Zack Snipes
24.07.2023 - 11:49 / hgic.clemson.edu
Tom Bilbo reports, “Cyclamen mites are another pest mite of [possible] concern for SC growers, and you should know what to look for as I have confirmed their presence on several farms this spring, and several county agents have detected them in previous years. These mites are smaller than spider mites and require a microscope to see them, so you must look for their symptoms—stunted plants (see red circle in picture), crinkled/deformed leaves, small leaves, shrunken fruit with protruding seeds. If you see these symptoms and cannot attribute them to another cause (e.g. stunted plants from transplanting crowns too deep), contact your local county agent to assist with collecting samples and confirming their presence. My lab has ongoing research this spring to collect and confirm the occurrence of cyclamen mites in SC to better determine their pest status.”
Zack Snipes reports, “Things are looking pretty good down this way. Strawberries have very few blooms, so not sure what that means for the rest of the season. We have lots and lots and lots of spider mites on strawberries. If you have tomato, blackberry, melons, or cucumbers and have strawberries as well, take care of the mites now, or you will be battling them on your other crops all year long. They will make their way to those crops, and you’ll be reading about spider mites from me until the first frost comes. Highbush blueberries are coming off and looking great. We will have significant yield loss from cold damage in rabbiteye blueberry varieties this year, depending on the farm location and cultivar. It seems the later season varieties made it out ok, but the early to mid-season rabbiteye varieties will have few, if any, berries.”
Rob Last reports, “Crops in the area
Rob Last reports, “Following a few days of warmer conditions, crops are moving on strongly. Flowering and fruit set is occurring in strawberry crops. At present, spider mites in treated crops are at very low populations, but with warmer weather, populations can increase rapidly. As we are entering flowering and fruit set, sanitation and fungicide applications will be required to keep gray mold managed. Remember to rotate FRAC codes to avoid resistance build-up. Fertigation is being applied, and it will be well worthwhile taking a tissue test from crops. Blueberries in the area are showing bud swell with early varieties showing open flower.”
Rob Last reports, “Crops in the area continue to develop well, and I expect this to continue after some welcome rainfall over the weekend. Following the rain over the weekend and returning to warm temperatures, keep scouting for diseases in crops and ensure fungicide applications are made promptly. Spider mites show activity in a range of crops from strawberries to peppers, tomatoes, and blackberries. Cucumber beetles are beginning to be found in sticky traps. Currently, no damage is being seen to crops.”
Zack Snipes reports, “We had some nice weather last week. The tomato crop is looking great, as are most of our cucurbits and greens. I am seeing increased caterpillar pressure across the area. We had several calls from across the state early last week about sunburned strawberries. We went and visited the farms and tried to rule out disease, frost damage, etc. The only thing we came up with is some sort of sunburn damage. The damage was most prevalent on the southern facing sides of beds where there was poor canopy coverage. I also saw damaged tissue on tender lettuce, in my citrus plots at the CREC and on some new shoots of ornamentals at my house. I checked the solar radiation at the weather station at the CREC, and the units (W/m2) were 300-500 units higher on Monday compared to the prior 4 days. Perhaps we had intense UV levels and higher temperatures that led to this damage? Here is a really great article on the types of sunburn on plants and fruit.”
Rob Last reports, “Crops are generally doing well in the area, with strawberries coming off with good volumes. On the whole, row covers, or icing protected 97% of the susceptible flowers leading to 1-2% losses of flowers. The damaged flowers can increase grey mold pressure in the crops so, maintaining both sanitation and fungicide applications to strawberries will be crucial. As berries ripen, sanitation also becomes essential for reducing pest pressure from sap beetles. In some crops, where row covers were utilized, we see spider mite populations increasing and a few active thrips feeding on both flowers and berries. Other fruit crops in the area, such as blackberries and blueberries, look very good with low levels of damage from the freeze event last weekend. Peaches in the area are being thinned, with scouting being maintained for scale and plum curculio. Early planted watermelons did suffer from the frost in places, leading to 10-15% plant loss and hence the need to replant in a few areas. Other crops are moving slowly away from the injuries. Luckily a lot of crops were not beginning to vine and survived the worst of the damage. These plants are stressed, so care will be needed with any applications as well as scouting for pest and disease issues. Conversely, Cantaloupes in the area were direct seeded and have survived unscathed.”
Rob Last reports, “Given the rainfall and humidity levels, we are seeing increases in foliar and fruit diseases on a range of crops. This includes cottony leak in cucumbers, anthracnose in peppers, tomatoes, and cucurbits. Also, please be aware cucurbit downy mildew is very active now. As a result, it is going to be really important to maintain fungicide programs in both a timely manner and to be robust. That being said, we have some great quality melons, both cantaloupe and watermelons, coming to harvest, as well as good volumes of quality peaches, blackberries, and a host of other vegetable crops.”
Zack Snipes reports, “We are in a summer weather pattern with warm, muggy days and occasional thunderstorms. Most crops have finished up or are in the process. Now is a great time to sit down and do some crop planning and field rotation planning. I collected many soil and root tissue samples lately and had them analyzed for nematodes. I was surprised at how many nematodes were present in the fields. Nematodes can interfere with growth, cause stunting, and lower overall yields. Sometimes the symptoms of nematodes can be very discrete, so sampling right now is the best way to get a baseline of your populations and how to properly manage and rotate fields. If left unchecked, thousands of dollars are wasted before the first seed is planted into a field.”
Justin Ballew reports, “Not much has changed in the midlands over the last week. We’ve received some scattered rain, and it has been warm and humid. As a result, we are still seeing disease issues. We’re still picking tomatoes, squash, zucchini, cucumbers, sweet corn, and a few greens. We’re at an in-between stage in several fields where the spring crops have finished, and folks are preparing to plant fall crops. Some have already started fall cucurbit plantings. For anyone planting strawberries this fall, if you are still deciding which varieties to try, see NCSU’s 2020/2021 variety comparison data (pages 9 and 10).
Rob Last reports, “We are progressing well with preparations for strawberry planting. Some plants are due to be delivered this week. Remember, if fumigants have been used, check to ensure the products have dissipated to prevent damage to the transplants. The same is true to make sure planting restrictions on any pre-emergence herbicides applications are observed. Always refer to the label. Finally, remember to check your plants carefully for pest and disease inoculum from the nursery. Planting any disease or pest-infected plants will lead to a more challenging growing season. If you require any help, please reach to Extension Agents.”
Zack Snipes reports, “It has been a very windy spring. The winds are drying out our soils and beating up plants. I have looked at some tomatoes, and the ones that aren’t tied are wind-whipped, and the ones that are tied have callus tissue forming where the string is touching them. We have some beautiful lettuce and greens coming in right now, along with spring onions. I have also seen some squash coming in on farms that grew squash in high tunnels. Strawberry plants are still small and have very few blooms for this time of year. We are harvesting highbush blueberries in high volumes right now. I think we escaped more cold damage than previously expected.”