What is It? Wednesday – Yellowmargin Leaf Beetle and Vegetable Weevil damage

Even green thumbs think it’s an uphill battle to say which one is a pansy and which one is a viola. That’s what happens when people emphasize classifications rather than plants. Everything gets all complicated and confusing.

IKEA

How you manage garden pests and diseases is a personal choice, and there are many management philosophies. Two of the most common methodologies are integrated pest management (IPM) and organic pest management. IPM was developed in the 1970s as a response to conventional gardening practices that relied heavily on pesticides. In contrast to those practices, IPM promoted sanitation, the use of disease- and pest-resistant plant varieties, and monitoring pest populations.

Zack Snipes

The Russia-Ukraine grain deal that has been critical to keeping global food prices stable and preventing famine is currently in tatters. On July 17, 2023, Russia said it was pulling out of the year-old deal, which allowed shipments of grains and other foodstuffs to travel past the Russian naval blockade in the Black Sea. And to make matters worse, over the next two days Russia bombed the Ukrainian grain port of Odesa, destroying over 60,000 tons of grain.

Zack Snipes

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, “Pest and disease activity remains low in the area.  However, disease pressure may increase following some welcome rainfall last week.  Remember to keep scouting.  I would also like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.”

Zack Snipes reports, “One of our weather stations in Mt. Pleasant got down to 19F on Saturday night.  Last Thursday our high was 73F, and 55 hours later, it was 23F.  That swing in temperatures can hurt plants as they aren’t as acclimated to the cold when it hits.  Our strawberries should be fine as our temperatures did not get into the low teens or single digits along the coast.  Time will tell how our brassicas fared in the cold temperatures.”

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.”