Month: August 2022

What’s that on my cucurbit?

As noted by Sally Miller last week, bacterial wilt and yellow vine decline are being found in cucurbit fields across the state. There are two primary insects responsible for these outbreaks, the Striped cucumber beetle (Acalymma vittatum) and squash bug (Anasa tristis). I was just scouting some of my pumpkins this past week and counted 20 beetles in one flower! But sometimes looks can be deceiving as we can encounter as many as 4 different types of beetles in our cucurbit fields. It’s important to know what’s in your cucurbit since it could be the difference between making an insecticide application (or not). Below, I have included an image of different beetle species you may encounter in your cucurbit fields. As a reminder, we generally want to make an insecticide application when the striped cucumber beetle density exceeds 1 beetle/plant in a field. If you want information about specific products, check out my former post here.

Squash bugs are arguably easier to scout for since there aren’t many other insects that resemble them. However, we need to keep track of different squash bug life stages (shown below). Squash bug eggs are fairly diagnostic with a bright amber coloring. They are typically found along the midribs on the undersides of leaves. Those egg masses eventually give rise to nymphs which are powdery blue. Adults have a flattened appearance and are typically brown with alternating white and orange spots along their abdomen. Insecticide applications are warranted when squash bugs exceed a cumulative threshold of 1 egg mass, nymph or adult bug/ plant in a field.

Basil Downy Mildew Observed in Wayne County, Ohio

Downy mildew on basil

Downy mildew was spotted in a garden in Wooster, Wayne County, Ohio and confirmed by Dr. Francesca Rotondo, interim director of the OSU Plant and Pest Diagnostic Clinic. This is the first report in Ohio this summer but it has likely been here for a few weeks. The pathogen, Peronospora belbahrii, is related to but different from the cucurbit downy mildew (CDM) pathogen, Pseudoperonospora cubensis. These pathogens don’t cross-infect hosts: P. belbahrii does not infect cucurbits and P. cubensis does not infect basil. However, their biology is similar; they are both obligate parasites that require living plant tissues to survive. They disappear from the outdoor environment in northern areas during the winter and are introduced the following spring or summer from infected plant material or via spores carried on wind currents and rain. Cucurbits or basil grown over the winter in greenhouses can be a source of inoculum. Last year we found basil plants with severe downy mildew symptoms in a big box store in Wooster. We tend to begin

Light microscope image of sporangia of the downy mildew pathogen Peronospora belbahrii. Image by Francesca Rotondo.

seeing basil downy mildew in Ohio in July or August. Rainy, cloudy weather favors spore (sporangia) transport and infection; the sporangia are sensitive to UV light and tend to be killed by sunshine.

Management of basil downy mildew, like CDM, is entirely preventative. There are resistant varieties and a number of fungicides and biologicals are available for conventional and organic production systems.  Fungicides and biologicals are only effective if applied before infection. Home gardeners should keep an eye on their basil plants and harvest non-diseased leaves as soon as downy mildew is observed. More specifics can be found in last year’s July 17 post.

Cucumber Downy Mildew Now in Sandusky County, Ohio

Cucumber downy mildew in a sentinel plot at OSU NCARS, Sandusky County. Photo by our intern Raven Schaffter.

Northern Ohio counties are falling like dominoes to cucumber downy mildew. The disease was detected today in our sentinel plot on the OSU North Central Agricultural Experiment Station in Fremont, Sandusky County. This is the sixth county in northern Ohio for which we have confirmed reports of cucumber downy mildew. Management information can be found in yesterday’s post and previous posts on this site.

Cucumber Downy Mildew Now in Huron County, Ohio

Confirmed reports of cucurbit downy mildew. https://cdm.ipmpipe.org

Downy mildew developed in a commercial fresh market cucumber field in Huron County this past weekend. That makes five counties in northern Ohio with confirmed reports of downy mildew, all on cucumbers. It is likely that downy mildew is widely distributed in cucumbers in northern Ohio, but we are not always alerted to its appearance. Since our first report of downy mildew on cucumbers in Wayne County on July 13, it has been reported in several other fields, including one of our research plots in Wooster. So far there are no confirmed reports of downy mildew on melons, pumpkins, squash or other cucurbits in Ohio.

Downy mildew must be managed preventatively with resistant varieties (there are a few, see chart below) and more commonly with fungicides. In our experience, fungicides applied after infection are significantly less effective than the same ones applied before infection. Cucumber and melon growers in northern Ohio should be applying effective fungicides  on a 5-7 day schedule depending on the label requirements. Growers elsewhere in the state should be applying protectants such as chlorothalanil, e.g. Bravo, to all cucurbits. This will also help prevent other diseases such as Alternaria leaf spot and gummy stem blight. More details and a fungicide efficacy table can be found here.