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.
Keep an eye on the Upcoming Events tab periodically so you don’t miss anything. Also, check out the latest episode of the SC Grower Exchange Podcast.
Coastal Region
Zack Snipes
- We are seeing heavy volumes of okra and muscadine coming in right now.
- We are seeing some fruit rot in muscadine, but we have a heavy enough crop that makes losses negligible at this point.
- With the rain we received and the cooler weather lately, we have seen new flushes of growth on perennial fruits such as blueberry, blackberry, and citrus.
- This time of year can be tough for cucurbits. I have seen squash bugs, leaf-footed bugs, pickleworms, and melonworms all be devastating this time of year. I saw a few whiteflies in squash last week, so be on the lookout for increasing populations there. As always, this time of year is perfect for downy mildew on cucurbits. There are several varieties of cucumbers that have downy mildew resistance, so do your homework and choose wisely.
Fruit rot in muscadine can lead to quality issues and an overall reduction in yield.
Zack Snipes, ©2024, Clemson Extension
Midlands Region
Rob Last
- Fall crops continue to develop well in the Midlands.
- Bacterial spot and spec remain a threat.
- Disease pressure remains high, particularly anthracnose.
- Drier and cooler conditions over the last week have provided some respite. However, the forecast is that this is likely to change over the weekend, allowing for an increase in disease potential.
- Insect pressure remains high.
- For all strawberry growers, we have a meeting for Midlands Growers on September 18. Check out the link on the Upcoming Events page to register.
- We will look at early-season disease, weed, and nematode management.
- I also urge you to check out the Neopestaliopsis information posted on Wednesday.
Fall peppers are looking great in the Midlands.
Rob Last, ©2024, Clemson Extension
Sarah Scott
- As August is coming to an end, so is our peach crop. The last variety for most growers is ‘Sunny J’, and these are finishing up now. Workers continue summer pruning, trunk sprays for borers and orchard maintenance. Orchards that have reached their productive lifespan are being pushed up to begin preparing land for new crops.
- As a reiteration from last week’s information regarding fungal diseases, mummified fruit can act as an inoculum for issues, so cleaning up fields as harvest ends is important.
- Despite the rain from ‘Debby’ we are entering into another dry spell. We have not had much rain to speak of since the storm, and the extended forecast does not have much chance of precipitation. When possible, growers should be mindful to keep even moisture on plants that are getting established in the field. This will help with root development as well as nutrient uptake.
Some of the water sprouts removed from the center of peach trees, laying in the row middles.
Sarah Scott, ©2024, Clemson Extension
Pee Dee Region
Brittney King
- We’ve had some cooler days in the Pee Dee the past week, and fields have dried out from excessive rains, allowing growers to get out and plant fall crops.
- Striped flea beetle damage is the biggest issue with brassica crops, especially collards. They start chewing on the underside of the lower leaves and move their way to the upper leaves. Venom or Scorpion can be soil-applied before planting. For other pesticide recommendations for flea beetles, visit page 148 of the 2024 SE Vegetable Crop Handbook.
- The pumpkin crop is progressing well. I have not seen any big issues other than spotty cucumber beetle damage. Some specialty varieties have already started producing fruit. As we get closer to harvest, ensure you supply enough potassium to your crop. With the recent cooler temperatures in the Pee Dee, pumpkin growers have been focused on applying fungicides specific for powdery mildew, such as Gatten, Vivando, and Quintec. If you are spraying chlorothalonil as a protectant, it will give you some protection against PM and other fungal diseases. However, PM can affect the lower and upper part of the leaf, so you will need to incorporate one of the PM-specific fungicides above into your rotation to protect the bottom leaf surface as well. For more information on PM in cucurbits, check out this article on Powdery Mildew Management in Cucurbits by Dr. Tony Keinath.
- Muscadine growers have mostly finished skirting the vines and have begun harvesting fresh-market muscadines in good volume.
- Okra is still harvesting well. Like last year, the biggest issue this summer I have seen with okra is nematodes. Crop rotation is essential in preventing nematodes from inhabiting your soil.
Striped flea beetle damage to the underside of a collard leaf.
Brittney King, ©2024, Clemson Extension
Upstate Region
Andy Rollins
- We’re hearing of major strawberry nursery problems with the fungal disease Neopestialosis. It has been identified and interrupted the supply of plugs for this year’s strawberry plantings. I have encouraged growers to identify their suppliers and not be too picky with varieties this year. Growers will have to decide if they are going to grow at all or settle for a different variety or source plant other than plugs. Cutoffs and bare root plants may be the only thing available. Those decisions need to be made now, or they may not have a choice later. I have seen some tip plug production where we are finding some problems that have not been identified yet but have been submitted for identification.
- We are having some problems with peach trees from a Pennsylvania peach tree nursery. They are replacing trees with this problem of graft/bud union failure. The decision was made to replace all trees where the new shoots are emerging at or below the graft union.
- Muscadine harvest has begun in the Upstate. Fruit quality is good. Cooler weather last week seemed to slow ripening some, but the quality is excellent.
A peach tree that sprouted below the graft/bud union. X marks the scion while the arrows point to shoots that came from the rootstock.
Andy Rollins, ©2024, Clemson Extension
