At the Southwest Purdue Ag Center, we are studying annual strawberry production on plastic mulch. Our hope is to gather information for best production practices in our area. As we learn about insect and disease problems, we will pass this information on to producers. This article is about the insect pests we have observed in[Read More…]
Crop Management
Current wet weather is increasing the risk of Phytophthora diseases in the orchard. Phytophthora is a major problem on apples and pear; stone fruit are also susceptible, with plums being the most resistant to this disease. In addition to excessive soil moisture and flooding, moderate temperatures, wounds (mechanical or through herbicide damage), and rootstock susceptibility[Read More…]
I received a report this week from a strawberry grower that overnight he went from no eastern flower thrips to an average of 15 thrips per bloom. Eastern flower thrips are an occasional pest of strawberries. They are attracted to and feed on flowers, with the result being leathery fruit or fruit that fail to[Read More…]
With the support of the Purdue Extension AgSeed Program, we are currently evaluating different production systems for growing strawberries in an open-field with plastic cultural systems for our area at Southwest Purdue Agricultural Center in Vincennes, IN. A day-neutral strawberry cultivar evaluation trial was established in the Spring of 2019. The evaluated cultivars include Portola,[Read More…]
Fruit crops are growing quickly. Spring must finally be here. In Lafayette, apples are mostly at petal fall with a few still at full bloom. Grapes have 1 to 4 inch shoots. Pawpaws are blooming. Bramble blossoms are visible in black raspberries but not in red raspberries and blackberries at this time. Strawberries are in[Read More…]
Apple Disease Management Notes for April For those at tight cluster through pink: Assuming trees have less than 3” of new growth, early applications of apogee will help prevent fire blight in what is shaping up to be a cooler, wet spring. With temperatures flirting with 70, fire blight needs to be on your radar[Read More…]
FieldWatch is an easy-to-use, reliable, accurate and secure on-line mapping tool intended to enhance communications that promotes awareness and stewardship activities between producers of specialty crops, beekeepers, and pesticide applicators. Originally developed at Purdue University, FieldWatch is now a non-profit company with support from producers, applicators, agricultural chemical companies and other organizations. The program allows[Read More…]