News & Reports

Golden Pumpkin “Awarded” at Virtual Field Day    

Dr. Celeste Welty accepts the Golden Pumpkin Award.

Dr. Celeste Welty was awarded the highly treasured Golden Pumpkin Award at the 2020 Virtual Pumpkin Field Day on August 27th. This is Celeste’s last pumpkin field day in light of her expected retirement at the end of the year. This award recognizes her 33+ years of research and extension contributions not only the pumpkin growers of the state but also the small fruit and tree fruit growers. This award is on par with the Oscar, Emmy and Tony; certainly far above the pedestrian Golden Globe. If you care to wish Celeste well in her retirement, feel free to drop her a line at welty.1@osu.edu.

“Effects of the COVID-19 Outbreak on Specialty Crop Operations and Markets”

 

 

August 5, 2020

Dear Specialty Crop Grower,

I am writing to you today to request your assistance with a study about the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak on specialty crop operations and markets. Our purpose is to examine how different groups of stakeholders within specialty crops have been affected, and how different value chain channels were disrupted. For this study specialty crops are vegetables, potatoes, melons, fruit, nuts, berries, flowers, bedding crops, nursery crops, food crops grown under protection, propagative materials, and mushroom crops. Ultimately, the intentions of this study are to generate new knowledge that will guide future extension outreach activities, and to quantify the impact in terms of production losses and reduction in sales. This project is being led by researchers in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences at Ohio State University with internal support.

We realize that your time is valuable and hope you consider participating in this study. To show our appreciation we offer a $10 e-gift card to the first 200 eligible participants. Eligible participants are owners and/or leading operators of specialty crop businesses within the state of Ohio, who choose to inform name and email address at the end of the questionnaire. Participating in this study means sharing your personal experience while playing the role of a leading agribusiness owner/operator. The questionnaire is available through OSU Qualtrics by clicking this link. Qualtrics is a world-class service provider that offers a secure line for internet-based surveys. Numerous universities across the country use Qualtrics to distribute surveys and collect valuable research data. Ohio State, Cornell, Stanford, Notre Dame, Purdue, and University of Illinois are some of the universities using Qualtrics.

The questionnaire is also available in paper format. If you prefer to participate using a paper-based questionnaire, do not hesitate to contact me and I will send you a hard copy of the questionnaire. The envelope will include a consent form with additional details about this study, the questionnaire, and a prepaid return envelope. Please make sure to sign and return the consent form along with the filled questionnaire if you decide to take part in this study. You can contact me by email at signorini.2@osu.edu, by phone at (614) 292-3871, or by postal mail at 2001 Fyffe Rd., 225 Howlett Hall, Columbus, OH, 43210. If you have questions about this study, I will be most happy to answer.

Yours sincerely,
Guil Signorini, PhD – Assistant Professor / Research Scientist Department of Horticulture and Crop Science College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences, Ohio State University

 

You may also contact Gigi Neal, OSU Ag & Natural Resources Extension Educator, Clermont County at neal.331@osu.edu or 513-732-7070 or Brad Bergefurd, OSU Extension Horticulture Specialist, OSU South Centers at bergefurd.1@osu.edu or 740-289-3727.

Good and Bad Birds on the Farm

Do you have a bird problem on your farm?  Do you want to encourage beneficial birds as an IPM tool? If so, consider attending this free webinar.  Registration information below:

Webinar: Supporting Beneficial Birds and Managing Pest Birds

Supporting Beneficial Birds and Managing Pest Birds

Webinar: Tuesday, October 1 at 11AM Pacific, 12PM Mountain, 1PM Central, 2PM Eastern Time

Register in advance at https://oregonstate.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Yey2HdAZQ8S3CSKUuR8FIg

Join eOrganic for the first webinar of our fall season! The topic is Supporting Beneficial Birds and Managing Pest Birds, by Jo Ann Baumgartner of the Wild Farm Alliance, Sara Kross of Columbia University, and Sacha Heath of the Living Earth Collaborative.

Beneficial birds can help farmers keep pest insects, rodents, and pest birds at bay. They act the same way that beneficial insects do in helping with pest control. The overwhelming majority of songbirds are beneficial during nesting season because they feed pest insects to their voracious nestlings. Farmers may be able to reduce their pest-control costs by providing habitat for these beneficial birds and by only targeting detrimental birds at the right time and place. Wild Farm Alliance and two avian ecologists will present on: a) How birds’ diets, foraging strategies, and nesting periods affect the farm, b) How best to manage and co-exist with pest birds, c) Why on-farm habitat and the surrounding landscape influences pest control, and, d) What farmers can do to make farms more bird-friendly and resilient. With this webinar and the associated Supporting Beneficial Birds and Managing Pest Birds booklet, we aim to help all farmers and farm consultants make the most of birds on farms.

Responses to Pumpkin/Squash/Melon Grower Stress Survey

On July 5th I posted an article acknowledging the difficult spring and early summer planting conditions most Ohio growers faced, and asked to let us (OSU specialists and Extension educators) know what kind of issues you were experiencing. Once these issues were identified, I began researching possible solutions in order to help growers salvage as much of the season and market as possible. Attached at the end of the article is a PDF with my responses to your questions.

I wanted to thank the 36 growers farming just over 500 acres who took time to respond to the survey. In general, most growers were delayed 2-4 weeks but had a crop in the ground now. The biggest concern besides the ability the control the weather, was that OSU specialists continue to post current information about crop management, pest management, and markets. Several articles along those lines have recently been posted to the VegNet Newletter and we will continue to do so, but if there is a specific topic that has not been addressed, please reach out and contact that specialist directly. Below is a list of OSU specialists and Extension educators with their contact information.

Best of luck to you for better weather this summer and a fair harvest this fall.

Specialist                    Area                            Contact

Doug Doohan              Weeds                        doohan.1@osu.edu

Celeste Welty              Insects                         welty.1@osu.edu

Sally Miller                  Diseases                      miller.769@osu.edu

Jim Jasinski                   IPM/Insects                  jasinski.4@osu.edu

Brad Bergefurd             Horticulture                  bergefurd.1@osu.edu

Matt Kleinhenz             Horticulture                  kleinhenz.1@osu.edu

Steve Culman                Fertility                         culman.2@osu.edu

In case you are not aware, we are having a Pumpkin Field Day on Aug. 22 at the Western Ag Research Station. Read more about it here https://u.osu.edu/vegnetnews/2019/07/25/pumpkin-field-day/

Response to Cucurbit Growers Early to Mid Season

 

More and Better Tools to Help Respond Effectively to Weather-related Challenges

A vegetable farmer pointed out to me recently that “rain” is a four-letter word and that like other ones, he likes rain to fall in just the right amount and at just the right time. Well, although we can’t control when, where, or how much rain will fall, many people in agriculture and the area known as climate services are working to develop reliable forecasts of and effective responses to current and future weather.

Shared commitments to that goal were evident throughout the recent Climate Services Summit (https://climate.osu.edu/news/byrd-center-hosts-ohio-climate-services-summit) coordinated by the State Climate Office of Ohio based at The OSU (https://climate.osu.edu/). Just as important, steps to providing farmers and others with better decision-aids also became clearer through discussions at the program. Ohio State University Extension contributes to the process – for example, see resources, programs, and input offered by Aaron Wilson, Jason Cervenec, and John Fulton – and addressing weather-related challenges and needs of vegetable growers will be important going forward. These were summarized well in two recent reports (https://www.climatehubs.oce.usda.gov/archive/sites/default/files/Midwest_Climate_And_Specialty_Crops_2015_508.pdf and https://store.extension.iastate.edu/product/15448) but more input is always welcome.

Throughout much of this field planting season, many have needed to scramble, improvise, and work round the clock to get work done as weather, soil, labor, and other conditions allowed. It seems that most have experienced the dark side of their share of passing fronts, with few farms experiencing clear skies and calm winds for extended periods. Overall, this seems consistent with information in http://glisa.umich.edu/media/files/GLISA%202%20Pager%202019.pdf (GLISA also participated in the recent Summit). Field and high tunnel plantings have been affected in their own ways by recent conditions, although it is fair to say that most high tunnel plantings were able to remain on schedule, an important early step toward a successful season. Ideally, we will soon see that high tunnels are just one of many key tools available to help maintain and enhance vegetable production amidst changing and increasingly extreme conditions.

Growers and Researchers continue to Study Grafted Vegetable Plants

In Ohio, full-time study of grafted vegetable plants as products (i.e., sources of income) and production tools began more than ten years ago. Much has been learned and the popularity of grafted plants continues to trend upward. However, growers and researchers continue to ask many large, detailed, and tough questions about the roles of grafted plants in commercial production going forward. “Do grafted plants pay?” may be the most often asked and significant question. This brief article cannot address that question definitively for all readers due to the specific circumstances of each farm, field, crop, planting, season, etc. However, peoples’ collective understanding of the pros and cons of using grafted plants and of conditions leading to a good return on investment after using them is improving. As it does, success with grafted plants improves and their use increases. Regardless, additional research is needed. The three panels below briefly summarize a portion of the vegetable grafting research underway in Ohio in 2019. Please contact us if you would like to learn more about this work and stay tuned to VegNet and other outlets for updates.

Matt Kleinhenz, ph. 330.263.3810, email kleinhenz.1@osu.edu

Cucumber Downy Mildew – First Ohio Report for 2018

Cucumber downy mildew – early 

This has been a very unusual year for cucurbit downy mildew. The disease usually appears on cucumbers like clockwork on or around July 4 in one of the northern Ohio counties, but this year we found it for the first time only yesterday, August 10, in Huron County – with just two mature lesions in one of our cucumber research plots on the OSU OARDC Muck Crops Experiment Station in Celeryville. We have been expecting it due to reports in MI, IN, PA, and Kentucky during the last few weeks.

Bacterial spot of pumpkin

We have been receiving many samples of cucurbits suspected of downy mildew during the past month, including cucumbers, squash and pumpkins, but nearly all of these had bacterial spot or angular leaf spot.  While we expect that these bacterial diseases will continue to be a problem, growers and scouts should be on the lookout for downy mildew in all cucurbit types.  Symptoms caused by bacterial diseases, Alternaria and sometimes anthracnose can look like downy mildew.  If you are unsure, send a sample to the OSU Vegetable Pathology Lab in Wooster for confirmation. There is no fee for Ohio residents. You can also text or email photos – please be sure the images are sharp, as close up as possible, and include both the upper an lower side of the leaf – to me at 330-466-5249 or miller.769@osu.edu.  We can’t always diagnose from photos but they can be a good place to start.

Most growers have been protecting cucurbits for the last few weeks with a protectant fungicide such as chlorothalanil (Bravo, Echo, Equus, Initiate versions), which will also help manage anthracnose and Alternaria leaf spot.  At this late date and with confirmed cases in Ohio and our surrounding states, growers should consider including additional fungicides in their spray programs.  The chart below shows our 2017 bioassay results for fungicide efficacy against downy mildew. Always rotate fungicides with different modes of action and follow label instructions. Remember that Orondis Opti applications are restricted to 1/3 of the total fungicide applications. Under highly conducive environmental conditions, apply fungicides on a 5-7 day schedule.  When the risk is lower due to hot, dry, sunny weather, or downy mildew has not been reported in the area, the schedule may be stretched to 7-10 days.

Information on fungicides for vegetables, including Fungicide Resistance Action Committee (FRAC) code and greenhouse use can be found in a table beginning on page 79 of the 2018 Midwest Vegetable Production Guide for Commercial Growers. Pre-harvest intervals are shown for each crop/fungicide combination throughout the guide.

Options for organic cucurbit production are limited.  Many organic-approved products include cucurbit downy mildew on their labels, but most are not very effective or ineffective.  A copper-based fungicide such as Champ usually is the most effective in research trials, but generally control is not complete. These products must be applied preventatively, before the downy mildew pathogen infects the plants. Cultivars with some resistance to downy mildew should be used. Dr. Meg McGrath of Cornell University has summarized recent research throughout the US on organic-approved products for control of downy mildew and other diseases of vegetable and herb crops.

 

Current Insect Concerns

As the earliest sweet corn plantings are in or approaching the silking stage, be aware that the corn earworm is present at some locations, as detected by pheromone traps that attract the adult moth. Although the number of moths beings caught is low, these small populations can concentrate on the few patches of early sweet corn, and can cause significant damage. Once the large acreage of field corn begins to silk, then the pest population will be spread out over a much larger area and the pest pressure on sweet corn is usually reduced. Trap counts can be found at this website: http://u.osu.edu/pestmanagement/

Some vegetable growers are concerned about thrips invading their crops if strawberries are nearby because some strawberry farms had severe problems with thrips this year. The thrips that infests strawberries is the eastern flower thrips. This thrips does not show up every year in the midwestern USA but can arrive in large numbers in the spring by being blown in on weather fronts that move from the southern USA. Thrips are known as an occasional pest of tomatoes. They are not known to damage bell peppers or sweet corn or melons, but there are reports of them currently being found in flowers of these crops.

Pests that seem to be currently showing typical activity are squash vine borer, which has been active for the past 3 weeks, and which will be infesting squash, pumpkins, and gourds. Black cutworm moths have been detected at higher than usual density during the past 2 weeks when the weather has been hot, and can be a concern in potato, radish, and other root crops. Populations of the variegated cutworm have also increased greatly in the past week. The adult of true armyworm has been detected at much higher than usual numbers in traps for the past 2 weeks but no reports have been received of it damaging sweet corn or other grassy crops. Japanese beetles are being seen in sweet corn and in various shade trees during the past week.

SWD and BMSB monitoring updates (by Jim Jasinski & Celeste Welty)

The OSU IPM Program and Department of Entomology faculty have been working together to set up an expanded statewide monitoring network for both Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB) and Spotted Wing Drosophila (SWD), especially in those counties that have not yet positively found and identified these two new pests.

The BMSB network has been up and running at several sites since mid May.  The clear sticky traps (picture below) are baited with two lures and placed along wooded edges of crop fields, a place where the stink bugs are active before invading a field. To date, 25 of the 38 sites have reported catching at least one BMSB at their location, 3 sites have reported zero catch of BMSB, and no reports are yet posted for 10 sites.  The levels of infestation are fairly low at all sites but are likely to increase as the crops develop. We will keep you informed if there are changes. Take a look at the trap counts, by county,  here. Until this past week, only adult BMSB were being found on traps and in crops, but now we are finding young nymphs as well as adults. BMSB have been found in bell peppers, sweet corn, and peaches in Columbus this past week.

The SWD network has been up and running at most sites since the first week of June. Scentry jar traps (picture below) baited with Scentry lures and with diluted apple cider vinegar as the drowning solution are used at all sites, in plantings of raspberry, blackberry, blueberry, peach, and strawberry. Typically two traps are placed per field, one at the edge and one in the interior of the field. To date, 16 sites have reported on their catch, showing that SWD has been detected at 4 sites (Clinton, Franklin, Greene, and Wayne Counties), and zero SWD at 12 sites. An additional 10 sites have not yet reported their results. Although it is still early in the growing season, this is a lower incidence level compared to this time of the season in the past few years.  We’ll continue to update this blog as the SWD population builds. Take a look at the trap totals here.

Hopeful news about stink bug biocontrol

The news about the brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) has generally been bad over the past few years, as this new invasive pest has continued to expand its range within the USA, causing increasing problems as a pest of fruit, vegetable, and field crops. We know that our native natural enemies have not been able to provide much biological control of BMSB, but there has been hope about potential biological control of BMSB by a tiny wasp that parasitized BMSB eggs in China. The wasp is Trissolcus japonicus, nicknamed the samurai wasp.

USDA entomologists at Newark, Delaware, have been conducting intensive studies of the samurai wasp over the past 10 years with the hope that it could be introduced into the USA for control of BMSB, but thus far its introduction has not been approved. However a significant event occurred in 2014, when the samurai wasp was detected outdoors in Maryland, where it apparently showed up on its own, probably via a parasitized BMSB egg mass present in cargo shipped from Asia. In 2015, the samurai wasp was also detected in Virginia, Delaware, and Washington State. In 2016, it was detected in New Jersey, New York, and Oregon. In 2017, it was detected in Pennsylvania. Once an exotic species like this has been detected, it can be studied and intentionally spread within any State, but it is not allowed to be transported across State lines.

In Ohio, as part of our involvement in a multi-State project on BMSB management, we surveyed for the possible presence of the samurai wasp within Ohio in 2017. To do this, we collected fresh egg masses from our lab colony of BMSB; we deployed the egg masses in the field by clipping them to the underside of leaves, mostly on plants in wooded edges adjacent to fruit and vegetable crops. The egg masses were left outside for 3 days, then brought back to the lab where we observed whether they eventually hatched into stink bugs or if they were parasitized. We deployed 544 egg masses between May and September at several Ohio locations. Over the winter, we have been working our way through these samples, and identifying wasps that emerged from parasitized eggs. This past week, we found that wasps that emerged from two egg masses were identified as the samurai wasp. The two egg masses were deployed in Columbus in early August 2017. This finding that the samurai wasp has spread to Ohio is quite exciting. We plan to do additional surveys in 2018 to determine whether it is present at additional locations within Ohio.

 

by Celeste Welty, Extension Entomologist