ATT sponsors the National Association of County Agriculture Agents Communications Awards program. Agriculture agents are asked to submit samples of their work to be shared with other across the nation. I was recently privileged to review one of the entries in this year’s competition that will be of interest to vegetable growers in Florida. Hendry County Extension Agent Gene McAvoy produces a newsletter for growers and makes it available via e-mail and the Internet. Readers can view current and past issues on Gene’s website

Published bi-weekly by the Hendry County Extension Office since 1998, 27 issues have been produced to date. The concerns of the SW Florida Vegetable Advisory Committee showed a need for a timely updates on pest and disease problems. This newsletter provides growers and other industry personnel with dependable and timely information on the occurrence, incidence, trends, and severity of various vegetable pests and diseases occurring in SW Florida. It is a collaborative effort from some 20-30 growers and scouts, the UF/IFAS SWFREC Diagnostic Clinic in Immokalee, IFAS and industry vegetable specialists, and Gene’s personal field observations. Included are pertinent weather information, IPM tips and information, updates on pest control products and regulatory issues. A typical edition varies between 6 and 8 pages.

"Accurate and current information is the best defense against insects and disease."

"I read it and have all our supervisors read it."

"Something like this has been needed for a long time."

"It gets passed around to everyone in the office the day it comes in."

"The hotline helps me see the big picture and not just what's happening in my fields."

It has also made it on UF/IFAS Florida Pest Alert, the USDA IPM Newsletters website , and has also been cited in the Illinois Fruit and Vegetable News as a useful reference and is regularly quoted in local and regional trade journals.

Production Practices

The EauGallie fine sand was prepared in early August. Beds were formed and fumigated with methylbromide:chloropicrin, 67:33 at 2.3 lb/100 lbf. Banded fertilizer was applied in shallow grooves on the bed shoulders at 2.34-0-3.25 lb N-P₂O₅-K₂O/100 lbf after the beds were pressed and before the white on black polyethylene mulch was applied. The total fertilizer applied was equivalent to 203-0-283 lb N-P₂O₅-K₂O/A. The final beds were 32 in. wide and 8 in. high, and were spaced on 5 ft centers with six beds between seepage irrigation/drainage ditches which were on 41 ft centers.

Transplants were set in the field on 23 August and spaced 24 in. apart in single rows down the center of each bed. Transplants were immediately drenched with water containing the recommended rate of imidacloprid for silverleaf whitefly control. Four replications of 10 plants per entry were arranged in a randomized complete block design. Plants were lightly pruned, staked and tied.

Plants were scouted for pests throughout the season. Lepidopterous larvae, leafminers and silverleaf whitefly were the primary insects found. Bacillus thuringiensis, methomyl, spinosad, buprofezin, endosulfan, and pyriproxyfen were used according to label instructions to control insect pest populations during the season. A preventative spray program using maneb, copper hydroxide, and chlorothalonil was followed for control of plant pathogens. Tomato yellow leaf curl virus affected plants were removed and disposed of early in the season, but were allowed to remain after the second tie.

Results

The University of Florida experimental hybrids Fla. 7885, Fla. 7921, Fla. 7816; and ‘BHN 273,’ and HA 3017 B were outstanding performers in the fall 1999 replicated trial.

Dow Showcases New Telone Application Rig

Dow Chemical Company recently unveiled a new application rig for broadcasting Telone with demonstrations in Gainesville, Palmetto, and Immokalee. The rig itself is the brainchild of John Mirusso, who fabricated specially designed colters to place the Telone a full 12 inches below the ground (Fig. 1a and 1b). This depth actually places the fumigant where no fumigant has gone before! Additionally, this depth of placement so adequately seals the Telone and chloropicrin in, that it cannot be detected by the human nose.

The new rig uses a series of 30-inch vertical colters placed one foot apart to knife-in the Telone C-35 while simultaneously broadcasting Tillam. The equipment offers several advantages, including:

· The fumigant is knifed-in to a depth of 12 inches and stays on target, minimizing potential exposure and maximizing effectiveness. The broadcast nature of the application is helpful in several ways. First, as a one-person operation, it eliminates many of the worker protection concerns by utilizing a single tractor operator for application. Bedding and other associated operations are done after the REI has elapsed, alleviating the need for multiple people in the field and greatly reducing potential exposure to pesticides.

· The full broadcast application, including ditches and drive middles, can all but eliminate mid-season intrusion of diseases and nematodes, since these source areas will have been treated too. Most growers in attendance felt the broadcast application would be too expensive. However, Dow AgroSciences claims the cost is in line with the current price of methyl bromide applied in the bed.

· The use of colters enables the rig to cut through string and plastic that often impede operations.

· The rig can be constructed in any width required depending on grower preference. The components are constructed in one-foot increments at a cost of approximately $1,150 per foot.

· Lastly, fumigation can be done well in advance of planting, eliminating potential bottlenecks in the field from multiple tasks.

Although the rig is designed for a once-over application including the Telone and Tillam, the consensus among the growers was that the Tillam might best be applied toward the end of the Telone re-entry period to help aerate the soil and provide the longest-lasting weed control. It was also believed that a light disc would provide for a better incorporation of the Tillam than the S-tines on the rig (Fig. 2). Tillam is best used in conjunction with mechanical transplanting equipment. If plants are to be set by hand, workers must be provided with waterproof, chemical-resistant gloves (Category A). The REI on Tillam is 12 hours. However, according to Zeneca’s Tillam label, tomatoes should not be transplanted before 21 days.

Telone C 35 has surfaced as the best, readily available alternative to methyl bromide at the present time. The 35% chloropicrin is included in the mixture for additional disease control. Methyl bromide users are no strangers to chloropicrin. It should be noted, however, that 35% chloropicrin will require more time (approximately 21 days) to vacate the soil than growers remember with the 2% product found in the old methyl bromide.

The rig impressed those in attendance and persuaded many attendees to think more seriously about the coming loss of methyl bromide. Although projections are for a total phase out of methyl bromide by 2005, most growers feel it will be almost impossible to obtain by fall 2001. For more information on Telone, contact Jerry Nance, Telone Specialist, Dow AgroSciences (863-293-4224); for specification on the application rig, contact John Mirusso (561-251-5187).

Figure 1a. Telone/Tillam application rig, featuring 30" colters.

Figure 1b. Telone/Tillam application rig, featuring 30" colters.

Figure 2. S-tines for Tillam incorporation.

(McAvoy, Hendry County Extension, and Vavrina, Vegetarian 00-03)

Kinds and Varieties of Southern Pea, Vigna unguiculata

Extension Vegetable Crops Specialists