ALERT: Downy Mildew of Cucurbit Detected in Brooks County  Downy mildew has been detected on cucumber in Brooks County by Mr. Will Brown. These observations indicate that inoculum of downy mildew is currently in southern GA counties and under favorable conditions potential disease outbreak in cucurbit crops can occur. I would suggest our cucurbit growers to look for the downy mildew symptoms in their fields and start applying protective spray of below stated fungicides. Watermelon:…

ALERT: Downy Mildew of Cucurbit May Soon be in Georgia Downy mildew has been detected in North Florida. Weather conditions have been favorable for downy mildew infection in southern Georgia particularly in cucumber and squash. It is the matter of time when it will show up in our southern counties. Hence,  I would suggest our cucurbit growers to look for the downy mildew symptoms in their fields and…

Downy mildew was confirmed from the Tattnall County in Georgia on Vidalia Onion. The conditions currently are suitable for the infection and spread of the downy mildew pathogen. We urge growers to scout their crop routinely for any suspicious symptoms and contact their local county extension agent for further confirmation. The treatment options are moderate…

Vegetable growers will start transplanting their crops soon. In order to reduce risk of introducing soil-borne pathogens in field it is important to screen your transplants before for symptoms particularly those that are caused by Pythium, Fusarium, Rhizoctonia. If the seedlings appear diseased, identification of the problem is critical. Do not transplant seedlings from trays…

If you are not aware, EPA has been petitioned to revoke all tolerances and cancel all associated registrations for food uses of multiple (pretty much all) organophosphate pesticides. This would include acephate (orthene), diazinon, malathion, naled (dibrom) and others. This would eliminate our last broad spectrum soil insecticide in vegetables (diazinon; I do not consider…

Based on the multi-year field screens that were conducted in 2019-2021 in Tifton there are handful for commercially acceptable snap bean varieties with at least moderate-level of resistance to cucurbit leaf crumple disease. There were no varieties with high-level of resistance. Of those with moderate-level of resistance there were several from Harris Moran, Syngenta, Seminis…

We have received reports from cowpea and peanut fields of beet armyworm surviving applications of chlorantraniliprole (Coragen, Prevathon, Vantacor, Besiege). While this does not mean we have resistance, it is an indication that we should be cautious with applications of these products and definitely switch chemistry if you suspect a field failure with the first…

With the help of Ty Torrance, we completed a bioassay on flea beetles on eggplant this week. This pest has become more difficult to control in recent years, with Torac previously identified as our best option for control. This bioassay was conducted to evaluate a few selected products and one experimental product that is hopefully…

Hopefully everyone knows that chlorpyrifos (Lorsban and several generic products) tolerances on all food crops were lost on February 28, 2022. This makes ANY application on February 28 or later to a food crop illegal (even though the label on the jug has not changed, nor has the label been revoked). What happens if chlorpyrifos…

While results of any bioassay against diamondback moth primarily applies to the specific population tested, we do try and share results of our bioassays from time to time. Below are the results of two recent bioassays conducted by Thomas Dunn (under the direction of Dr. David Riley). In both bioassays, Proclaim, Radiant, and Torac performed…