Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture Enrollment

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Managing Basil Downy Mildew

Teresa Rusinek, Vegetable Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture

May 2, 2018

There are already concerns from growers about downy mildew and with good reason; this disease is difficult to control and destructive. Basil downy mildew can be seed borne but does not persist long in the environment when the host plant is not present. It does not overwinter in the field, but can persist in a greenhouse if basil is grown continuously.  Once basil is in the field is may be infected by wind- blown spores from other areas.

There are options to limit your risk.  In the greenhouse, avoid favorable conditions for disease development. The basil downy mildew pathogen needs humidity of at least 85% in the plant canopy to be able to infect.  This disease can be controlled effectively by keeping humidity low.  Practices to achieve this include base watering, wide plant spacing, circulating fans, lights, and increasing temperature.  Base heating is an especially effective method to reduce humidity.  Set up sensors in the plant canopy to monitor humidity to ensure implementing practices are sufficient. 

One of the most effective management strategies is planting a downy mildew resistant variety, and the good news is that there are more of these varieties available to growers.  Below is an update from Margaret McGrath.

New Downy Mildew Resistant Basil Varieties: Devotion, Obsession, and Thunderstruck are the first varieties developed at Rutgers University through a USDA‐funded project that included evaluations at LIHREC, which documented high level of resistance in preceding experimental lines. Reports are posted at http://blogs.cornell.edu/liveg... These varieties are available from VanDrunen Specialty Seeds. Amazel is another new variety reported to be highly resistant. Emma and Everleaf (aka Basil Pesto Party and M4828Z when evaluated at LIHREC) have moderate resistance. Everleaf exhibited better suppression than Eleonora, the first commercially‐available resistant basil, when evaluated at LIHREC. To achieve acceptable control, all resistant varieties need to be used with other management practices, in particular fungicides, due to very low tolerance for symptoms in herbs especially when used fresh.

Long Island Fruit & Vegetable Update; No.4; April 26, 2018

Photo: Yellowing of the upper surface of affected basil leaves often occurs in sections of the leaf delineated by veins  because the downy mildew pathogen cannot grow past major veins in leaves. Photo: Margaret McGrath    

Yellowish

 

 

 




Photo: Purplish gray spores of the downy mildew pathogen only develop on the lower surface of leaves.  Photo: Margaret McGrath 


This article is from the May 3, 2018 edition of ENYCHP Vegetable News.  To read the full newsletter,CLICK HERE.



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Ethnic Vegetables

Ethnic Vegetables

Garlic

Garlic

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Horseradish

Kohlrabi

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Leeks

Lettuce / Leafy Greens

Lettuce / Leafy Greens

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Pumpkins / Gourds

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Radishes

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Raspberries / Blackberries

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Rhubarb

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Snap Beans

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Squash - Summer

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Upcoming Events

Interested in taking the NYSDEC Pesticide Applicator's exam?

March 27, 2024
March 29, 2024
: Interested in taking the NYSDEC Pesticide Applicator's exam?

View Interested in taking the NYSDEC Pesticide Applicator's exam? Details

2024 Agritourism Webinar Series

January 9, 2024 : Agritourism For Maple Syrup Operations

The first agritourism webinar for 2024 will focus on Maple Syrup Operations.  


February 13, 2024 : Grants for Agritourism Operations

Are there grants that can help you support or grow your agritourism business?  Where do you look for funding?


March 12, 2024 : Staffing your Agritourism Business

Agritourism operations need employees who are good with the public.  Where can you find a labor force for your agritourism enterprise? What different laws and regulations might you encounter as an employer for an agritourism workforce? How do you get your employees hired and trained effectively? 


April 9, 2024 : Working with your local tourism office

Your local tourism office is an important resource for you to help advertise and promote your agritourism business.  Find out what they can do for you!

View 2024 Agritourism Webinar Series Details

Virtual Orchard IPM Scout Training

April 15, 2024 : Virtual Orchard IPM Scout Training

Virtual Orchard IPM Scout Training

Monday April 15, 2-4PM
 
Join us for a live, virtual training on scouting of major insect pests of apple orchards. Anna Wallis (NYSIPM Program), Mike Basedow (CCE ENYCHP), and Janet van Zoeren (CCE LOFT), will broadcast from orchards in their region to discuss best practices for monitoring. We will review monitoring/scouting procedures for major economically significant pests. We will also share resources available for helping with identification of pests and forecasting pest activity.

This event is held on Zoom

View Virtual Orchard IPM Scout Training Details

Announcements

2023 Spotted Wing Drosophila Monitoring/Management

All berry farmers are watching for monitoring reports that indicate Spotted Wing Drosophila (SWD) adults are in their region. Mid-season berry crops should be sprayed as soon as berries begin to ripen unless you've elected to use insect exclusion netting.

- For general information about SWD, and to enroll for free monitoring reports, visit the Cornell SWD blog https://blogs.cornell.edu/swd1/.
- Click here for the 2023 Quick Guide for Pesticide Management. 
- For some great instructional videos and fact sheets on insect exclusion netting, visit the University of Vermont's Ag Engineering blog.


Resources from CCE ENYCHP!

We are developing new ways to connect with the CCE ENYCHP team this year! We have a Youtube page located at this link. Check out videos on Table Grape Production, Pest Updates and the 20 Minute Ag Manager - in 4 Minutes series

We have a Facebook Page here as well as an Instagram page. We keep these places updated with current projects, events, and other interesting articles and deadlines.

There are also text alerts available. Fruit and vegetable farmers in 17 Eastern NY counties can now receive real time alerts on high risk disease and pest outbreaks texted directly to their cell phone. The Eastern NY Commercial Horticulture program, which is supported by local Cornell Cooperative Extension associations, will now offer text alerts to those that enroll in our program in 2019. 

The text alerts will be reserved for important crop alerts that could impact management decisions immediately. For instance, if there were an outbreak of Late Blight in the area, this would be transmitted to vegetable growers.

Farmers can choose the crop for which they wish to receive updates. Additionally they can request that Ag Business Alerts be sent to them. These alerts might include due dates for crop insurance deadlines, market opportunities etc.

If you have questions, please contact enychp@cornell.edu


Podcasts

Winter Greens Grower Interviews in Northern New York

October 22, 2022
In this episode, vegetable specialist Elisabeth Hodgdon interviews Lindsey Pashow, ag business development and marketing specialist with the Cornell Cooperative Extension Harvest New York team. They discuss findings from a series of interviews with winter greens producers in northern New York. Lindsey shares production and marketing challenges associated with growing winter greens in this cold and rural part of the state, success stories and advice from growers, and tips for those interested in adding new crop enterprises to their operation.

Funding for this project was provided by the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program. The episode was edited by Miles Todaro of the ENYCHP team.

Resources:
• Crop enterprise budget resources available from Penn State Extension (field and tunnel vegetables: https://extension.psu.edu/small-scale-field-grown-and-season-extension-budgets), UMass Extension (winter spinach budgets: https://ag.umass.edu/vegetable/outreach-project/improving-production-yield-of-winter-greens-in-northeast and field vegetables: https://ag.umass.edu/vegetable/fact-sheets/crop-production-budgets), and Cornell Cooperative Extension (high tunnel vegetables: https://blogs.cornell.edu/hightunnels/economics/sample-budgets-spreadsheets/). Use these budgets as templates when developing your own crop enterprise budget.
• The Organic Farmer’s Business Handbook, by Richard Wiswall
• The Winter Harvest Handbook, by Eliot Coleman

For questions about the winter greens project discussed in this podcast, reach out to Lindsey Pashow (lep67@cornell.edu) or Elisabeth Hodgdon(eh528@cornell.edu).

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