Pseudomonas Bacterial Spot is a disease that causes spots on leaves and yellowing of leaves that eventually can drop off. As many other foliar disease, defoliation increase the risk for sun scald of fruit and lessens overall plant productivity
Alfalfa growth and development is affected by many factors, including temperature, soil moisture, stand age and even cultivar. Alfalfa growth has been slow this spring due to cooler than normal weather. This is a reminder that using the calendar date to determine when to harvest the first crop of alfalfa may not be the best method. In order to accurately predict the optimal time for the first cutting, the University of Wisconsin developed the Predictive Equations for Alfalfa Quality (PEAQ) method.
Sweet Alyssum is grown not only for the draw of its flowers in hanging pots and as a carpeting plant but also for its ability to attract beneficial insects in the field such as ladybugs and hoverfly.
The main focus of our three-state (Iowa, Kentucky, and New York), three-year (2020-2022) project is on finding better ways to manage diseases, insect pests, and weeds in organic systems, and getting that information to growers. Our funding comes from USDA’s Organic Research and Extension Initiative (OREI).
The Intelligent Sprayer is the creation of a team of USDA-ARS engineers at Wooster, Ohio, led by Dr. Heping Zhu. It has been tested on nursery trees, peaches, grapes, and other large-canopy crops, and is now available commercially for retrofitting standard airblast sprayers. Our study is the first to evaluate the Intelligent Sprayer for control of the full range of pests and diseases on apples during the whole growing season.
Multiple days of excessive heat can be hard on vegetable crops, especially ones known to be cool-season. Brassicas, lettuce, carrots and spinach are particularly vulnerable to bitterness, wilting, bolting, deformities and coloring that affect the quality of the produce.
The growth and development of alfalfa is affected by many factors, including temperature, soil moisture, stand age and even cultivar. Alfalfa growth has been slower than normal due to cool conditions in April. This is a good reminder that using a calendar date to determine when to harvest the first crop of alfalfa may not the best method. In order to accurately predict the optimal time for the first cutting, the University of Wisconsin developed the Predictive Equations for Alfalfa Quality (PEAQ) method.
Prepare for a safe pesticide application season by checking the FieldWatch® registry before making pesticide applications. The FieldWatch® registry provides easy-to-use, accurate, and secure online tools to enhance communications and awareness between crop producers, beekeepers, and pesticide applicators.FieldWatch® features a voluntary mapping tool through Google Maps™ that shows pesticide applicators the locations of registered sensitive crops and beehives so they can make informed decisions regarding pesticide applications.
In few weeks growers will be planting sweet corn in Iowa. Sweet corn is an important commercial crop in Iowa. Based on the 2017 Agriculture Census, sweet corn is planted across 329 farms in Iowa with a collective acreage of 2,739 acres. Of the total acres, 1,743 is harvested for fresh market and the remaining for processing. For the fresh markets, growers practice succession planting of sweet corn to have a continuous supply for their customers during the growing season.
The pandemic of 2020 provided opportunity for specialty producers in Iowa to expand production and sales. But managing risk for specialty production is critical to capitalizing on new market opportunities.
