Category: Cucurbits
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Weekly Field Update – 8/26/24
Strawberry growers are scrambling to find disease-free plants. Late-season disease and insect pressure is picking up and muscadines and other fall crops are nearing harvest. See details below. Researchers from universities across the Southeast are seeking to expand the number of crops on the MyIPM app for Vegetables. In order to do this, feedback is…
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Weekly Field Update – 8/19/24
The Coastal and Pee Dee regions have been drying out from Tropical Storm Debby. Fall crops are being planted in many areas. Peach harvest is coming to a close and muscadine harvest will begin soon. Disease pressure has really kicked up. See details below. Growers may continue document any crop or infrastructure impacts from Tropical…
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Fruit Rots on Pumpkins, Gourds, and Winter Squashes
From Clemson Plant Pathologist Tony Keinath As part of a new grant on cucurbit anthracnose with the University of Georgia, we sampled 68 pumpkins, gourds, and winter squash from “cull piles” at 7 pumpkin patches and small farms in South Carolina in October, November, and December 2023. Two-thirds of the 10 types of cucurbits sampled…
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More Evidence that Choosing Grafting or the Right Cultivar is More Important than Using Fungicides to Manage Fusarium Wilt of Watermelon
By Clemson Plant Pathologist Tony Keinath My 2024 Fusarium wilt experiment at Coastal REC, Charleston, SC, was a streamlined version of the 2023 experiment with 2 fungicides, 2 cultivars, and grafting, except we tested 1 different fungicide and 1 different cultivar. The 2024 results, however, matched the results from 2023 (see title). Already at 3…
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Fungicide Sensitivity of Cucurbit Powdery Mildew in Charleston, SC
From Clemson Plant Pathologist Tony Keinath A fall fungicide sensitivity bioassay was done in October 2023, to find out which fungicides are most effective against powdery mildew on squash, watermelon, and other cucurbits. Methods: ‘Early Prolific’ yellow summer squash plants with three true leaves were treated with fungicides, water, or not treated. The following day,…
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The Pesky Caterpillar Pests of Cucurbit Crops: Part 2
From Extension Vegetable Entomologist Tom Bilbo Last week, we covered identification and management strategies for the squash vine borer, the first of three common cucurbit caterpillar pests. This week, we will discuss the other two. Melonworm (Diaphania hyalinata) and Pickleworm (D. nitidalis) These closely related insects are tropical species that are only known to overwinter…
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The Pesky Caterpillar Pests of Cucurbit Crops: Part 1
From Extension Vegetable Entomologist Tom Bilbo There are three common caterpillar pests that plague growers of cucurbits in South Carolina and elsewhere throughout the Southeast: the squash vine borer (SVB), the pickleworm, and the melonworm. All three are specialist herbivores of cucurbits, which means they (the caterpillar stage) only feed on cucurbits and are specially…
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2022 Lima Bean Stats
In the Fall of 2022, Extension Agents throughout South Carolina surveyed growers on specialty crop acreage for the year. This was the first year of what is expected to be an annual survey. For this first year, data was collected for six crops: collard greens, lima beans, peaches, strawberries, sweet corn, and watermelon. The goal…
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Cucumber Cultivar Response to Downy Mildew
From Clemson Plant Pathologist Tony Keinath This blog is an update on the preliminary cucumber cultivar reactions to downy mildew posted on June 16, 2023. Use the info in this blog to choose cultivars. Clearly, a few cultivars had temporarily “escaped” infection, although I don’t know how that was possible. In addition, the resistances originally…
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2022 Watermelon Stats
In the Fall of 2022, Extension Agents throughout South Carolina surveyed growers on specialty crop acreage for the year. This was the first year of what is expected to be an annual survey. For this first year, data was collected for six crops: collard greens, lima beans, peaches, strawberries, sweet corn, and watermelon. The goal…
The South Carolina Grower 