Author: Justin Ballew
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Question of the Week – Downy Mildew
This week, the question was: What is the disease showing up on the underside of this collard leaf? This is downy mildew. While downy mildew symptoms can be seen on the top sides of the leaves, the pathogen sporulates on the underside of the leaves. This disease is most common when we have foggy mornings…
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Fungicide Sensitivity of Cucurbit Powdery Mildew in Charleston, SC
From Clemson Plant Pathologist Tony Keinath A fungicide sensitivity bioassay was done between June 1 and June 10, 2023, to find out which fungicides can be used against the current outbreak of powdery mildew on squash, watermelon, and other cucurbits. Methods: Yellow summer squash plants ‘Early Prolific’ with three true leaves were treated with one…
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Weekly Field Update – 6/19/23
Check out upcoming meetings on the Upcoming Events tab, and don’t forget to look at our Resources tab for links to crop handbooks, helpful websites, and related blogs. Also, check out the latest episode of the SC Grower Exchange Podcast. Be sure to scroll all the way to the bottom to see this week’s Question…
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Cucumber Downy Mildew Found in Charleston, SC
From Clemson Plant Pathologist Tony Keinath One of the rainstorms the latter part of last week (the week of June 5) brought cucumber downy mildew spores with it to Coastal REC. On June 12, the most susceptible cucumber cultivar, Straight 8, already had 50% diseased leaf area. This amount of disease suggests that the infection…
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Question of the Week – Barklice
This week, the question was: What are all these critters crawling on the bark of this crepe myrtle tree? These are barklice, AKA barkflies or booklice. This species is probably Cerastipsocus venosus. Barklice are sometimes called “tree cattle,” due to their behavior of moving around in a group like a herd of animals (try moving…
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Basil Downy Mildew Arrives in Charleston, SC
From Clemson Plant Pathologist Tony Keinath. One of the rainstorms the week of June 5, 2023, brought basil downy mildew spores with it to Coastal REC. On Friday, June 9, all four cultivars in our demonstration were healthy and more than ready to harvest. On Monday, June 12, this is what we found. Basil downy…
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Weekly Field Update – 6/12/23
Check out upcoming meetings on the Upcoming Events tab, and don’t forget to look at our Resources tab for links to crop handbooks, helpful websites, and related blogs. Also, check out the latest episode of the SC Grower Exchange Podcast. Be sure to scroll all the way to the bottom to see this week’s Question…
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Question of the Week – Heat Stress
This week, the question was: What is what is going on with the different sized beads and color variation in this broccoli head? This broccoli head is showing a symptom known as “cat eye” where there are clusters of small, lighter-colored beads surrounded by larger, darker-colored beads. This is a common symptom of heat stress…
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Weekly Field Update – 6/5/23
Don’t forget about the Coastal REC Field Day coming up this week on Wednesday, 6/7/23. Come to see and hear updates on vegetable weed, disease, and insect research. Register here. Check out other upcoming meetings on the Upcoming Events tab, and don’t forget to look at our Resources tab for links to crop handbooks, helpful…
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Question of the Week – Spined Soldier Bugs
This week, the question was: What is happening on this strawberry leaf? These are the eggs and nymphs of a predatory stink bug called the spined soldier bug (Podisus maculiventris). These beneficial insects feed on over 100 pest species of insects and can be found in many crops. These were located in a strawberry field…
The South Carolina Grower 