Dear Small Fruit Growers: As part of a national team of entomologists studying the management of spotted-wing drosophila (SWD), we are reaching out with a request for assistance to help understand the current impacts of SWD on your farm and how these impacts may have changed in the last 10 years. If you are willing…Read more about Your input needed! National SWD Impact Survey[Read More]


It’s been a fruitful year here at the Meigs Horticultural Facility in Lafayette, Indiana. We are now harvesting primocane blackberries, most all grapes, early season apples, and on our fourth harvest of watermelons. The harvest so far has been plentiful and the just most delicious fruit across the board! Pears and paw paws are a…Read more about Crop conditions[Read More]


Summer just had to throw us a going away party in the form of extreme heat! Temperatures soared into the 90s during the final week of August, with heat index values over 100°F for much of the state. Lafayette, South Bend, and Fort Wayne all set daily records on Tuesday, August 27th for maximum temperatures…Read more about A Major Cool-Down On The Way[Read More]


Strawberry Growers: Navigating the Challenges of Neopestalotiopsis Disease If you’re expecting plug plants for your strawberry crops, you’ve likely heard about the emerging threat of Neopestalotiopsis disease. For those unfamiliar, I recommend reading Dr. Phil Brannen’s article, “Dramatic Neopestalotiopsis Disease in Strawberry Tips and Plug Plant Production Nurseries“ from the University of Georgia Extension. Recently,…Read more about Strawberry Growers: Navigating the Challenges of Neopestalotiopsis Disease[Read More]


In a press release on August 6, 2024, EPA announced the emergency suspension of all registrations of DCPA (marketed and sold as Dacthal® herbicide). The full press release can be viewed here: EPA Issues Emergency Order to Stop Use of Pesticide Dacthal to Address Serious Health Risk | US EPA Why did EPA do this?…Read more about EPA Issues Order to Immediately Stop the Use of Dacthal Herbicide[Read More]


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