FINAL SCOUTING REPORT FOR 2015

General Comments: It is very dry, no rain again this past week.  Scouts are noting signs of moisture stress across fruit, vegetable and agronomic crops.

Fruit:

Some early apple varieties are being harvested. This past week codling moth trap numbers have declined slightly but growers could still see damage from codling moth larvae on later maturing apple varieties. Other insect pests noted on scouting reports this last week of scouting include green apple aphids and European red mites. As apple varieties near harvest, growers need to be vigilant about reading labels and watching pre-harvest intervals if they need to treat for codling moths or any other insect pest.  Disease-wise, most growers have done an excellent job of keeping up and maintaining fungicide spray programs and scouts are noting very little disease.  There have been a few apples with some fly speck and some apples with white rot symptoms. (See picture below of harvesting apples)

Oriental fruit moth trap captures remained high again this past week in pheromone traps. Growers need to be on a regular spray advisory to prevent damage from OFM larvae, but need to watch labels for pre-harvest intervals as many peaches are currently being harvested.  Once again this past week we had spotted wing drosophila (SWD) captures from traps in peaches. One trap had more than 20 SWD.

In small fruit, spotted wing drosophila (SWD) trap capture numbers have been increasing in control traps placed near wild fruit that is not being treated with insecticides.   These traps have captured more than 400 SWD this past week.  Some raspberry and grape traps also contained some very high numbers of SWD this past week.  Growers need to remain diligent in maintaining a consistent spray program and in making sure that coverage is from the top to the

bottom of the plants and penetrating into the canopy of the plants.

Photo Courtesy Art Sigler

Vegetables:

Lack of rainfall is causing a lot of moisture stress, especially in larger fields without irrigation or in any smaller plantings without irrigation.

Tomatoes are being harvested.  Scouts continue to see septoria leaf spot, and early blight in both field and high tunnel production.  Due to the dry weather, blossom end rot is being seen more frequently by scouts in field grown tomatoes.  In high tunnel production leaf mold continues on some farms and late blight is showing up in a few high tunnels as well along with powdery mildew.  Scouts continued to find tomatoes with stink bug stings in both field and high tunnel production tomatoes.  Aphids are being seen in some high tunnels as well.  This past week 2-spotted spider mites at treatment threshold levels were found in some high tunnel tomatoes.

Cole crops planted for fall harvest continue to have pressure from imported cabbage worm with many plantings above treatment threshold levels.  Zebra caterpillars were found in several fields this past week.

Depending upon the planting date, vine crops range from bloom to harvest.   This past week scouts noted wilting leaves and dying leaves in pumpkin and squash fields that are not irrigated.  The combination of moisture stress and earlier disease damage, particularly from anthracnose is responsible for this collapse.   There are a lot of cucumbers, summer squash, zucchini, and melons (cantaloupe and watermelon) currently being harvested.  Powdery mildew is being found by scouts in virtually every planting and growers are being advised on maintaining a fungicide spray program to minimize damage from this disease.

Photo Courtesy Christine Smedley

Downy mildew has been found in a number of cucumber plantings and some growers have been able to greatly slow or even arrest the development of the disease with a good fungicide spray program and some help from recent dry and hot weather conditions.  Downy mildew has also been found in some plantings of cantaloupe and that disease is now beginning to show up in some squash plantings as well.  Anthracnose and angular leaf spot are also commonly noted by scouts in many melon and fall squash and pumpkin plantings.  Plectosporium blight has been found in several pumpkin plantings as well and symptoms of the disease are showing up on some of the ripening pumpkin fruit.  Other diseases that have been noted, but that are not widespread, include phytophthora fruit rot, fusarium fruit rot and septoria leaf and fruit spot.  Insect-wise, cucumber beetles continue to be present at anywhere from light to threshold or above numbers and some damage by cucumber beetles chewing on the rinds and stem handles of squash were noted by scouts.  Some fields had localized heavy infestation of squash bugs.

Eggplant and pepper fruit are being harvested.  Scouts noted moisture stress on plants in a number of fields.  Sunscald is being noted on both crops by scouts on a frequent basis.  Many of those sun scalded fruit are developing secondary botrytis infections.  Anthracnose has been found on both leaves and fruit.   Alternaria was also noted by scouts in both peppers and eggplant this past week.  Some fusarium wilt on eggplant was noted again this week along with some bacterial soft rot in peppers.  In some eggplant plantings Colorado potato beetle numbers were at treatment threshold levels.   In peppers, some growers are treating for European corn borer (ECB) larvae to prevent damage, and ECB moth numbers in pheromone traps averaged 16/week, so growers do need to be treating to prevent damage.  Stink bug stings have been noted on fruit by scouts along withthe presence of aphids.Green snap beans range from in bloom to harvest.  Scouts have not noted any disease problems in green beans.  Insects that are present include bean leaf beetle, grasshoppers, Japanese beetles and aphids.

Photo Courtesy Christine Smedley

Photo Courtesy Christine Smedley

Sweet corn ranges from plants at V-8 to harvest.  Corn earworm trap numbers started to increase this past week.  Trap captures ranged from 0 to 8.  This may be an indication that the population is starting to increase and growers will need to protect corn at green silk with a shorter interval spray program.   European corn borer moth captures ranged from 0 to 2 at 3 locations.  Scouts noted some damage to ears from European corn borer larvae and some light flea beetle damage was noted in some plantings by scouts this past week.  Northern corn leaf blight was noted on the lower leaves of some plantings.   Much of the sweet corn, if not irrigated, is showing drought stress.  Bird and raccoon damage was noted in some plantings by scouts.

Potato harvest is underway in many plantings or plants are drying down so insect and disease monitoring has ended on this crop.

Agronomic Field Crops:

Scouting has ended on a lot of field corn as corn enters the R3-R4 stage of development.  In some later plantings corn rootworm beetles have been noted.

Soybeans range from R-5 to R-7.  Scouts are noting that soybeans are under moisture stress and some pods are being aborted. (See picture below of pod) Stink bug numbers are low and grasshopper numbers have declined as well.  This week, scouts are noting light to moderate aphid numbers but scouts are also finding ladybird beetles which are a predator of aphids.  At this point the ladybird beetles are holding aphid populations in check.  This week 2-spotted spider mites were found in low numbers on a couple of fields, probably a reflection of the dry weather being experienced.

Alfalfa regrowth following 3rd cut harvest is slow, due to the current dry conditions.  Fortunately potato leaf hopper numbers remain very low and are not causing additional stress to alfalfa plants.    However, aphid numbers are increasing and were approaching or right at threshold levels in a couple of fields.  Growers will need to continue to monitor and see if ladybird beetle populations develop that can control the aphid population.

Photo Courtesy Art Sigler

General Comments:  A common condition affecting fruit, vegetables and agronomic field crops is dryness. The Wayne County area needs rain. This past week despite what looked like a promising forecast for several days of rain, we ended up with only about 0.25 inches. Scouts noted moisture stress symptoms in any crops that were not under irrigation during this past week.

Fruit:

Apples are maturing and some are ready for harvest. Once again this past week codling moth trap numbers have remained high in pheromone traps in orchards not using mating disruption. Other insect pests noted on scouting reports include green apple aphids, European red mites, 2-spotted spider mites, and Japanese beetles.  As some apple varieties near harvest, growers need to be vigilant about reading labels and watching pre-harvest intervals if they need to treat for codling moths or any other insect pest.  Disease-wise, most growers have done an excellent job of keeping up and maintaining fungicide spray programs and scouts are noting very little disease. There have been a few apples with some fly speck and some apples with white rot symptoms.

Oriental fruit moth trap captures remained high again this past week in pheromone traps. Growers need to be on a regular spray advisory to prevent damage from OFM larvae, but need to watch labels for pre-harvest intervals as many peaches are currently being harvested.  In addition, spotted wing drosophila (SWD) traps placed in some peach orchards did capture some SWD this past week.

In small fruit, spotted wing drosophila (SWD) trap capture numbers have been increasing in control traps placed near wild fruit that is not being treated with insecticides. These traps have captured close to 100 SWD this past week. Where growers are spraying on a consistent basis, fruit is protected and generally trap numbers are 0 or possibly with 1 or 2 SWD captured. Some raspberry and grape traps recorded 70 or more SWD this past week and growers are being advised to get on and maintain a consistent spray program.

Vegetables:

Lack of rainfall is becoming an issue, especially in larger fields without irrigation or in any smaller plantings without irrigation and scouts noted moisture stress symptoms in some plantings.

Tomatoes are being harvested. Scouts continue to see septoria leaf spot, and early blight in both field and high tunnel production. (See photo below) On the positive side, our current dry weather is slowing the spread of these diseases and later plantings look much better than early plantings. Many field grown tomatoes also have bacterial diseases and scouts continue to note yellow shoulder.  In high tunnel production leaf mold continues on some farms and late blight is showing up in a few high tunnels as well along with powdery mildew.  Scouts continued to find tomatoes with stink bug stings in both field and high tunnel production tomatoes.  Aphids are being seen in some high tunnels as well.

Cole crops planted for fall harvest continue to have pressure from imported cabbage worm with many plantings above treatment threshold levels. Some plantings also had flea beetles at treatment threshold levels.  An outbreak of zebra caterpillars in one field was causing some localized heavy feeding damage.

Depending upon the planting date, vine crops range from bloom to harvest. There is a lot of cucumbers, summer squash, zucchini, and melons (cantaloupe and watermelon) currently being harvested. Powdery mildew is being found by scouts in virtually every planting and growers are being advised on maintaining a fungicide spray program to minimize damage from this disease.  Downy mildew has been found in a number of cucumber plantings and some growers have been able to greatly slow or even arrest the development of the disease with a good fungicide spray program and some help from recent dry and hot weather conditions.  Downy mildew has also been found in some plantings of cantaloupe and that disease is now beginning to show up in some squash plantings as well.  Anthracnose and angular leaf spot are also commonly noted by scouts in many melon and fall squash and pumpkin plantings.  Plectosporium blight has been found in several pumpkin plantings as well and symptoms of the disease are showing up on some of the ripening pumpkin fruit. (See photo below)  Other diseases that have been noted, but that are not widespread, include phytophthora fruit rot, fusarium fruit rot and septoria leaf and fruit spot. (See photo below)  Insect-wise, cucumber beetles continue to be present at anywhere from light to threshold or above numbers and some damage by cucumber beetles chewing on the rinds and stem handles of squash were noted by scouts.  Some fields had localized heavy infestation of squash bugs. Eggplant and pepper fruit are being harvested. Sunscald is being noted on both crops by scouts on a frequent basis. Many of those sun scalded fruit are developing secondary botrytis infections.  Anthracnose has been found on both leaves and fruit.  Alternaria was also noted by scouts in both peppers and eggplant this past week.  Some fusarium wilt on eggplant was noted this week along with some bacterial soft rot in peppers.  In some eggplant plantings Colorado potato beetle numbers were at treatment threshold levels. In peppers, some growers are treating for European corn borer (ECB) larvae to prevent damage, and ECB moth numbers in pheromone traps averaged 9/week, so growers do need to be treating to prevent damage. Stink bug stings have been noted on fruit by scouts along with the presence of aphids and grasshoppers.

Green snap beans range from in bloom to harvest. Scouts have not noted any disease problems in green beans.  This past week the greatest damage was coming as a result of ground hogs and deer feeding on the crop.

Sweet corn ranges from plants at V-7 to harvest. Corn earworm trap numbers remain very low, 0 in traps at 4 locations this past week. European corn borer moth captures ranged from 0 to 7 at 4 locations. Scouts noted some damage to ears from European corn borer larvae and damage to sweet corn plants from fall armyworm as well as some silk clipping due to Japanese beetle feeding. Rust and Northern corn leaf blight were noted on the lower leaves of some plantings. Much of the sweet corn, if not irrigated, is showing drought stress.

Potato harvest is underway in many plantings or plants are drying down so insect and disease monitoring has ended on this crop.

Bacterial disease on tomato, by Kate Fike

Plectosporium blight on pumpkin, photos by Chris Smedley

Septoria on squash fruit, photo by Chris Smedley

Agronomic Field Crops:

Scouting has ended on a lot of field corn as corn enters the R3-R4 stage of development. In some later plantings corn rootworm beetles and some Japanese beetles have been noted.

Soybeans range from R-4 to R-7. Some fields continue to show defoliation at 10-20% due to a combination of feeding by grasshoppers and Japanese beetles. Aphids remained at low levels this week.  Stink bug numbers increased in some fields, actually reaching threshold levels in one location. Scouts are noting that soybeans are under moisture stress and some pods are being aborted. (See photos below)

Alfalfa regrowth following 3rd cut harvest is slow, due to the current dry conditions. Fortunately potato leaf hopper numbers remain very low and are not causing additional stress to alfalfa plants. Other insects being noted by scouts in alfalfa include grasshoppers, aphids, plant bugs and loopers.

Drought stress, soybean plants, photos by Art Sigler

Soybean pods affected by lack of rain Photos by Art Sigler

Fruit:

Apples are maturing. Codling moth trap numbers have remained high in some orchards and other insect pests noted on scouting reports include green apple aphids, European red mites, 2-spotted spider mites, and Japanese beetles. As some apple varieties near harvest, growers need to be vigilant about reading labels and watching pre-harvest intervals if they need to treat for codling moths or any other insect pest.  Disease-wise, most growers have done an excellent job of keeping up and maintaining fungicide spray programs and scouts are noting very little disease. There have been a few apples with some fly speck and some apples with white rot symptoms.

Really the only issue with peaches is that oriental fruit moth (OFM) trap captures have remained high for the past 2 months so growers have been on a regular spray advisory to prevent damage from OFM larvae.

In small fruit, spotted wing drosophila (SWD) trap capture numbers have been increasing in control traps placed near wild fruit that is not being treated with insecticides.  These traps have captured between 20 to 40 + in this past week. Where growers are spraying on a consistent basis, fruit is protected and generally trap numbers are 0 or possibly with 1 or 2 SWD captured.

Vegetables:

Lack of rainfall is becoming an issue, especially in larger fields without irrigation or in any smaller plantings without irrigation.

Tomatoes are being harvested and given the disease pressure that many plantings had to contend with quality is good. Scouts continue to see septoria leaf spot, and early blight in both field and high tunnel production. The recent dry weather spell is slowing the spread of these diseases and later plantings look much better than early plantings. Many field grown tomatoes also have bacterial diseases and scouts continue to note yellow shoulder. Also in open field tomatoes scouts are seeing tomato sun scald on fruit from to much exposure to sun light. (See photo below) In high tunnel production leaf mold continues on some farms and late blight is showing up in a few high tunnels as well along with powdery mildew. Tomato hornworms appear to have run their course but scouts are finding tomatoes with stink bug stings in both field and high tunnel production tomatoes. Aphids are being seen in some high tunnels as well.

Cole crops planted for fall harvest continue to have pressure from imported cabbage worm, with some fields at or above treatment threshold levels. (See picture below) Japanese beetles and grasshoppers were also noted on some scouting reports as causing some light damage to cole crop plants.

Depending upon the planting date, vine crops range from bloom to harvest. There is a lot of cucumbers, summer squash, zucchini, and melons (cantaloupe and watermelon) currently being harvested. Powdery mildew is being found by scouts in virtually every planting and growers are being advised on maintaining a fungicide spray program to minimize damage from this disease. Downy mildew has been found in a number of cucumber plantings and some growers have been able to greatly slow or even arrest the development of the disease with a good fungicide spray program and some help from recent dry and hot weather conditions. Downy mildew has also been found in some plantings of cantaloupe.  Anthracnose and angular leaf spot are also commonly noted by scouts in many melon and fall squash and pumpkin plantings.  Plectosporium blight has been found in several pumpkin plantings as well.  Other diseases that have been noted, but that are not widespread, include phytophthora fruit rot, fusarium fruit rot and septoria leaf and fruit spot.  Insect-wise, cucumber beetles continue to be present at anywhere from light to threshold or above numbers, and squash bugs and grasshoppers have also been noted in scout reports.

Eggplant and pepper fruit are being harvested.  Sunscald is being noted on both crops by scouts on a frequent basis.  Anthracnose has been found on both leaves and fruit.(See photo below) Some fusarium wilt on eggplant was noted this week along with some bacterial soft rot in peppers.  In some eggplant plantings Colorado potato beetle numbers were very heavy, triggering a recommendation to treat.  Scouts also noted some flea beetles on eggplants.  In peppers, some growers are treating for European corn borer larvae to prevent damage.  Stink bug stings have been noted on fruit by scouts along with the presence of aphids and grasshoppers.

Green snap beans range from in bloom to harvest.  Scouts have not noted any disease problems in green beans, but a number of insect pests are present including bean leaf beetles, potato leaf hoppers, grasshoppers and Japanese beetles, although nothing at an economic treatment level.

Sweet corn ranges from plants at V-6 to harvest.  Corn earworm trap numbers remain very low, 0 in traps at 4 locations this past week.  European corn borer moth captures ranged from 0 to 8 at 4 locations.  Currently there is low disease and insect pressure in sweet corn.

Potato harvest is underway in many plantings or plants are drying down so insect and disease monitoring has ended on this crop.

Sun Scald on Tomato, photo by Chris Smedley

Imported Cabbage Worm, photo by Chris Smedley

Anthracnose on pepper fruit, photo by Chris Smedley

Agronomic Field Crops:

Scouting has ended on a lot of field corn as corn enters the R3-R4 stage of development.  In some later plantings corn rootworm beetles and some Japanese beetles have been noted. (See photo below)

Soybeans range from R-2 to R-6.  This week, scouts started to find some aphids, although at very low numbers, but this will bear watching for later maturing fields. Stink bugs continue to also be at very low numbers, averaging less than 1 per 10 sweep sample. In some fields scouts are noting between 10-20% defoliation attributed to a combination of Japanese beetle and grasshopper feeding damage. Scouts are also finding some very small amounts of sudden death syndrome and white mold in some fields.

Alfalfa regrowth following  3^rd cut harvest is slow, due to the current dry conditions. Fortunately potato leaf hopper numbers remain very low and are not causing additional stress  to alfalfa plants. Other insects being noted by scouts in alfalfa include grasshoppers, aphids and loopers.

Root Worm also known as Spotted Cucumber Beetle, photo by Kate Fike

Fruit:

Apples are ripening with some varieties at maturity. Codling moth trap numbers remained high in several orchards this week, so growers will need to continue with follow up insecticide applications.  White rot, another of our summer diseases was found by scouts on some apples in one orchard this week. (See photo below) Growers need to stay on a consistent fungicide spray program with intervals no longer than 14 days between applications to prevent both sooty blotch, fly speck and summer apple rot disease development. All apple maggot traps remained negative the week of August 3-7. Green apple aphid populations were at high levels, above treatment thresholds, in some orchards again this week.  Other insects noted at below threshold levels in orchards included European red mites and 2-spotted spider mites.

Some peach varieties are being harvested. Based on growing degree days since the second biofix date and continued high Oriental fruit moth (OFM) trap captures in several orchards, a biofix date for 3^rd generation OFM was set. Both the peach tree borer and lesser peach tree borer moth showed up again in trap captures in a couple of orchards the week of August 3-7.  Growers have been advised to do some preventative treatment against borer damage.  Growers are encouraged to maintain fungicide sprays to prevent brown rot and scab.  Scouts did fine a few peach fruit with some symptoms of scab this week.  (See photo below)

Spotted wing drosophila (SWD) continue to be caught in traps.  In our IPM program we have traps in fruit that are being sprayed on a regular spray schedule to protect against SWD damage and we have traps in wild fruit populations that are not sprayed. Numbers in those wild traps are consistently higher than traps in sprayed fruit. Most often traps in sprayed fruit are at 0. Spray programs can be effective in controlling SWD damage. Commercial small fruit growers should be spraying ripe fruit and fruit that are beginning to ripen to protect against SWD infestation. Rotate between chemical classes of approved insecticides.

White rot on apples, photo by Chris Smedley

Peach scab, photo by Austin Pelyak

Vegetables:

          No measurable precipitation this week. There were a few comments by scouts on their grower reports that plants needed water or were showing symptoms of moisture stress.

The most serious disease problems in both field and high tunnel grown tomatoes remain septoria leaf spot and early blight. Some early plantings have been finished off by the advances of these diseases.   This week late blight was found in some high tunnel cherry tomatoes.

Bacterial spot and canker can be found in field tomatoes and growers are being advised to not work with the plants when they are wet, practice good sanitation between infected and non-infected plants and maintain a copper spray program to suppress the disease. In high tunnel production scouts are finding fusarium crown rot, Fusarium wilt, leaf mold, botrytis gray mold, timber rot and powdery mildew.

Due to the fluctuations in soil moisture as we have gone from very wet soils to dry soils, blossom end rot is showing up on tomato fruit. This is not a disease but is related to a shortage of calcium in the fruit, most often triggered by moisture fluctuations. Other non-disease, environmental disorders that scouts are finding in both field and high tunnel production include yellow shoulder, catfacing and zippering.

Stink bug damage is being found on tomatoes and hornworms have been found in both high tunnel and field grown tomatoes. Scouts noted some moderate to high aphid numbers in a couple of tomato high tunnels again this week.

Many of the cole crop fall harvest plantings had imported cabbage worm numbers above treatment threshold this week and growers were advised to treat. Flea beetles were also above threshold levels on several of these plantings.

In vine crops, many plantings of summer squash and zucchini are being harvested regularly, fall squash and pumpkins are in bloom to some approaching harvest, cantaloupes are being harvested, watermelons range from fruit set to harvest, and cucumbers range from new plantings to harvest.  Downy mildew continues to advance and is being found by scouts on more cucumbers.  Scouts also found more possible downy mildew in cantaloupe and squash.  Samples have been delivered to the vegetable pathology lab at OARDC for confirmation.   Growers are being advised to use a fungicide spray program on a 5-7 day schedule to protect against downy mildew.

Powdery mildew is developing quickly on all vine crops and scouts were advising growers to get on and maintain a regular fungicide program to protect leaves and to protect developing fruit. Scouts noted plectosporium blight, as confirmed by the vegetable pathology lab at OARDC, on several plantings of pumpkins in several different fields across the county.

Bacterial wilt is being found both cucumbers as well as some fall squash and pumpkins.  Cucumber beetles, the vector of the disease were noted at above threshold levels in younger cucumber, squash, zucchini, and pumpkin plantings and growers were being advised to treat to prevent bacterial wilt.  Fusarium wilt is being found in some melons.

Angular leaf spot, a bacterial disease has been found across all vine crops and in many fields.  Anthracnose and alternaria leaf spot have also been found and growers need to be on a good fungicide spray program.  Phytophthora blight on squash fruit was found in one field. (See photo below)

Although not common, millipedes have been doing damage to some melons, primarily cantaloupe.  Scouts also noted the presence of squash bug eggs and nymphs.

Many pepper plantings are at the harvest stage.  In some plantings, bacterial spot is present and bacterial soft rot has been observed. Sunscald and blossom end rot were noted again on scout reports this week and some of the sun-scalded fruit have now developed secondary infections of botrytis gray mold. Grasshoppers, European corn borers, potato leaf hoppers and aphids were all found at low levels in some fields, along with damage from stinkbugs.   Eggplant overall is doing well but there are plants with verticillium wilt and anthracnose.  Colorado potato beetles and flea beetles were noted at above threshold levels in some field this week.  Japanese beetles are present in low numbers.

Green beans vary from newly emerging to harvest. Defoliation generally below threshold damage levels by grasshoppers, and Japanese beetles have been noted, although in some isolated areas of some plantings defoliation by Japanese beetles is heavy. This week scouts found Mexican bean leaf beetles in some green beans, some at economic threshold levels. (See photo below)

Sweet corn, due to staggered plantings, ranges from V-4 to harvest. Corn earworm moth trap captures ranged from 0 to 6 at 4 locations this week. This level still indicates a 5 day spray schedule for corn at green silk. European corn borer moth captures ranged from 0 to 6 between 4 trap locations the week of August 3-7. Feeding by, European corn borer larvae, Japanese beetles and fall armyworm larvae was noted by scouts this week.  The heaviest feeding damage is being done by deer and raccoons.  Scouts continued to find Northern corn leaf blight and corn rust this week.

Potatoes overall look good and some are being harvested.  Colorado potato beetle is at threshold levels in some plantings and under control in others. Low numbers of potato leaf hoppers and flea beetle were noted. Early blight and septoria leaf spot are showing up in some plantings. The occasional plant with blackleg is also being noted by scouts.

Phytophthora on cucurbits, by Chris Smedley

Mexican bean leaf beetle, Photo by Art Sigler

Agronomic Field Crops:

A lot of corn is in the R-1 to R-3 stage of development. Brown silks signal an end to scouting.  There was 1western bean cutworm moth captured between 2 trap locations this past week.  Deer and bird damage is also being noted.

Scouts noted soybeans at the R2 to R5 stage of development this week. Scouts are noting brown spot on the lower leaves of most soybean fields as well as Downy Mildew. (See photo below) White mold has been found, but typically just a few plants affected in scattered pockets.  Sudden death syndrome (SDS) was noted on some scout reports this week, but at very low levels, just a few scattered plants in a field. (See photo below)  Leaf defoliators including bean leaf beetle, Japanese beetles, grasshoppers and slugs have all been noted on scouting reports. In some fields the combination of defoliators has caused between 10-20% plant defoliation. Scouts are sweeping fields for stink bugs as they reach the R3 stage of development. Stink bugs were found at very low levels once again the week of August 3-7.

Alfalfa is being monitored for potato leaf hoppers. Populations are still low at this time. Many alfalfa fields have been cut for 3^rd harvest and are regrowing.

Downy mildew on soybeans, photo by Chris Smedley

Sudden death syndrome, photo by Austin Pelyak

Sudden death syndrome on the roots of soybeans, by Austin Pelyak