Sustainable Agriculture @ URI tag:riextension.ubertechnik.com,2007://1 2006-10-19T16:49:52Z A weblog for all Rhode Island residents interested in sustaining agriculture in the Ocean State. Movable Type 3.31 Buying Seed Garlic? Check for Eriophyid Mites. tag:riextension.ubertechnik.com,2006://1.5 2006-10-19T15:38:44Z 2006-10-19T16:49:52Z That might not look like much - but you would be surprised what a colony of Eriophyid Mites can do to your garlic crop. The mites in this picture are commonly known as Wheat Curl Mites. This species of... That might not look like much - but you would be surprised what a colony of Eriophyid Mites can do to your garlic crop. The mites in this picture are commonly known as Wheat Curl Mites. This species of mite (Eriophyes tulipae) is primarily a pest of stored bulbs. In heavy field infestations there may be foliar symptoms including streaking and curling, but more often the mites simply desiccate otherwise healthy bulbs and open the clove up to infestation by other facultative plant pathogens. Wheat Curl Mite is also known to vector some disease causing organisms. This sample was picked up from a RI grower that recently bought this garlic for a fall planting. The grower noticed that some of the bulbs seemed dry and often had a ‘dead’ clove or two within the bulb. Upon pulling the bulb apart some of the cloves had discolored flesh likely the result of a secondary infection. Because the Wheat Curl Mite can only be seen under a high powered microscope growers should inspect their seed stocks closely and weed out unhealthy bulbs. A detailed fact sheet on Wheat Curl Mite is available from the UC Davis IPM website. Growers may want to try a hot water batch for garlic bulbs prior to planting. The University of Ontario recommends this process for heat-treating garlic bulbs: •Select only healthy, disease-free bulbs for hot water treatment and planting. Unhealthy bulbs may not survive the hot water treatment, which could lead to poor germination and establishment. •It is recommended to presoak the bulbs in 0.1% detergent and water solution for about 1 hour at room temperatures before dipping them into the hot water bath. •Remove the bulbs from the detergent solution and submerge them immediately into the hot water bath maintained at 44°C for 1 hour ensuring that all bulbs are completely submerged. •After one hour, remove the bulbs and submerge them in a cool water bath for another 15 minutes or until the bulbs have cooled down completely. •Remove the bulbs and spread them on a clean surface to dry ]]> New England Greenhouse Conference tag:riextension.ubertechnik.com,2006://1.4 2006-10-16T14:43:58Z 2006-10-16T17:30:08Z The New England Greenhouse Conference is coming up. The early registration deadline is October 25th. This conference has a packed agenda with many topics that will appeal to RI and Southern MA growers whether you have a stand-alone hoop house... Wednesday, November 1st – Pre-Conference workshops: Topics include perennial production, common greenhouse crop disease diagnostics, fertility and pH management for container-grown crops, insect/mite identification and control strategies. Thursday, November 2nd – Trade show opens, workshops continue: Topics include pesticide resistance management, marketing for the next generation, automating irrigation systems, propagation and production techniques and many more. Friday, November 3rd – Final day of trade show, workshops continue: Topics include greenhouse IPM systems, organic tomato production, season extension, cut flower production strategies, marketing in wet weather and many more. For a detailed breakdown of all the workshops available and a list of speakers, follow this link for the program agenda. The conference will be held at the DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts making it easy enough to go for just one day or commute to Worcester for all three. Online registration is available for other details, print forms and directions use the conference’s main page www.negreenhouse.org. ]]> Cercospora Leaf Spot tag:riextension.ubertechnik.com,2006://1.3 2006-10-16T03:14:44Z 2006-10-17T13:41:02Z Several RI growers are now seeing symptoms of Cercospora, a fungal leaf spot, on Beet Greens. The pathogen Cercospora beticola will also affect spinach and swiss chard as well as any other plant in the beet family (Chenopodiaceae). Primary symptoms... Cercospora beticola will also affect spinach and swiss chard as well as any other plant in the beet family (Chenopodiaceae). Primary symptoms include leaf spots that begin as small brown flecks surrounded by a purple halo. As the disease progresses the center or the spot will turn gray, may crack and eventually fall out. Lesions may also coalesce causing the entire leaf to yellow and then turn brown and necrotic. A detailed fact sheet with Information on the life cycle of this pest including cultural and chemical control strategies is available from: The University of Wisconsin ]]> The Ideal Blog tag:riextension.ubertechnik.com,2006://1.2 2006-10-16T01:59:09Z 2006-10-16T02:01:07Z The way this would work: I visit a farm, I find something interesting, I bring a sample into the lab and we work with the grower to identify the problem and look at the ecology of their site to best... The way this would work: I visit a farm, I find something interesting, I bring a sample into the lab and we work with the grower to identify the problem and look at the ecology of their site to best manage the problem in a way that works with the grower's production system. Working out the kinks tag:riextension.ubertechnik.com,2006://1.1 2006-09-19T14:48:24Z 2006-09-19T14:49:12Z Testing the moving type.... Testing the moving type.