There is a new disease on the block for sweet corn in New York! Tar spot is a fungal disease found first in Indiana and northern Illinois field corn in 2015. It has since spread throughout the Midwest. The disease was found in western NY corn fields every year for the past 3 years, and in central NY last year. Tar spot has potential to severely reduce yields of susceptible corn varieties, so we are closely monitoring disease spread and impact.

Managing Tomato Bacterial Diseases? Biopesticides Could Help.

Amara Dunn, NYS Integrated Pest Management Program
Chris Smart, Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology, Cornell University

Are you using copper to protect your tomatoes from bacterial diseases? Research from Cornell suggests that you could replace some of those copper applications with a biopesticide.

A chart is presented that lists the herbicides labelled for use on succulent peas in New York for the year 2024. The relative effectiveness of each herbicide on different weed species is highlighted.

Labeled Insecticides for Control of Spotted Wing Drosophila in New York Berry Crops - Quick Guide

Updated May 2024

Have you seen Spotted Lanternfly? Please fill out the Spotted Lanternfly Tracking Survey

Click below to access the workshop recording and slides from the September 7th workshop at the Hudson Valley Lab about Spotted Lanternfly

May 2023 - Labeled Insecticides for Control of Spotted Wing Drosophila in New York Berry Crops - Quick Guide

Organic farmers rely primarily on preventive, cultural and integrated methods of pest and disease management. However, there are a number of materials available for use that can complement and support organic management. This guide was developed to provide a useful and scientifically accurate reference for organic farmers and agricultural professionals searching for information on best practices, available materials and perhaps most importantly, the efficacy of materials that are permitted for use in organic systems.

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Basil Seggos announced actions to limit the unrestricted use of pesticides that can harm bee and other pollinator populations. DEC is reclassifying certain products containing the neonicotinoid (neonic) insecticides imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, and acetamiprid as "restricted use" to ensure applications are limited to trained pesticide applicators in specific situations.  Restricting the use of these pesticides enables DEC to collect new data to determine where, when, and how they are used, as well as their potential impacts.

Spotted-wing drosophila (SWD, Drosophila suzukii) continues to drive berry and cherry growers' spray schedules. Monitoring helps to determine when populations begin to build up, and therefore can help save growers spray applications in a late infestation year. This year we successfully tested red sticky card traps, baited with SWD lures, to detect first arrival of SWD in berry plantings and cherry orchards. The baited, red sticky traps provided good results for the SWD monitoring network. We found that the red sticky traps have potential for use by growers and consultants to monitor SWD pressure in at-risk fruit plantings. Grant funding was obtained, PI Laura McDermott, ENYCHP, to further test the red sticky traps and to educate growers and consultants on their use.

Many growers in the US have been focused on predicted herbicide shortages in the upcoming field season. While the primary concerns have surrounded glyphosate and glufosinate, there is increasing apprehension that active ingredients of importance to vegetable growers may also be affected. Although the supply change is dynamic, chemical stocks may become, and remain, tight at the local or regional level as growers try to fill gaps in their toolboxes. 

Cold temperatures can affect herbicide performance; applications of postemergence products under cool conditions may result in delays in symptom development and some treatments may fail altogether. Cold temperatures are also a concern for stored herbicides, particularly liquid products. Freezing (which may occur at temperatures below 32 F for some formulated products) can result in the active ingredient settling out of solution. Some, but not all, labels will provide advice regarding resuspension. If in doubt, call your pesticide dealer or the product manufacturer to determine if the herbicide contents can be re-dissolved and used, safely and effectively. 

Organic growers looking for a way to reduce damage to crops from soil-based insects may want to consider entomopathogenic nematodes. Strains of biocontrol nematodes adapted to NY growing conditions with their persistent genes intact to persist across growing seasons (and winter) are available in NY and can be utilized as an integrated tool, along with good cultural practices to suppress the soil insect populations below economic levels throughout the growing season.  

Several diseases affecting leaves of winter greens have been occurring in the Northeast. Recently, symptoms were seen of powdery mildew on lettuce (Salanova), Cladosporium leaf spot on spinach, and downy mildew on spinach. Other diseases are powdery mildew of brassicas, downy mildew of lettuce, and downy mildew of brassicas. 

Anyone that takes care of a pool knows that inthe last couple of weeks you've probably been fishing out a bunch of brown or brownish silver "bugs".  These "bugs" aremostly Orientalbeetles, June Bugs and Asiatic garden beetles. These beetles, along with Japanese Beetles are the adults of the "whitegrub" complex that affects many lawns, but can also affect many different vegetable and small fruit crops.  Theadults can feed on leaves of plants such as sunflowers, basil, raspberries, carrots,beets and a 100 other different plants. Japanese beetles can also be found in the silks of sweet corn whenpopulations are high.  Although that canbe a problem, the majority of the damage in vegetables comes from the larvae or "white grub" stage feeding on the roots of several different root crops such as sweet potato, carrots and even Irish potatoes. Their long narrow tunnels can cause many roots to be unmarketable.  I dusted off an old article written by former Cornell Cooperative Extension Vegetable Specialist Amy Ivy on how to identify the different beetles and grubs that might be lurking in your fields, lawn and pool! 

This chart, created with information from the late Dr. Robin Bellinder, Weed Scientist at Cornell, lists the herbicides that are labeled for beets and which weed species are controlled. While the chart is a handy reference, it is critical to read the product labels thoroughly.

Use this tool to look up the efficacy of herbicides to control common orchard weeds.

This is a presentation by Dr. Srdjan Acimovic of the Hudson Valley Research Lab. In this webinar, Dr. Acimovic discusses the biology and management of summer diseases of apples. Topics covered include bitter rot, Marssonina blotch, sooty blotch/flyspeck, and more.

Fill out this form when sending fire blight samples.

Photos of spinach downy mildew and typical spinach leafminer damage on a chard leaf.

Perennial weeds can be particularly difficult to manage in the apple orchard. These plants are defined as being able to live for more than two years, which is due to their abilities to produce large root systems or other underground storage structures, such as bulbs, tubers, and rhizomes. These structures facilitate the spread of perennials in orchards, although many species also produce seed that support dispersal.

Recording of the Stone Fruit IPM webinar from March 16, 2020

Sprayers must be regularly checked over to ensure that proper maintenance has been carried out and that no outstanding repairs need to be done. Faulty sprayers contribute to increased drift levels and waste money through inefficiency and overuse of chemicals.

Check out the presentations and resources from the Cornell Vegetable Program's 2019 Garlic School that was held March 20th, 2019 in Batavia, NY. 

Presentations from the 2019 ENYCHP Eastern New York Fruit & Vegetable Conference held February 19-21 for the tree fruit sections.

Weed pressure, root disease, plant parasitic nematodes and soil insects have all been identified by strawberry industry groups as barriers to success with strawberry production in the northeast United States.  Research into best management practices has revealed that cover cropping and proper crop rotation will significantly reduce the impact of disease on strawberry production, these recommendations however, are not being used on all farms.   

Learn to use a sous vide device to heat treat seeds as a simple, economical way to control diseases.

During the summer of 2018 Amara Dunn, the NYS IPM biological pest management specialist, worked with colleagues (Elizabeth Buck, Dr. Julie Kikkert, Dr. Margaret McGrath, Jud Reid, and Crystal Stewart) on a project funded by the New York Farm Viability Institute looking at the use of biofungicides (Remember what biofungicides are?) in vegetable disease management. Dr. Darcy Telenko (formerly of the Cornell Vegetable Program) helped plan the project before starting her new position at Purdue University, and Dr. Sarah Pethybridge provided valuable advice based on her extensive work with white mold (including control with biofungicides). BASF, Bayer, BioWorks, Certis, Dow, and Marrone BioInnovations provided product for the field trials.  

During the 2018 growing season, we maintained an IPM trapping network in Northern New York, ranging from Chazy in Northern Clinton County to Rexford in Southern Saratoga County.  From May through mid-September, we sent weekly e-alerts of our trap counts for oriental fruit moth, codling moth, obliquebanded leafroller, and apple maggot.  Now that harvest is winding down, I would like to review this season's pest trends, and discuss what we observed from our hail netting trials in the Champlain Valley.

Excessive rain in New York and the rest of the Eastern US experienced in the second half of both the 2017 and 2018 growing seasons favored the development of Marssonina Leaf Blotch (MLB), a disease caused by Marssonina coronaria (sexual stage Diplocarpon mali). In early September 2017, in the lower-Hudson Valley and south NY we found MLB late in the summer in more than several apple orchards on Mutsu, Honeycrisp, NY-1 (SnapDragon), NY-2 (RubyFrost), Gala, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Pristine, Grimes Golden, Northern Spy, Stayman Winesap, Tompkins King, and others. The alarming outcome was defoliation of lower part of the tree crowns, especially where moisture due to heavy dew or sprinkler irrigation was present up until midday.

The wet weather coming up from the south is likely to be bringing Cucurbit Downy Mildew Spores with it. Read about control strategies in the full article, including revised recommended sprays.

For a chart of conventional and organic spray options for Colorado Potato Beetle:

June 2018 - Labeled Insecticides for Control of Spotted Wing Drosophila in New York Berry Crops - Quick Guide

Cornell Extension Specialists are being asked with increasing frequency to investigate both chronic decline and rapid collapse of apple trees in young, high-density plantings in all regions of New York State.  Symptoms of chronic decline can include poor growth, off color foliage, and a generally unthrifty appearance that worsens over several years.  The death of an (apparently) previously healthy tree over the course of just a few weeks has been termed Rapid Apple Decline (RAD).  While the symptoms of chronic decline are subtler in some cases, RAD is eye-catching.  Afflicted trees appear to "burn up" mid-summer after having set and sized a normal crop load.  RAD may be a subset of the chronic decline condition or a completely different problem; causation is unknown at this time.

There are various formulations of copper on the market. Each has specific label instructions for usage to help you maximize crop protection and avoid phytotoxicity. 

Onion thrips populations have exceeded action thresholds in a few hot spots in Orange County. Review Dr. Brian Nault's insecticide recommendations for onion thrips management that incorporate newly registered products in New York State.

For the last couple of years, we have seen True Armyworms showing up in late May early June and causing some significant damage in sweet corn and other crops.  In the last two weeks we have caught low levels of adult True Armyworm moths in our sweet corn worm traps and are now starting to see the damage in sweet corn. 

The spring flight of the new invasive insect pest, the allium leafminer, is coming to an end. However, the larval stage of the pest will remain active for a couple of more weeks and can cause significant damage to garlic, scallions, onions, and chives. Read more about how to continue to protect your spring allium crops and how to prepare for the fall flight.

Fruitworms overwinter as larvae and pupate in the spring, emerging as adult moths after the start of bloom and usually before early fruit set. Moths move into blueberry plantings when fruit is small and lay eggs directly on the fruit. The larvae hatch and tunnel into the fruit and begin feeding. Find out how to control these pests here!

Crucifer flea beetles have been feasting on brassica crops for a couple of weeks already. If your management strategy isn't working to limit damage, check out what other options are available to you.

Thrips populations can explode, especially under the protective conditions in a high tunnel. Bio-controls can only help at the early stages, but there are a couple of other options for organic and conventional growers to try to bring this pest under control.

The springtail is a flea beetle lookalike that typically feeds on decaying plant material, but under certain conditions may attack crops such as cucurbits. These tiny insects have been seen in several locations this past week feeding on cucumbers and garlic.

Leek moth adults emerge in mid April to mate and lay eggs. This year the first moths were caught in Essex on April 21.  The larvae will hatch in a couple of weeks and can do considerable damage to garlic scapes so this is a good first place to look when scouting.

Be cautious when buying and selling onion transplants between growers in the infested areas. We have seen leek moth appear in new locations when infested plants were brought in from farms to the north. 

Asparagus beetle populations can build up quickly over the course of a couple of seasons. Fields with heavy infestations may require the use of an insecticide during harvest season to knock down the adult population. See what your labeled options are in New York and know that later season applications to target second and/or third beetle populations may also be necessary. 

If you have struggled with bacterial diseases in the past few years, start managing for success now! Growers are better able to control bacterial diseases with a combination of sanitation, environmental management, and regular sprays that starts now and continues through harvest. Read on to learn about alternative sprays to copper, and how to eliminate disease lingering in your stakes from last year. 

As the weather warms up and plastic mulches are being laid, the next question is, what to do about weed control in the beds and between the beds?

The new invasive insect pest, the allium leafminer, has begun its spring flight. Adults are expected to be active for about four weeks; see what management options are available to reduce damage to your allium crops.

Early weed control is a critical component of establishing a new planting. Newly planted fruit trees compete poorly against fast growing weeds for water and nutrients. This competition can severely limit a new block's growth, which can ultimately reduce potential yields in the third year by 50 percent. Weeds also harbor insects and diseases, provide habitat for rodents, and can serve as hosts for viruses, further complicating effective orchard management.

Basil is susceptible to downy mildew from emergence. Plant breeders at Rutgers have been working on developing new resistant varieties; here are some notes on those new varieties and other cultural practices to reduce the risk of loss from basil downy mildew. 

When using any kind of bio-controls you need to know whether they are compatible with each other and any other pest management products you plan to use. A biocontrol fungus might be killed if you tank mix it with a chemical fungicide. Insecticides (whether or not they are biological) could be harmful to natural enemy insects and mites. Even some beneficial insects are not compatible with each other because they may eat each other instead of (or in addition to) the pest.  By Amara Dunn, Biocontrol Specialist, NYS Integrated Pest Management Program

Southern Blight (Sclerotium rolfsii) was found on golden storage beets this winter in Dutchess County. The fungal pathogen is fairly new to New York and poses a threat to a wide range of vegetable crops. Early detection and proper diagnosis are key to managing this disease.

The commonly used fungicide chlorothalonil or better known to many of you as Bravo, will be in short supply this year due to manufacturing issues.  This broad spectrum protectant will be highly sought out this spring but you can learn about some alternatives.

A new invasive insect pest in the Northeast known as the Allium leafminer (ALM), Phytomyza gymnostoma, damages crops in the Allium genus (e.g., onion, garlic, leek, scallions, shallots, and chives) and is considered a major economic threat to Allium growers. Originally from Europe, ALM was first detected in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania in December of 2015 and in New Jersey and New York in 2016. As of fall 2017, ALM activity has been confirmed throughout eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, southeastern New York as well as Thompkins and Suffolk counties.

A few of our growers have struggled in late winter with gray mold growing over their flats of sunflower shoots. The mold is botrytis, growing on the outside of the hulls, and it can really ruin a flat of shoots.

Last year we saw a lot of problems with root feeding damage from maggots early in the season, which has growers on edge about pest pressure this year. Seed corn maggots can damage a variety of crops, and in previous years have been observed on everything from sunflower shoots in the greenhouse to pea seedlings and onion transplants in the field. Onion maggots are more particular, and will only feed on allium hosts.

The early ‘worm' complex found in commercial apple during the pre-bloom period begins with the emergence of the speckled green fruit worm (SGFW).

ENYCHP hosted a NEWA training workshop in Voorheesville in April 2018. Here are some of the main takeaways from the training.

As a grape grower in the Northeast, one of your biggest challenges is combating the insects, diseases, and other pests invading your vineyard. Although you do not need a license to purchase or use some pesticides, obtaining your certified pesticide applicator license will give you access to more materials that you can add to your pest combatting-arsenal.

View the exciting results from our 2010 trial in the final report that follows.

The first in a 3-part series, this pre-recorded webinaris presented by Dr. Chris Smart, Cornell University. 

Flooding in 2011 spread Phytophthora capsici into fields with no history of the disease. Growers who have not managed P. capsici previously could inadvertently and permanently spread the disease to additional fields and could experience high rates of crop loss due to improper management of the disease.  Understanding of P. cap will reduce the probability of these negative outcomes on eastern NY farms.

The first in a 3-part series, this pre-recorded webinaris presented by Dr. Chris Smart, Cornell University. 

Flooding in 2011 spread Phytophthora capsici into fields with no history of the disease. Growers who have not managed P. capsici previously could inadvertently and permanently spread the disease to additional fields and could experience high rates of crop loss due to improper management of the disease.  Understanding of P. cap will reduce the probability of these negative outcomes on eastern NY farms.

A number of growers have been calling with a question about blueberry clusters strung together with webbing or frass or both. Most people cannot find a larvae (although they are there!), but are alarmed with picker complaints. The pest in question is fruit worm either cranberry or cherry. Both insects have very similar life cycles and the damage is similar, but the chemical control materials differ slightly, so it will be important to be able to differentiate. 

The adult moths lay their eggs in late May and early June at the base of the newly set fruit. Larvae of both
species attack green fruit. There are sex pheromones  available for both pests and monitoring should begin in late April to optimize spray timing. Usually two sprays are necessary the first at petal fall and the second 10 days later. Organically approved materials include Entrust and Dipel DF. Other materials include Azasol, or Molt-X, Sevin, Malathion, Imidan, Esteem and Delegate, among others. 

Check the Guidelines for more control information and visit this site for fact sheets about fruitworms:  http://www.fruit.cornell.edu/berry/ipm/ipmpdfs/bbfruitworm.pdf
 

Tips on how to manage weeds in carrots, including special problems like swamp dodder

Wild proso millet is present in NY and can be a problem weed in sweet corn and other vegetable crops. Learn how to identify this weed on your farm.