Fruit Pest News

Volume 10, No. 10  June 18, 2009

An online newsletter whose goal is to provide all interested persons with timely information on diseases and insects of commercial fruit and vegetable crops in Tennessee.

 

Text appearing in blue or red can be clicked to link to other web sites. Be aware that much of the linked information is produced in other states and may not be applicable to Tennessee.


In This Issue:

 

    1. Recent first reports for the year

    2. Status of Cucurbit Downy Mildew

    3. Esteem Ant Bait Expanded Crop Uses

    4. Danitol 2.4 EC Spray FIFRA Section 2 (ee) Recommendation

    5. New Vegetable and Strawberry Insect Website from Canada

    6. Strawberry Nurseries Are Not Always to Blame for Anthracnose

    7. Pheromone Trap Catches


1. Recent first reports for the year

Anthracnose in strawberry; gummy stem blight and Cercospora leaf spot in cantaloupe; tomato spotted wilt virus from home garden tomato; and Japanese beetles on grapes.


2. Status of Cucurbit Downy Mildew

Downy mildew is popping up in areas to the south and east of Tennessee. See map: http://nc-climate.ncsu.edu/cucurbit/map.php. The sites are some distance from TN, but not so far that air currents couldn't bring us spores without the need for "hop-scotching." They could move here in one weather event. The most recent forecast does not extend beyond Thursday. Keep an eye on the forecasts, which are issued every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The current hot spell does not protect your cucurbits from this disease, as it is quite heat-tolerant.

The use of specialized downy mildew fungicides is not recommended until we are under high risk of infection from a spore transport event, or the disease has been found in the field or in the community (That's why we need to let others know when we find or think we find the disease). Until then, use chlorothalonil or mancozeb to protect your crop against this and other fungal diseases. (SB)


3. Esteem Ant Bait Expanded Crop Uses

A supplemental label for Esteem Ant Bait (pyriproxyfen) adds new crops to the Esteem Ant Bait label (for imported fire ants and other listed ants). Some of the new crops added included berries (raspberries, blackberry, blueberry, huckleberry, elderberry, current, gooseberry, etc.), bulb vegetables, cereal grains (wheat, barley, oats etc.), legume vegetables, root and tuber vegetables (beet, carrot, ginseng, horseradish, radish, turnip, sweet potato, potato etc.), cranberry, and peanuts.

Esteem Ant Bait should be applied in the early Spring or Summer at the first sign of ant activity. Avoid application if rain is expected within 4 to 6 hours. Do not water treated area for 24 hours after application. In the event of prolonged rains after initial treatment, reapplication may be necessary. A second application of Esteem Ant Bait may be advisable after 12 to 16 weeks in areas of heavy infestations, or when the mounds remain active, or when a reinfestation occurs. In large mounds, some worker ants may persist even though the queen is dead. After 14 days, it may be desireable to apply a registered ant insecticide to kill any remaining foraging ants. (FH)


4. Danitol 2.4 EC Spray FIFRA Section 2 (ee) Recommendation

Plum curculio, green June beetle, Japanese beetle, and tarnished plant bug have been added to stone fruit on the Danitol 2.4 EC Spray label as a FIFRA Section 2(ee) Recommendation. The product use rates are 10-2/3 to 21-1/3 fl oz/acre. It is generally recommended that no more than two applications be made per season as part of a reistance managment program. Use non-pyrethroid products at other timings to control pests. This 2 (ee) Recommendation is for distribution and use only within the states of AL, CT, DE, GA, IL, KY, MA, MD, MI, NC, NJ, OH, PA, SC, TN, VA, WI, and WV. (FH)


5. New Vegetable and Strawberry Website from Canada

While this new website is out of Ontario, it should still have good information on pest identification keys and distinguishing between look-alike species according to Dr. Darrell Hensley in our department's What's Happening Newsletter (June 5, 2009). This website targets integrated pest management for brassicas, cucurbits, peppers, sweet corn, tomatoes, and strawberries. Check it out at: http://www.ontario.ca/cropIPM. (FH)


6. Strawberry Nurseries Are Not Always to Blame for Anthracnose

Our first report of strawberry anthracnose in TN this year (to my knowledge) was received this week. Coming at the tail end of the season, about 9 months after planting, it is not likely that the source of the inoculum was the transplants. This fungus has a fairly wide host range, and can enter a field from hosts in the surrounding areas.

Finding anthracnose does not doom the field from being used for strawberries this fall if the grower does a good job of incorporating the plant debris into the soil immediately after harvest and fumigates before planting in the fall. Finding it, however, should relieve you of any temptation you may have had about carrying the field over, as this should not be done if anthracnose is present. (SB)


7. Pheromone Trap Catches and Biofixes (FH)

Nashville (Davidson County) Pheromone Trap Catches for 2009
Oriental fruit moth (OFM), redbanded leafroller (RBLR), obliquebanded leafroller (OBLR), codling moth (CM), grape berry moth (GBM), variegated leafroller (VLR), black cutworm (BCW), diamondback moth (DBM), armyworm (AW), beet armyworm (BAW), squash vine borer (SVB), fall armyworm (FAW)

OFM RBLR OBLR CM GBM VLR BCW DBM AW CL BAW SVB FAW
3-13 (Put out
RBLR trap)
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
3-20 -- 29* -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
3-23 -- 14 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
3-30 (put out
BCW trap)
-- 9 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
3-31 (put out OFM,
CM, VLR, OBLR
traps)
-- 10 -- -- -- -- 0 -- -- -- -- -- --
4-2 4** 2 0 0 -- 0 0 -- -- -- -- -- --
4-3 (put out
AW trap)
-- -- -- --
4-8 (put out GBM,
DBM, BAW, FAW,
SVB, CL traps)
12 19 0 0 -- 0 2 -- 4 -- -- -- --
4-13 9 17 0 0 4*** 0 0 0 7 0 0 0 0
4-20 4 7 0 0 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
4-27 6 0 0 0 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5-4 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
5-11 0 0 4**** 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
5-18 5 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5-21 3 12 23 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5-26 7 29 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
6-1 7 96 38 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
6-10 10 4 18 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
6-15 3 2 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

* Biofix for RBLR in Davidson County estimated as prior to March 20 (trap not out early enough).
**Biofix for OFM in Davidson County was April 2.
***Biofix for GBM in Davidson County was April 13.
****Biofix for OBLR in Davidson County was May 11.

Putnam County Pheromone trap Catches for 2009
Tufted Apple Bud Moth (TABM)

OFM RBLR OBLR CM VLR TABM
3-16 -- 10* -- -- 0 --
3-18 -- 31 -- -- 0 --
3-20 -- 2 -- -- 0 --
3-23 -- 2 -- -- 0 --
3-25 -- 0 -- -- 0 --
3-27 -- 6 -- -- 0 --
3-30 -- 11 -- -- 0 --
4-1 (put out
OBLR, TABM traps)
4-3 -- 10 0 -- 0 0
4-10 (put out
OFM trap)
-- 11 0 -- 0 0
4-13 4 3 0 -- 0 0
4-17 (put out
CM trap)
12 9 0 -- 0 0
4-20 10 0 0 2** 0 0
4-22 4 0 0 0 0 1
4-24 7 2 0 2 0 2***
4-27 4 0 0 1 0 0
5-1 5 0 0 0 0 0
5-8 11 0 0 1 0 14
5-15 1 0 0 0 0 15
5-18 3 0 0 1 0 12
5-22 5 14 0 0 0 22
5-25 2 16 3 2 0 1
5-29 0 30 3 1 2 6

*Biofix for RBLR in Putnam County estimated as prior to March 16 (trap not out early enough).
**Biofix for CM in Putnam County was April 20.
.**Biofix for TABM in Putnam County was April 24.

Obion County Pheromone Trap Catches for 2009

VLR RBLR OBLR CM
5-1 3* -- -- --
5-12 42 -- -- --
6-1 (Note: missing data [--] prior to June) 14 22 2 0

*Biofix for VLR in Obion County was May 1.


The Fruit Pest News URL is: http://web.utk.edu/~extepp/fpn/fpn.htm

Contacts:

 

Steve Bost, Professor and Extension Plant Pathologist

scbost@utk.edu

 

Frank Hale, Professor and Extension Entomologist

fahale@utk.edu

 

Both authors available at:

615-832-6802

fax 615-781-2568

Soil, Plant and Pest Center

5201 Marchant Drive

Nashville, TN 37211

 

Copyright 2009 The University of Tennessee. All rights reserved. This document may be reproduced and distributed for nonprofit educational purposes provided that credit is given to University of Tennessee Extension.

 

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