Reports of cucurbit downy mildew as of July 21, 2022. cdm.ipmpipe.org
A new report came in this week of cucumber downy mildew in Fulton County, as well as another report from Medina County, this time from a different farm in the Homerville area. Downy mildew is favored by cooler conditions so despite many hot days, nights were cool enough for the pathogen to get a foothold in northern Ohio. In addition, we have seen a number of storms across the area; spores of the pathogen travel by air and clouds protect them from UV light, while rain drops them to earth.
Cucumber and melon growers in northern Ohio should scout fields for downy mildew and apply appropriate fungicides on a 7-10 day schedule, depending on the fungicide. See this post for fungicide recommendations.
Many thanks to Bill Holdsworth and Frank Becker for reporting these outbreaks.