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Coastal Region
Zack Snipes
- I am seeing lots and lots of leaf lesions on strawberries out in the counties. I can’t stress enough how critical it is to get out in your field and send in samples to the lab if you find anything suspicious. Neopest is a serious disease and can completely wipe out your entire field. NOW is the time to identify and manage this disease.
- I am seeing lots of leaf damage in Asian-type greens such as Bok choi, tat soi, Nappa cabbage, and mustard. Yellow-margined leaf beetles (YMLB) are the culprit and are very tough, if not impossible, to control. The pest feeds in both the larval and adult stages and will make your greens look like Swiss cheese. The larvae look like “worms” but are a beetle. Bt will NOT work on this pest because they are beetles and not lepidopterans. Bt only works on lepidopteran pests. The larvae of the YMLB will have 6 legs or 3 pairs of legs. They hide in the crevices of the plant, so contact insecticides must be sprayed at high volume and pressure to get pesticide into the nooks and crannies to kill them. Row covers can be effective in managing this pest on new ground. If you have grown any Asian-type greens in a particular field before and have had this pest, then you will have the pest again.
Yellowmargined leaf beetles prefer Asian-type brassicas and decimate plants, leaving a Swiss cheese look to the crop.
Zack Snipes, ©2024, Clemson Extension
The larvae will feed and hide in the nooks and crannies of the plant, making them hard to kill.
Zack Snipes, ©2024, Clemson Extension
Midlands Region
Sarah Scott
- A question that has been coming up frequently in the past few weeks has been, “What’s the latest on chlorpyrifos?” Check out the UGA Peach Blog for the latest Chlorpyrifos update as of February.
- A few peach varieties are starting to show signs of bloom. We are on target to reach our required chill hours for all varieties grown on the Ridge. It is an El Nino year, so it is predicted that we could have some crazy weather/cold snaps this spring that could affect the crop. We will continue to monitor things and hope for a strong production year.
There was a great turnout at the Ridge Peach Mtg last week in Edgefield.
Sarah Scott, ©2024, Clemson Extension
Pee Dee Region
Brittney King
- We had a good amount of rain in the Pee Dee last night, and it looks like we will continue to have rain throughout today (February 12, 2024).
- I have seen many leaf spots on strawberry plants, mainly caused by Gnomonia. I have also seen Botrytis starting where previous cold damage had taken place. There are a few cases of Neopest, for which the current best treatment is rotating Switch and Thiram and using Quaternary ammonium to wash vehicles and equipment to help prevent disease carry-over from another field. Ensure that no one works in the field when the plants are wet, as this is an easy way to spread diseases between fields. I have seen some instances where planting was not done correctly, and the plug did not completely root in. The strawberries were planted with a stake, which made the planting hole too wide, causing the plant to wobble in the planting hole. The strawberry plug was never rooted in, which made the plant weak and susceptible to disease. We cannot stress enough the importance of starting with success on your strawberry plants. Ensuring your plants are disease-free and planted correctly can prepare you for a more successful and less stressful season. I have seen a big difference in disease pressure between fields that did use a pre-plant fungicide dip and fields that did not. It is an easy step that can save you from a lot of stress further into the season.
- Brassicas, chives, and garlic are looking good. There are some instances of black rot where it was already an issue in previous seasons; planting a brassica crop right after or before another brassica crop puts you at risk for black rot and other brassica pathogens. The black rot bacteria can survive on the leaves of the previous brassica crop, so make sure to disk crop debris soon after harvest to prevent further spread.
- Muscadine and blueberry pruning are underway. We need to start fertilizing muscadines in March and blueberries at bud break (mid-March). Ensure your blueberry fertilizer’s nitrogen composition is from an ammoniacal source like urea and NOT nitrate. Nitrate fertilizers can build up in the leaves of the blueberry plant and cause toxicity.
- I want to remind everyone about the Pee Dee Vegetable Production Meeting on February 29th, 1-3 pm at PDREC. There will be a free lunch before the meeting, from 12:15-1 pm. Pesticide credits are offered for attending the meeting. Please let me know if you are attending and if you have any dietary restrictions by February 22nd. Feel free to send an email to bking7@clemson.edu or call 843-519-2402.
Gnomonia leaf spot on strawberry leaf.
Brittney King, ©2024, Clemson Extension
Poorly planted strawberry plug with very little root growth.
Brittney King, ©2024, Clemson Extension
