Hi all,
First off, our team would like to express our support for the farming community during this challenging time. It’s disheartening to find ourselves conveying similar sentiments year after year, but here we are doing exactly that. If there’s any way we can assist with your recovery efforts, please don’t hesitate to reach out. We have a dedicated team ready to lend a hand. Also, I want to acknowledge that due to some extenuating circumstances on our team, we were unable to get out the scouting reports the last couple of weeks, but we are now at full strength and out in the field again
With the consistent precipitation, we are seeing a lot of leaf diseases, which is no surprise. Some important updates regarding vegetable diseases in the region include:
Cucurbit downy mildew (CDM) has been reported in the Finger Lakes region and Hudson Valley of New York. While we haven’t detected it at our farms yet, given the recent storm systems, it may already be present in the region. This fungal-like organism does not overwinter here but arrives with storm fronts from the south. It often devastates late cucumber plantings in Vermont, appearing either later in the season or during active storm periods. CDM exclusively affects cucurbit plants, typically starting on older leaves and spreading to younger ones as the infection progresses. As symptoms worsen (via sporulation), the lower leaf surface develops a light grayish-purple “downy” appearance. Lesions can merge, leading to extensive tissue death and exposing fruit to sunscald. Severe infections can cause significant defoliation. Opting for resistant cultivars is the best defense, though conventional fungicides are effective. More information and images are available here: https://ag.umass.edu/vegetable/fact-sheets/cucurbits-downy-mildew
Basil Downy Mildew (BDM) has been reported in Massachusetts. As a reminder, BDM is a pathogen that blows in from the south each year and once established in a field is very hard to manage. It really becomes a situation of damage control – getting rid of any diseased plants in the hopes of saving healthy plants. The reality is, once an outbreak takes hold, there is not much can be done other than the removal of diseased material. Also, a reminder that the Ag Pest Monitoring Site for basil is a great resource for identifying, reporting, and managing BDM.
Angular leaf spot in cucurbits is also being found in the region. ALS is a bacterial disease that typically shows up earlier in the season because it is seedborne. Because of the many leaf spot diseases in cucurbits, it can sometimes be hard to diagnose even from visual inspections and photos. It is best to send in a sample to the plant diagnostic clinic if you want to be sure.
Some insect pest updates are:
Leek moth adults are still flying, but the trap numbers are declining. As this most recent flight wanes, we are seeing substantial damage in onion leaves and leeks. 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 in onions (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. Though we have also seen some “blind heads” of broccoli, where swede midge larvae have fed extensively on the growing tip leading to the complete loss of a viable broccoli head.
It is shaping up to be an active year for spotted wing drosophila (SWD), especially in comparison to last year. The higher humidity and precipitation is providing ideal conditions for large outbreaks. We are finding SWD on all of the farms that we are monitoring and we are seeing some berries with SWD damage. Over the next couple of weeks we will be actively evaluating collected berries to determine actual pressure from larvae within berries.
We are also receiving a lot of emails from growers with reports of high numbers of Oriental, Japanese, and Asiatic beetles. Typically, scarab beetles are more of an issue in turfgrass and ornamentals, but sometimes can be an issue in herbs or waxy-leaf plants. Japanese beetles can be a bit of a pain in edamame too! Most issues from grubs of scarabs occur outside of veggie fields or fields that have recently been under grass cover crops or sod but big outbreaks in root crops can occur. There is limited evidence that entomopathogenic nematodes and/or fungi can be an effective control.
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,
VEPART Team
| Pest | Crop | Observations |
| Colorado Potato Beetle | Potatoes, Solanums | Most populations are beginning to pupate in the soil, though we are seeing some 4th instars. |
| Squash Bug | Cucurbits | Adults and Nymphs are prevalent |
| Striped Cucumber Beetle | Squash, Cucumbers | Quite variable from plant to plant and farm to farm, but where there are outbreaks they seem to be rather concerning. Seeing the first incidence of bacterial wilt in the region. |
| Flea Beetle | Kale, Collards, Cabbage | Not much of a problem at this stage. |
| Cabbage worms | Kale | Seeing a lot of diamondback moth caterpillars and imported cabbage worm larvae. |
| Potato Leafhoppers | Potatoes, Beans | Still seeing high pressure of adult leafhoppers in potato fields. Leaf burn is extensive in various crops |
| Tarnished plant bug | Strawberries, potatoes | Tarnished plant bugs are being found in relatively high numbers in strawberries and potatoes |
| Leek Moth | Onions/Garlic | The second flight is waning and larval damage is extensive in all plantings. |
| Squash vine borer | Winter and Summer Squash | Seeing relatively high pressure in fields. Sometimes is hard to know if it is bacterial wilt or SVB |
| Mexican Bean Beetle | Beans | Seeing larvae, adults and damage. Not extensive but some small outbreaks |
| Onion Thrips | Onions | Damage is really starting to show in all of our onion plantings. |