The Rutgers Vegetable IPM Program has released a new IPM update. Let's have a look at the pests and pathogens of the most beloved horti crops.
Peppers
The Rutgers Vegetable IPM Program has a limited number of pepper weevil (PW) trap kits that can be made available to commercial growers in the counties of Atlantic, Camden, Cumberland, and Salem. These kits include lures, sticky cards, and mounting equipment. Growers will deploy and check their own traps.
Tomatoes
Two-spotted spider mites (TSSM) are being found in a few tomato-high tunnels at this time. This is fairly common in the dry conditions inside the tunnels. Initial, low-level infestations result in a mite "stipple" on the upper leaf surface (see photo at right). In these cases, several mites may be found on the lower leaf surface. With hot, dry conditions and no control applied, mites multiply rapidly. A large population will create webbing that can cover entire plant leaves and branches (see photo below). Large populations can become quite difficult to manage, so treatment should be applied upon finding a mite infestation at any level. This can limit future problems with this pest.
Cucurbit Downy Mildew
Cucurbit downy mildew was detected on cucumbers in Atlantic County last week (see Dr. Wyenandt's cucurbit downy mildew alert of 6/13/23. All cucumber and cantaloupe plantings should be protected at this time. Useful materials for CDM may be found in the Cucumber Section of the 2022/23 Commercial Vegetable Production Recommendations. A sentinel plot is now established at Snyder Farm in Hunterdon County. This plot, consisting of pumpkin, watermelon, cantaloupe, butternut, acorn, cucumber, and kabocha squash, will be used to indicate the presence of cucurbit downy mildew in the region and what crops are affected. For regional information on this important disease, see the Cucurbit Downy Mildew webpage: http://cdm.ipmpipe.org/. Note that the forecast component of this site is not active this season. However, reports of CDM can still be reported on the site and will appear on the homepage map down to the county level, with associated host information. As of 6/21/23, no new CDM events were reported on the site. With rain forecast for the latter half of this week, growers should maintain protective programs on cucumbers and cantaloupes.
Source: plant-pest-advisory.rutgers.edu
