Latest News
Potato leafhoppers cause varying levels of damage to small fruit crops in different years, and this year we are seeing a fair amount of leafhopper damage to both strawberries and raspberries.
Penn State Extension and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) are hosting three Mock Farm Food Safety Audits. These events, to be held on working farms, are designed to help small-scale produce farmers gain a better understanding of what to expect from a third party Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) audit.
Capital Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) Area Council is sponsoring a high tunnel production workshop at the Penn State Horticulture Research Center, Rock Springs, Pennsylvania, on Thursday, September 6th, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Seed-bank, that is. The weed seed-bank. Right now, across Pennsylvania, huge deposits of weed seed are being accepted by soil. Stop it now and this will pay dividends later.
Yesterday, downy mildew was confirmed on cantaloupe in our downy mildew sentinel plot in Lancaster Co.
Early blight is showing up in commercial tomato fields as well as in home gardens.
Phytophthora capsici causes a wide array of diseases ranging from seedling damping-off, leaf spots, foliar blight, root and crown rot, stem lesions to fruit rot on numerous vegetables including pepper, tomato, eggplant and most cucurbits.
In the past week or so late blight has been confirmed in three additional counties in Pennsylvania.
Downy mildew is widespread on cucumbers across Pennsylvania.
Sweet Corn Growers… I have seen my corn ear worm trap numbers climb in the past 3 nights, averaging about 12 a night. That suggests a 4 day spray interval.
For organic late blight management there are two important things to re-member. The first is you cannot “cure” late blight. The other is scout frequently.
The growing season is not over yet and neither is late blight!
In-season cucurbit powdery mildew management is most effective when initiated early (one powdery mildew colony per 50 leaves).
In this past week, additional outbreaks of downy mildew on cucumber have been reported in Mifflin, Union and Lancaster Counties. It is also suspected in Snyder and Montgomery Counties.
With much of the region in drought, there is some concern about the success in trying to control certain weeds under these dry conditions.
Hot dry weather has been favorable for mite outbreaks. Generation turnover increases dramatically.
Welcome to PestWatch, on June 27, 2012. Mapped output is at < www.pestwatch.psu.edu >.
Farmers and ranchers perform job responsibilities in all types of weather conditions including excessive heat and humidity. It is important for agricultural producers to understand risks associated with working in high heat work environments, potential heat-related illnesses, precautionary steps, and appropriate medical responses.
