REGISTRATION NOW OPEN!
We are happy to announce that Purdue Extension is presenting its annual Fruit and Vegetable Field Day on July 18, 2024, at the Throckmorton/Meigs Horticulture Farm, Lafayette, IN.
Register here: Purdue Fruit and Vegetable Field Day
Contact Lori Jolly-Brown or Petrus Langenhoven if you have any questions.
Presentations:
Julia Wooby, Ian Kaplan, Laura Ingwell
Trap Crop System for Multi-generational Control of Flea Beetles in High Tunnel Brassica
Crops
Collard Greens & Mustard trap crop
Management of flea beetles is made difficult by the high mobility of the adult life stage and overwintering habits, with few viable options for growers who use organic or low-input practices. Planting of a highly attractive trap crop can minimize pest populations on the cash crop, but multivoltine flea beetle species overwhelm cropping systems with the emergence of multiple generations of adult beetles which cause characteristic shotgun foliar damage. This stop will discuss combining a traditional trap cropping system with application of entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) to target soil-dwelling flea beetle larvae, reducing subsequent generations of the pest through biological control.
Robert Grosdidier & Laura Ingwell
Pollinators in High Tunnels vs. Open Field Production
Tomatoes, Long Beans, Zucchini, Strawberries
The community composition and ecology of insect pollinators that visit crops in high tunnel growing systems is poorly understood. Understanding which pollinators visit crops in high tunnels can provide insights into which pollinators have the greatest impact on fruit set. This stop will discuss which pollinators are commonly found in high tunnels compared to field-grown crops, and how these patterns change in monoculture vs polyculture production.
Milena Agila & Laura Ingwell
Evaluating the Impacts of Insect-Derived Soil Amendments on Crop Production
Bok Choy, Carrots
As the industry around insect-derived protein production grows, a new resource for soil amendments has become available – insect frass fertilizers. This includes cricket frass, black soldier fly compost and pupal casings. This stop will discuss the impact of three insect-derived soil amendments on two crops: bok choy and carrots.
Petrus Langenhoven & Nathan Shoaf
Impact of Soil Fertility Amendments and Cover Cropping on Soil Health and Pepper Production
Peppers
What is the impact of soil management practices on soil health? Does increasing soil health mean reduced input, and does pepper variety performance differ according to soil health status? During this presentation, we will discuss the progress and results of an ongoing 4-year USDA-funded grant, Soil to Market, that was designed to help answer some of these questions.
Josue Cerritos & Stephen Meyers
A Comparison of Silage Tarping and Herbicides for Weed Control in Potato
Potatoes
While much research has centered on weed management in large-scale agriculture, small farms play a crucial role in local food systems. Innovative tools like silage tarps offer valuable solutions. These reusable plastics or fabrics help create a stale seedbed or facilitate the emergence of slow-germinating crops such as potatoes. This year a field study is being performed to compare the use of silage tarping and herbicides for weed management in potato production. Join us for a field demonstration on silage tarps for early-season weed management and explore how integrating tarping into small-scale systems enhances weed control. We’ll also be comparing tarping with traditional herbicide use, offering insights into sustainable weed management.
Miranda Purcell & Carla Wagner
Evaluating the Use of Lasers as a Bird Control Strategy in the Vineyard
Grapes
Bird control is one of the largest issues that grape growers in Indiana deal with. At this point, it seems the best strategy is to use a combination of deterrents, and lasers are one of the up-and-coming strategies that are showing a lot of promise. In this trial, we are evaluating the effectiveness of lasers vs. bird netting on total grapevine yield, % damage to fruit and frequency of birds in the treatment area.
Helen Nocito & Stephen Meyers
Exploring the Use of Herbicide-Impregnated Fertilizer for Improved Crop Tolerance in Pumpkin
Pumpkins
We’ll talk about methods and results from an IR-4 funded trial exploring improved crop tolerance through herbicide-impregnated AMS and compare it to traditional broadcast applications.
Peter Hirst
Modern apple orchard systems for commercial and backyard growers
Apples
Modern apple orchards, whether a few trees or thousands of trees depend on dwarfing rootstocks. These rootstocks not only keep the trees smaller and easier to reach, but also produce more fruit and higher quality fruit. But when the rootstocks is changed, many other aspects of orchard management also need to be changed. This includes factors such as planting distance, tree staking or support, and pruning style. We will discuss all aspects of management of trees of dwarfing rootstocks.
