No matter if you have been growing pumpkins for over a decade or new to the crop, there will be something interesting to ponder at the Pumpkin Field Day on Aug. 23rdfrom 6-8 pm at the Western Ag Research Station in South Charleston. The station is located at 7721 South Charleston Pike, South Charleston, 45368.
New this year will be a presentation and demonstration of cover crops used in conjunction with pumpkin production by Extension educator Alan Sundermeier. When it comes to weed biology and control, Brian Reeb from Horticulture and Crop Science will be on hand to help growers minimize weed issues.
In the later half of the growing season, plant and fruit diseases figure prominently into crop management. Dr. Claudio Vrisman of Plant Pathology will be at the field day to discuss and diagnose common diseases of pumpkins, such as powdery mildew, downy mildew, plectosporium and others.
To round out the field day, IPM Program coordinator Jim Jasinski will talk briefly about two powdery mildew fungicide trials at the station, and then allow growers to walk through the trials to evaluate disease control. Growers will also be afforded an opportunity to walk through the 27 pumpkin and squash hybrid trial where current and new hybrids can be seen and evaluated for size and color first hand.
Wagons will take attendees out to the field where the trialsare being conducted, and light refreshments will be provided.
Registration for the field day is required by Aug. 20th; please visit this site surveymonkey.com/r/pumpkinreg18 and let us know you plan to be there. If you can’t register online, call 937-462-8016 and leave a message.
There is a $5 fee for attending which will be collected prior to the event at the research station. We welcome you on site to check in at 5:30pm and then officially start the field day promptly at 6pm. Looking forward to seeing you there! For more information, contact Jim Jasinski, jasinski.4@osu.edu.
