A newly registered insecticide, PQZ, from Nichino America has shown good efficacy against the adult stage of silverleaf whitefly in multiple small plot tests in the last few weeks. While overall efficacy has not been fully evaluated, the activity on adults has appeared equal to Sivanto, which has been considered our best product on adults…

We have  recently confirmed Cucurbit leaf crumple virus (CuLCrV) on watermelon from Mitchell County, GA. The symptoms  include crumpling, curling, yellowing and chlorosis of leaves. Disease symptoms are not as severe as observed in yellow squash and zuchinni.  The virus spreads by whitefly in a persistent manner.

Dr. Apurba Barman has been running a line of yellow sticky traps throughout southern Georgia for almost two years. These small traps are placed along roadways and changed and counted weekly. The trap lines include 125 locations stretching from Dothan, Alabama, to Reidsville, Georgia. The data collected from these traps are helping us to better…

We have  recently confirmed Cucurbit leaf crumple virus (CuLCrV) on snap bean at UGA, Tifton, GA. The symptoms  include crumpling, curling, yellowing and chlorosis of leaves. Infected plants appear stunted with distorted growth. Disease symptoms can be severe and may result in yield losses.  The virus spreads by whiteflies in a persistent manner. Current projections indicate  low disease incidence and sporadic/limited…

While some growers were successful managing pepper weevil this spring, others were not. PEPPER WEEVIL IS NOT A PEST YOU WANT TO GET BEHIND ON. Weevils can enter a field and feed on foliage as soon as it is transplanted (or before in the greenhouse), but they cannot reproduce until there are fruiting structures present.…

Whitefly have been building for several weeks and are at high levels in some areas. Insecticide options for whitefly have not changed a great deal in the last year. The cornerstone chemistries for whitefly are still the Group 4 (Venom, Assail, Actara, Sivanto and pre-mixes containing these prodcuts) and Group 28 (Coragen, Verimark, Exirel) insecticides,…

We have had reports of whiteflies in multiple locations for some time. Thankfully they have remained low; however, that could change rapidly. In tests on station in Tifton, the whitefly population has increased significantly in the last week or so. We are seeing silverleaf in young squash. Adult counts today in squash averaged about 30…

Downy mildew on watermelon was confirmed on May 24 and May 27 from Decatur and Crisp Co.  I would suggest our cucurbit growers to look for the downy mildew symptoms in their fields. Also, please advice your growers to include “Downy fungicides” in their weekly spray. Specifically on watermelon, please use following fungicides on a 5-7 day rotation: Orondis…

Here are some important points to consider while managing downy mildew of onion: Question:   “I found some downy in my onions today.  It has been sunny, clear, and low humidity all week long.  I thought downy liked humid, wet, cloudy weather.  Why am I seeing it?” Response:  Yes, you are correct.  Downy mildew development is…