Hi all,
First off, our entire team is sending out lots of love and care to the farming community during this time. If there is any way that we can support your recovery efforts, please reach out. We have an energetic supply of people power that we can mobilize relatively quickly.
This week’s scouting report is an evolving situation, as the high humidity and stormy conditions are leading to a rather dynamic distribution of pests and disease. One of the more concerning outbreaks in the last week are reports of cucurbit downy mildew (CDM). There are confirmed reports throughout the state and region, primarily in cucumbers. CDM only affects plants from the cucurbit family. Typically, symptoms of CDM begin on older leaves and expands to younger leaves as the infection grows. Lesions vary in their coloration but generally look like gray or purple spots on the upper sides of leaves and a “downy” appearance on the undersides of leaves. We presume that the distribution of the disease is rather widespread at this point, given the weather conditions, but confirmed cases in Vermont have been found primarily in the northwest region of the state. You can check the current “confirmed” distribution here.
There are still no reports of basil downy mildew (BDM) thus far, but with CDM in the area and the onslaught of storms, we should all be on the lookout. If you see signs of BDM (e.g. gray/black spores on the underside of leaves, yellowing between veins on the upper-side of leaves, etc.) please contact the UVM Plant Diagnostic Clinic or email me directly.
Some other important updates are:
Leek moth adults are still flying, but the trap numbers have been consistently low throughout the season at all of our monitoring sites. Low pressure from the moth is also being reported out of eastern NY. It seems like we may be spared of any major LM outbreaks this season. If you are beginning to see larval damage (i.e. window-paning on leaf tubes) in your onions, it is likely that the LM population has begun to transition out of the adult egg-laying phase. Window-paning from leek moth larvae generally does not affect yield very much, marketable damage tends to occur in storage as larvae move into bulbs. We have found that topping onions in the event of a presumed outbreak can serve as an easy way keep larvae out of curing and storage areas.
Swede midge damage has picked up on many of the farms that we’ve been monitoring, especially in plants situated at the ends of beds. Red Russian kale and collards are consistently exhibiting the highest levels of swede midge damage. Our team is currently exploring host preference for swede midge among various brassica varieties and preliminary data seems to echo what we’ve heard from growers and have seen on commercial farms (i.e. collards and red Russian kale are preferred by swede midge!)
We are also seeing high pressure from Tarnished Plant Bug (TPB) in potatoes and chard. They can be a real pain in chard. The “stings” from feeding damage can cause discoloration on the white ribs of larger leaves. We haven’t been scouting in ornamentals, but we presume that they are getting hit hard too. This year seems to be a relatively bad year for TPB in some pockets of Vermont.
As always, our website for the scouting reports can be found here. In addition to the pests reported here, our website also has a more comprehensive list of pests. The list also documents the progression of many common pests as they emerge throughout the season.
For detailed management information about these pests, as well as a comprehensive guide to current production and pest management techniques for commercial vegetable crops, check out the New England Vegetable Management Guide. And, as always feel free to reach out to us if you have any questions.
Cheers,
Vic, Scott, Ava, Katie, and the rest of the VEPART Team and Collaborators
| Pest | Crop | Observations |
| Spotted Wing Drosophila | Blueberries | Our monitoring traps are currently clear. |
| Colorado Potato Beetle | Potatoes | CPB populations are in full swing. Most populations are in the larval stage and are getting ready to begin pupating. |
| Spinach/Beet leaf miner | Spinach, Swiss Chard, Beets | We are getting reports of a potential second generation of leaf miner occurring in Vermont and other regions. |
| Mexican Bean Beetle | Beans | MBB is still relatively rare in the crops that we are monitoring! |
| Striped Cucumber Beetle | Squash/Cucumber | SCB is spiking in pockets. There are reports out of MA that SCB is really taking hold. We have seen some outbreaks in maxima varieties, but the pressure seems less than previous years. |
| Flea Beetle | solanums | We have recently seen outbreaks of solanaceous flea beetles in potatoes, but most of the brassica flea beetles are minor in there pressure at this point in the season. |
| Imported cabbage worms | Brassica crops | ICW damage is beginning to really pick up. We are seeing many furry green larvae and feeding damage in most brassicas. |
| Tarnished plant bug | Strawberries | Tarnished plant bugs are being found in relatively high numbers potato and chard. |
| Potato Leafhoppers | Alfalfa | We are still keepin gour fingers-crossed as no leafhopper outbreaks have not been reported thus far. We’ll keep reporting. |
| Leek Moth | Onions/Garlic | The second flight is slowing down, but we are still trickling of adult moths intor traps. |
| Squash vine borer | Winter and Summer Squash | Trap numbers are increasing. Monitoring your squashes is advisable. |
| Squash Bug | Winter and Summer Squash | There are some major outbreaks of squash bugs going on in all of the susceptible crops! |