Striped cucumber beetle adult.

Mating squash bugs.

While most of us have a long holiday weekend, it’s late May which means early season cucurbit pests like striped cucumber beetles and squash bugs will soon exit their overwintering sites and head to crop fields. Based on our biweekly fruit and vegetable conference calls, neither of these pests have been reported but growers should remain vigilant.

As growers begin to plan for direct seeding or transplanting melons, pumpkin, squash, cucumbers and squash, recall that early planted fields will likely be infested soon after emergence or when placed in the field. For growers who purchased seed treated with FarMoreFI400, striped cucumber beetle populations should be controlled for 2-3 weeks. After this period if scouting reveals beetles in excess of plant stage threshold, foliar treatments are an option.  For growers who did not purchase systemic insecticide treated seed, remember to scout plants frequently in multiple parts of the field, edge and interior, and if the damage exceeds the following thresholds (see below), consider treating with a foliar insecticide to knock these pests down. Foliar insecticide options can be found here:

Striped Cucumber Beetle – https://mwveguide.org/results/crop/586/pests/474

Squash Bugs – https://mwveguide.org/results/crop/586/pests/501

Characteristic striped cucumber beetle feeding. FarMoreFI400 should prevent significant feeding and therefore limit bacterial wilt spread.

Systemic Insecticide Use Considerations
Seed treatments containing thiamethoxam (FarMore FI400, Cruiser) offer maximum protection against cucumber beetles and other pests for about 2 to 3 weeks after seedling emergence. Seed treatments offer little protection to transplanted crops. For transplants and direct-seeded plants over 3 weeks old, the concentration of insecticide from seed treatment is no longer strong enough to kill beetles but can still harm bees due to sublethal doses in the pollen and nectar. Treated seed should never be used in combination with at-plant soil drenches with imidacloprid (Admire or generics), or thiamethoxam (Platinum). At-plant soil drenches used alone, with non-treated seed, offer similar protection to treated seed for beetle control. Due to increased residues in nectar and pollen, in-furrow applications should be considered last and applied at the lowest recommended rate that provides control. Non-systemic foliar applications of insecticides can be used to control cucumber beetles if seed or in-furrow treatments were not used, or were ineffective. Once flowers are present, applications should be made in the evening when flowers are closed and bees are not actively foraging, which minimizes the risk to pollinators.

Thresholds range from 0.5 to 1 beetle per seedling, and 1 to 5 beetles per plant for plants after 4 leaf stage. The threshold for cantaloupe melons and cucumber is lower because these crops are susceptible to bacterial wilt, which is vectored by cucumber beetles. Pumpkin, squash, and watermelon have higher thresholds because these crops are less susceptible to bacterial wilt, but beetle feeding can occur on the fruit rind by both adult and larvae, causing marketable loss. Beetles found in pumpkin or squash flowers do not pose a risk to the plant but as flowering decreases, rind feeding may increase.

Thresholds for squash bugs are one egg mass or adult per plant.

Pumpkin playlist on OSU IPM Video Library.

OSU IPM Video Library
Not sure how to identify striped or spotted cucumber beetle? Can’t remember what squash bug nymphs, egg masses or adults look like? Take a few minutes to peruse the OSU IPM Video Library where these resources are housed to help growers identify and manage all key cucurbit pests including squash vine borer.

Videos on weed control, disease control (powdery mildew, plectosporium) and hybrid selection are also in this playlist collection.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0HRPaZDLHyH64oVLKdX5icKQFzqQ5nCA

NEW Pumpkin Resource Guide

Cover shot of new pumpkin guide

If you haven’t seen this announcement, a team from OSU, MSU and Cornell University developed a new 72-page guide, “A Modern Approach to Crop and Pest Management in Pumpkin – ANR 806”. This guide highlights modern IPM practices such as mechanical weed control, cover crops, pollinator protection and negative impacts of certain pesticide mixtures. Basic topics like weed, insect and disease management are also covered, as well as the benefits of natural enemies and a pumpkin enterprise budget to measure overall profitability. In addition to colorful images and layman’s text to explain each topic, QR codes are sprinkled throughout the guide to provide deeper dives on most topics via factsheets, bulletins, websites and videos from specialists around the country.

Copies of the guide can be ordered and purchased at your local Extension county office or online at OSU Extension Publishing (https://extensionpubs.osu.edu/a-modern-approach-to-crop-and-pest-management-in-pumpkin/).

Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) refers to the cultivation of crops within enclosed structures—such as greenhouses, vertical farms, or growth chambers—that allow for complete or partial control over environmental conditions. This approach is designed to create near-optimal growing environments by precisely managing key growth parameters, including light intensity and duration, nutrient delivery, carbon dioxide levels, temperature, and humidity. By controlling these variables, CEA systems can enhance crop yield, quality, and consistency, while reducing exposure to pests and environmental stressors. As a result, many specialty crop growers increasingly rely on CEA technologies to improve productivity and sustainability in their operations.

If you are thinking about growing crops using CEA or just want to learn more about CEA a new fact sheet  describing CEA including the types of structures and technology, substrates used to grow crops, and production systems is now published on Ohioline – https://ohioline.osu.edu/factsheet/hyg-5819

Editor- Pressley Buurma, Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator, Seneca County. Contributions made by team members around the state of Ohio.  

May 16, 2025 

As our planting and growing season continues, many producers are facing a battle with mother nature as the persistent rains and storms are plaguing parts of Ohio. Reports of hail and storm damage, washed out fields, and damage from late frosts are most concerning for producers around Eastern and Southern Ohio. If you are interested in learning more about rescue treatments for your damaged crop, contact one of our team members today! 

For many vegetable producers who were able to get an early start to the season, have since been in limbo waiting for the rain to hold off and fields to dry up. Many backyard producers were able to get their gardens planted and their crops are growing nicely. Their main hurdle is wildlife damage to their plants. The presence of wildlife can be an ever-growing problem in Ohioans’ gardens and are seen to be an exceptional nuisance as the season progresses.  

Based on where an orchard is located in Ohio, we are seeing varied reports on the status of the 2025 peach crop due to winter damage. Some orchards may have a normal year with little winter effect while others will have very few peaches, if any this year. The reports coming out of apple orchards are generally positive with the exception of an increase in oriental fruit moths, which have been seen in traps in northern Ohio. Overall, with the wetter conditions, our high tunnel and greenhouse growers are seeing stable production and looking forward to a good growing year.  

Editor- Frank Becker, Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator, Wayne County. Contributions made from team members around the state of Ohio. 

May 2, 2025

The primary growing season is getting underway as we find ourselves consistently seeing temperatures more conducive to getting crops in the ground. While there are areas of the state seeing some delays due to consistent rains and saturated soils, many producers are still seeing good opportunities to get some ground worked and spring planting operations started. So far, early reports indicate that field vegetables such as onions, potatoes and peas are the primary focus of planting activities. Other vegetable production progress has been ongoing in high tunnels where tomatoes, cucumbers and other high tunnel crops have been growing for some time now and are likely nearing early stages of production.  

State reports from orchards show steady progress in the peach and apple orchards. Southern Ohio orchards are trending about 2 weeks ahead of those in northern Ohio, which is as to be expected. Overall, with the winter and spring that we experienced, development progress is about 10-14 days behind where we were at this time last year. Of note, there are mixed reports on the status of the Ohio peach crop for 2025. Depending on where the orchard is situated geographically and topographically, it led to some varying levels of winter damage in the peach crop. While some orchards may appear to have a near normal crop, others are going to have very few peaches, if any this year. Apples trees have fared far better, with some light loses in early blooming varieties and king blossoms in some of the later blooming varieties. Overall, reports on apple orchards have come in as generally positive.  

• An introduction to pawpaw by Dan Lima
• Best practices for spraying in the orchard and vineyard by Erdal Ozkan
• Managing moths in the apple orchard by Ashley Leach
• Update on federal funding to NCCR and NEWA by Melanie Ivey

To subscribe to Ohio Fruit News contact Melanie Lewis Ivey,  Department of Plant Pathology (ivey.14@osu.edu or 330-263-3849).  The newsletter is sent by email.  If you have limited or no access to the internet, a copy can be mailed to you through the U.S. Postal Service.  You can also request a copy from your county Extension office.