and allow them to bear a crop the 3rd and 4th years. At the same time, select the best new canes each year so there are an equal number of canes for each year of growth with none older than 4 years old. Canes that are 2, 3 and 4 years old will bear a crop. Each year thin the new canes to an equal number of canes for each year of growth. Those canes that bear a crop in the 4th year should be removed by cutting them to the ground after harvest. Not only are elderberries easy to grow, they are also fairly pest free. The biggest problem will be birds. And we all know they strike the day before you are ready to harvest so netting may be needed.
Elderberries – Why Not?
Page 2
By: Mary Concklin, UConn Visiting Associate Extension Educator, Fruit IPM & Production
Photo: Missouri Extension
Counter Intuitive
Did you know that there are now more that 1.2 million acres of greenhouse vegetables grown in the world.
And did you know that if we don’t count Antarctica, then North America is dead last in total greenhouse
production, with Asia leading all the continents in production, and Africa in third!
International GH Vegetable Production – Statistics, 2017 Edition
Page 3 VOLUME 13 , ISSUE 2 MAY 2017
Springtails: a rare pest during wet times
By: Jude Boucher, UConn Extension, Commercial Vegetable Crops
As an entomologist, the very first insects that you study in school is the order Collembola, commonly called springtails. They get their common name because of their peculiar method of getting around. They have a forked structure called a furcula that sticks back from their abdomen, which they curl underneath them and then let snap backward to propel them through the air in a forward direction. Yes, they literally catapult themselves through the air! These are among the most abundant insects on earth, but we rarely notice them because they are only 5-6 mm in length, and usually spend their time in the soil or on the forest floor eating decaying leaves, fungi, and moss. Occasionally springtails congregate in the billions on the snow next to the foundation of a house on a sunny late-winter day and are referred to as “blue snow.” Obviously, that species is blue, but they also come in an array of colors from white, gray, metallic green, red, lavender or orange (like the ones shown here on spinach). On rare occasions they will attack vegetables, greenhouse plants and mushrooms and there is actually one species found in New England that is known as the garden springtail. They can be plentiful in the CT River Meadows because they like to inhabit the moist cracks that tend to develop in the silt soil as it dries out in the sun. Springtail feeding injury resembles that of flea beetles, where they make many small holes in the leaves. Since springtails help in breaking down or-ganic matter, they are usually considered beneficial insects, but can be controlled with pyrethrum (i.e. PyGanic) if they get out of hand.
Springtails and feeding injury on pumpkin seedling, photos by J. Boucher
Springtails (Collembola) on spinach, photo by Mary Jawlik
Page 4
Mustard Cover Crops Offer benefits beyond Soil Health
By Rico Balzano, UVM Extension Agronomy Outreach Professional
There is growing consensus that cover crops have many environmental and agronomic benefits including reducing soil
erosion, adding valuable organic matter, and improving overall soil health. But how do cover crops fit into a weed
control program? And how may they effect other soil-borne pests and diseases?
In 2015, I received a SARE farmer grant to explore the use of mustard cover crops to help control plant parasitic
nematodes, weeds, and soil-borne diseases. Varieties of two species of mustard (Sinapis alba and Brassica juncea) have
been identified as producing chemical compounds known as glucosinolates that have been shown to reduce fungus
and nematodes populations when mowed and incorporated into the soil. This process is known as biofumigation.
Six varieties of mustard were trialed to test glucosinolate production and overall biomass yield. The yields were
measured by weighing samples in the field, and glucosinolates were measured by a lab at the University of Idaho. The
varieties were: Kodiak (Brassica juncea), Pacific Gold (Brassica juncea), Ida Gold (Sinapis alba), Caliente 119 (S.alba and
B. juncea blend), Caliente 199 (S.alba and B. juncea blend), and Nemat (Eruca sativa- also a Brassica, bred as a
nematode trap crop). They were planted in the spring of 2015 and allowed to grow for 60 days before incorporation
and measurements were taken. It was found that ‘Caliente 199’ had the highest biomass yield and highest levels of the
glucosinolate ‘sinigrin’, a volatile compound that has been shown to have anti-fungal and anti-nematode properties.
Interestingly, ‘Ida Gold’ contained another gluscosinolate, ‘sinalbin’. This non-volatile compound has shown the ability
to inhibit weed seed germination. Although measurements were not taken, it was observed there was less overall
weed pressure in the ‘Ida Gold’ plots. This is similar to observations in trials of ‘tillage radish’, another Brassica species.
It was not determined whether weed suppression was a result of biofumigation or a dense cover crop outcompeting
weeds. Planting rate (density) in other cover crops such as winter rye and oats has been shown to effectively suppress
weeds. Further study is needed to determine how planting rates of mustards and other Brassica species effect
glucosinolate production, disease suppression, and weed control.
As with any biological control, results can be variable. In trials in Idaho, higher soil moisture improved fungus and
nematode suppression, while increasing weed pressure. It is necessary to macerate and incorporate the mustard plants
for the glucosinolates to be effective. This can be accomplished by flail mowing and disking in the plants. Further
sealing the surface by rolling or with irrigation may increase the chances of a more thorough biofumigation. For fall
planted mustards and Brassicas, freezing and thawing may effectively macerate and release the glucosinolate ‘sinalbin’,
potentially explaining weed suppression the following spring. Further study is needed to determine how these
bio-chemicals and cover crops perform under different management.
CHECK OUT THE NEW VEGETABLE PEST ID
PHOTO FILES ON THE UCONN IPM WEBSITE!
WWW.IPM.UCONN.EDU
If you are interested in setting up a crop
insurance one-on-one advising session
please contact MacKenzie White
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 860-875-3331
USDA UCONNCOLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE,
HEALTH AND NATURAL
RESOURCES
This opportunity is available now until
September 29, 2017.
Tolland County Extension Center
24 Hyde Avenue
Vernon, CT 06066
PHONE 860-875-3331
FAX 860-875-0220
These sessions are a cooperative effort of UConn Extension, the Connecticut Department of Agriculture, and the Risk Management Agency/USDA.
These institutions are an affirmative action/ equal employment opportunity employer and program provider.
EXTENSION
www.ctfarmrisk.uconn.edu/one-on-one.php
• Interested in learning more about covered crops in Connecticut and NAP
• Interested in insuring your 2017 crop with a "Hail Policy" ... some crop policies may still be
available
• Looking to learn more about how the Whole Farm Revenue Protection policy can fit into your risk
management plan
The Connecticut Farm Risk Management Program is offering individualone-on-one advising sessions at no cost to you on your farm or at the nearestUConn Extension Center.
Connecticut Agricultural Producers, A new growing season offers an opportunity to consider how
risk management issues are being handled in your agricultural
operations. It is important to look at your Farm Risk Management
Plan to see how it addresses farm risks.
One way to address some risk management issues is through a
one-on-one advising session that looks at the role that crop
insurance can play in managing a variety of farm risks affecting
crop production and farm revenue. The Connecticut Farm Risk
Management Program is offering individual one-on-one advising
sessions at no cost to you.
Covered crops in Connecticut include tobacco, corn, sweet corn, apples, peaches, potatoes, and nursery. Other crops can also be
covered under a written agreement in Connecticut. Consult with
a crop insurance agent to see if you can insure your crop using a
written agreement. The non-insured crop assistance program
(NAP) can assist producers of non-insured crops.
Page 6
For the first time in 31 years, there will not be a UConn Vegetable Crops IPM Pest Message this summer. That means
if you want to know how high the corn earworm population is this summer, you will have to run traps on your own
farm. You can also track the development of many different vegetable pests by looking at degree day models or
disease prediction models on the NEWA Website (www.NEWA.cornell.edu).
Growers wishing to run pheromone traps for sweet corn pests, squash vine borer, or other pests can purchase traps
and lures at one of the following suppliers (among others): Great Lakes IPM (www.greatlakesIPM.com, 800-235-
0285), Alpha Scents (aphascents.com), 315-699-1991, or Gemplers (gemplers.com, 800-382-8473). To trap the
following pests, you should purchase the following number and brand of traps and lures:
Corn earworm: Purchase two or more Scentry Heliothis traps and a package of 10 Hercon brand lures. UConn’smoth thresholds for this pest only work for the Hercon brand lures. Keep lures in a zip-lock bag in the freezeruntil they are needed. Set traps in silking corn at ear height and change lures every 3 weeks. Move traps to freshsilk when silk turns brown. Empty traps every 3-4 days and use UConn thresholds below to determine if, andhow frequently, corn needs to be treated.
European corn borer: purchase two white, nylon Scentry Brand Heliothis Traps and 7 of both the IA and NY typelures. Trece or Scentry brand lures will do. Place traps in the weeds along sweet corn or pepper fields, changethe lures every two weeks, and empty the traps to count moths weekly.
Fall Armyworm: purchase one or more green, canister-type, Universal Moth traps and 4-5 Scentry or Trece FAWpheromone lures for each trap. You’ll also need one Vaportape (DDVP toxicant) strip for each trap to kill themoths that enter. Place the trap in young whorl stage sweet corn in early July and empty weekly. Change luresand move traps to new young whorl-stage corn every two weeks.
Squash vine borer: Purchase one Scentry Heliothis trap and one Hercon brand SVB lure forthe season. Set the trap up at plant height in a cucurbit field in mid-June and leave it upuntil mid-August, emptying and counting the moths weekly. Protect squash starting oneweek after catching 5 or more SVB moths.
Pepper maggots: Use a sticky, yellow, AM Trap baited with a vial of 28% ammoniumhydroxide. Hang trap 20 feet up in a maple tree near a pepper field starting the first weekin July through mid-August. Replace the ammonia weekly. Ammonium hydroxide can bepurchased from Fisher scientific in Fairlawn, NJ. Caution: the ammonium hydroxide is verycaustic and should be handled with gloves and extreme care. You can also monitor for thispest by scouting for tiny, round, white, pepper maggot stings on hot cherry pepper fruit inthe outer row of peppers, especially near tree lines. Plant a hot cherry pepper plant every25-50 feet in the perimeter row or use perimeter trap cropping. Check hot cherry pepperfruit weekly through July and early August. Treat 2-3 times at 8-10 day intervals within aweek of detecting PM flies or stings. Treat more frequently if using spinosad baits.
UConn's Sweet Corn IPM Action Thresholds
European Corn Borer (ECB) 30% infested whorl-stage plants
15% infested pretassel-stage plants
Monitoring Corn Earworm Populations and Other Vegetable Pests
By: Jude Boucher, UConn Extension, Commercial Vegetable Crops
Page 7 VOLUME 13 , ISSUE 2 MAY 2017
treat early-season, fresh-silking corn if 35 or more ECB moths/week are captured in pheromone traps
Fall Armyworm (FAW) 10% infested whorl or pretassel-stage plants
treat fresh-silking corn if 50 or more FAW moths/week are captured in pheromone traps
FAW and ECB 15% infested whorl or pre-tassel-stage plants
Corn Earworm (CEW)
Unproven observation Ever since B.t. field corn came out in the early 90’s, the level of ECB moths and damage in sweet corn and peppers has been dropping to lower and lower levels (fact). Although B.t. corn doesn’t kill all the CEW larvae that infest it, the way it kills all the ECB larvae, some people think that the low levels of CEW we have experienced in the last three years has to do with the high level of use of B.t. corn throughout the country. Some folks think the level of CEW pressure will continue to drop for the foreseeable future, just the way the ECB populations did (very possible). Unproven method At least one farmer in the state has used a much more liberal set of action thresholds for CEW over the last three years and has gotten away with it, either because of the low CEW pressure, or because the thresholds really work. When spraying with Coragen, which has a longer residual period than other insecticidal options on sweet corn, he takes the UConn IPM CEW thresholds (above) and multiplies by two, and then subtracts two days. In other words, instead of spraying every 6, 5, 4, or 3 days, he sprays every 10, 8, 6, or 4 days. It is not well tested, especially at high CEW population levels, but for the last three years it has worked flawlessly on that farm. You might want to give it a try to minimize your spray trips through the field. But keep in mind, that if you catch very high (>35 moths/night), or super high levels (>50 moths/night), or if a tropical storm or hurricane dumps hundreds of moths, you might want to retreat to the old 3-day schedule.
Average number of CEW moths captured
per trap each night
Spray interval for silking corn
0.0 - 0.2 no spray
0.2 - 0.5 6 days
0.5 - 1.0 5 days
1.0 - 13.0 4 days
over 13.0 3 days
Less than 5 days until harvest no spray
Note: CEW spray intervals should be lengthened by a day if daily maxi-
mum temperatures were less than 80oF for the previous 2-3 day period.
Page 8
Small Vegetable Farm
Equipment Field Day Date/Time: Friday, June 2, 2017, 2:00 PM – 6:00 PM (food at 6:00 PM)
Location: Oxen Hill Farm Field, Corner of Quarry and Phelps Rd., W. Suffield, CT
Directions: From I-91, take Rt. 20W past the airport towards Granby. In about 9 miles
(before Granby) take a right onto Canal Road. Go 0.4 miles and turn right onto
Hungary Road. In 2.2 miles Hungary Road becomes Quarry Rd. After another 0.6
miles the field will be on your right. If you reach Phelps Rd. (on your right),
you’ve gone too far.
Cost: FREE
Pre-register: Please pre-register to give us a head count for food and so that we can contact
you in the event of a postponement or cancellation.
Contact: [email protected] or 860-875-3331.
Oxen Hill Farm, owned and managed by Jonathan Griffin and family, is a 150-acre certified
organic farm that has a nice variety of cultivators and other equipment that they will demo.
They just built a brand new barn and cooler system. They are also distributors for the Italian
small farm equipment made by Checchi & Magli including: single-row potato planters and
harvesters, transplanters and plastic mulch layers; double-row potato hillers and veg crop
transplanters. The Quarry Road field has a large variety of crops grown on plastic,
bare-ground and under plastic (1,400-foot-long caterpillar tunnels) and uses landscape cloth
between plastic beds on tomatoes for weed control.
Trevor Hardy, from Brookdale Fruit Farm, will give a brief presentation on “Setting Up Your
First Irrigation System.” Equipment Dealers from around the region will display and demo a
variety of large and small machines and hand tools.
Page 9 VOLUME 13 , ISSUE 2 MAY 2017
Company Representative Equipment
Checchi & Magli Jonathan Griffin transplanters, planters, hillers,
harvestors, mulch layer
Johnny’s Selected Seeds Luke Donahue manual mulch layer, Jang Seeder
Hatfield (hand) Transplanter,
Paperpot Transplanter, Jatco
sprayer, U-Bar Wheel Hoe, etc.
Stanton Equipment Freddie Berard John Deere 5045 or 5055 (50-59hp
starting tractors), compost
topdresser from Earth & Turf
Products, and/or mini manure
spreader by Conestoga
Manufacturing
Brookdale Fruit Farm Trevor Hardy Irrigation Equipment, row covers,
plastic mulch, tomato stakes, etc.
Kult-Kress Michael Smith Finger weeder, Argus 3-point tool
bar, variety of tools,
bedshaper/stoneburier
TBA TBA BCS (hand tractor) & attachments
This project is sponsored by the USDA-NIFA Beginning Farmer and Rancher
Development Program Award #2016-70017-25416, Oxen Hill Farm, UConn Extension and
the equipment dealers listed above.
UConn is an affirmative action/equal employment opportunity employer and program provider.
Please contact us two weeks in advance if special accommodations are required.
Page 10
Xerces Society’s Conservation Biological Control Short Course
Conservation biological control seeks to protect beneficial organisms already
present in the crop or the landscape so their pest control services can be
maximized.
This workshop will cover:
The importance of beneficial insects - predators and parasitoids that attack
insect pests.
Overview of conservation biological control and integrated pest management
(IPM).
The most common beneficial insect groups and their ecological roles.
How to recognize the habitat needs of beneficial insects and identify habitat
deficiencies.
The design and implementation of habitat improvements, including site
preparation, insectary strip plantings, hedgerows, beetle banks, and more.
The current best management practices that minimize land-use impacts on
beneficial insects and mitigate exposure to insecticides.
How to access USDA conservation programs for financial and technical support.
Location: 4-H Education Center at Auer Farm
158 Auer Farm Rd.
Bloomfield, CT
When: Tuesday, June 13th, 2017 (Rain date June 14th)
9:00 am - 4:30 pm
For more information and to register follow this link:
http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?
oeidk=a07edzb5sy3ab747be9&llr=tnjebhdab
Page 11 VOLUME 13 , ISSUE 2 MAY 2017
Well that’s my last Crop Talk Newsletter. It sure has been a pleasure working with all of you over the years…
and your mothers and fathers…and/or your grandfathers…and for one young fellow, his great grandfather!
Hope you found the Extension programs and research we conducted for vegetable growers useful, and dare I
say “enjoyable.”
The administrators in Extension and UConn’s CAHNR, are committed to re-filling the Vegetable Specialist Position and will be conducting a national search for a qualified candidate this summer. Mary Concklin, UConn’s Extension Fruit Specialist, will Chair the search committee, which will include two vegetable growers. It may take a few months before the position is filled. Until then, Joan Allen, at the UConn Plant Diagnostician Lab in the Department of Plant Science, has graciously offered to help you find answers to your vegetable pest questions ([email protected], 860-486-6740). Also, don’t forget about the Photo Pest ID files on the UConn IPM Website (www.ipm.uconn.edu) to help you identify pests on different vegeta-ble crops, and the updated 2018-2019 New England Vegetable Management Guide (www.nevegetable.org) to help you know how to manage them.
Happy growing and best wishes,
Jude
“The journey is the reward!”
old Chinese proverb
Crop Talk Editors / Contributors
Jude Boucher, Commercial Vegetable Crops, UConn Extension,
(860)870-6933, [email protected]
Mary Concklin, Commercial Fruit Crops, UConn Department of
Plant Science and Landscape Architecture (860)486-6585,
MacKenzie White, Newsletter Layout,
Administrative Officers
Cameron Faustman, Dean, College of Agriculture and Natural
Resources
Michael P. O’Neill, Associate Dean and Associate Director, UConn
Extension
Bonnie E. Burr, Assistant Director & Department Head, UConn
Extension
Richard McAvoy, Department Head, Department of Plant Science
and Landscape Architecture
The information in this newsletter is for educational purposes. The recommendations contained are based on the best available knowledge at the time of publication. Any reference to commercial products, trade or brand names is for information only, and no endorsement or approval is intended. The Cooperative Extension System does not guarantee or warrant the standard of any product referenced or imply approval of the product to the exclusion of others which also may be available. All agrichemicals/pesticides listed are registered for suggested uses in accordance with federal and Connecticut state laws and regulations as of the date of printing. If the information does not agree with current labeling, follow the label instructions. The label is the law. Warning! Agrichemicals/pesticides are dangerous. Read and follow all instructions and safety precautions on labels. Carefully handle and store agrichemicals/pesticides in originally labeled containers, out of reach of children, pets and livestock. Dispose of empty containers immediately in a safe manner and place. Contact the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection for current regulations. The user of this information assumes all risks for personal injury or property damage.
UConn Extension
24 Hyde Avenue
Vernon, CT 06066
An Affirmative Action/
Equal Employment
Opportunity Employer
and Program Provider.
2017-2018 New England Small Fruit Management Guide
Recommendations specific to New England conditions
Includes strawberries, highbush blueberries, brambles, currants and gooseberries, grapes
Prepared by experts from six states in the region
Discusses Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and protecting honey bees and other pollinators
For a hardcopy, order online at www.store.uconn.edu or call 860-486-3336.
Address: UConn CAHNR Communications Resource Center 3624 Horsebarn Road Extension U-4035, Storrs, CT 06269-4035.