Weekly Field Update – 5/27/25

The forecast is showing a damp week for the state, giving disease a good opportunity to develop. Cucurbit downy mildew was found in cucumbers in Charleston late last week. Use every dry opportunity you have to make sure you are on top of your disease management porgrams. See details below.

Keep an eye on the Upcoming Events tab periodically so you don’t miss any of our winter/spring meetings. Also, check out the latest episode of the SC Grower Exchange Podcast below.

Don’t forget to look at our Resources tab for links to crop handbooks, helpful websites, and related blogs. Be sure to scroll all the way to the bottom to see this week’s Question of the Week, and check back on Thursday for the answer.

Coastal Region

Anna Sara Hill

• It was a rainy weekend, and more is in the forecast for this week. As of this morning, some fields are already sitting in water. 
• Last week, I saw some foliar disease starting and expect to see more with this rain. 
• One cantaloupe field had several plants that mysteriously declined, seemingly overnight. Insect pressure was insignificant and there were no obvious disease symptoms to which the decline could be attributed to, so samples were sent for diagnosis. 
• Watermelons are growing nicely, and melons are sizing up. The downside is that with all the rain, watermelons close to harvest may swell up with water and not ripen properly. 
• Blueberry harvest is drawing to a close.
• Blackberry harvest hasn’t started yet in the area, but berries looked good and were starting to ripen when I checked them last week. 
• Sweetpotato planting is underway, but it will be halted due to the rain. 

Zack Snipes

• The rain has been very much welcomed throughout the region. Everything is in full gear right now with heavy volumes of squash, zucchini, cucumber, basil, carrots, potatoes, cut flowers…do I sound like Bubba from Forrest Gump yet? 
• Highbush blueberry harvest is winding down but rabbiteye berries will be coming off soon. Blackberries are in full gear as well. 
• Tomatoes, watermelon, and other melons will be coming off very soon, possibly this week if things progress like they have been. 
• I have seen a good bit of watermelon vines collapsing due to fusarium wilt. The cooler spring we had probably favored disease development. Make a note of this and rotate fields for next year. 
• I am starting to see some bacterial wilt and Southern blight show up in tomato, as well as bacterial spot. We have a great spray program for tomato in the vegetable crop handbook that can help with bacterial spot. 
• Downy mildew has been found on cucurbits in South Carolina, and with the weather this week, it could develop into a major issue. If there is a window of dry weather and you can get into the field, I would recommend getting some heavy hitting products on your cucurbit crops. Dr. Keinath published a great article last week about chemical options for managing this disease.

Pee Dee

Christiana Huss

• Strawberry picking is officially over for most farms. We had a great picking season without too much disease. Some growers have already purchased their plants for next season.
• The earliest varieties of blueberry, blackberry, and summer squash are coming to harvest.
• I’ve seen some squash bugs in cucurbits, but no pickleworms or melonworms yet. 
• Root crops seem to do well in our sandy soil in the Pee Dee. Garlic, onions, and potatoes are all being harvested and look great! 

Brittney King

• Some areas of the Pee Dee got less than half an inch of rain over Memorial Day, so we could still use a good rain in most places. There is rain forecasted for the next few days so be sure to scout your fields vigilantly afterwards for disease symptoms and for crop damage that can serve as an entry point for disease.
• Strawberries are still pushing out fruit in some areas, but fruit quality and size are going down and plants are collapsing from phytophthora crown rot.
• Peas and butterbeans are progressing well. I have seen some thrips damage on leaves, mainly at the edges of fields, but other than that, there are no major issues. It would be a good time to get control of the thrips before flowering where populations are high.
• Squash and cucumbers are being harvested in high volumes. Watermelons are progressing well with no signs of major disease so far. With the upcoming rain this week, conditions will be right for gummy stem blight development particularly in melons and squash so keep an eye out for foliar spots. Tony Keinath’s recent SC Grower update on cucurbit disease for mid-May has great pictures of gummy stem blight lesions as well as management recommendations, so make sure to check that out.
• I have seen striped cucumber beetles in some cucurbit fields. Populations are low currently, so it would be a good time to get a spray out so that populations don’t build up throughout the season. Refer to pages 161 of the 2025 SE Vegetable Crop Handbook for recommended insecticides. Remember to rotate modes of action (MOA) to decrease chances of resistance.
• Blueberries are about a week out from harvest. Some early varieties do have harvestable berries ready to pick this week. Muscadines are progressing well. Blackberries are being harvested in good volumes. No major issues to report with any of these fruit crops. 

Upstate

Briana Naumuk

• We are getting some much-needed rain here in the Upstate. A chance of rain is forecast for the rest of the week.
• Scouting for disease will be important this week, as there may not be much time for things to dry out between rain events. Things are also beginning to warm up here with our first summer temperatures this week.
• Apples are still doing well. Be sure to try to plan sprays for disease and insects around the rain.
• Early blueberry varieties like Climax and Premier are on track to begin harvesting early to mid-June this year.

Question of the Week

Why is this young peach tree developing shoots with purple leaves?

Answer in the comments below and check back on Thursday to see the answer.