Announcements & News
The 2007 Proceedings of the Florida Tomato Institute are accessible on-line
Click here to view them now.
Proceedings from previous years (2002-2006) are available at http://gcrec.ifas.ufl.edu
/vegetables.htm
All Vegetarian Newsletter Issues Are Available On-line!!!
Back issues of the Vegetarian Newsletter (VN) have been scanned and are accessible from this site, thanks to support from the Horticultural Sciences Department and Dr. Steven Sargent's efforts. The VN is now in its 58th year and I'm sure readers will find the back issues both useful and interesting from an historical perspective. We hope to be able to categorize these previous articles by subject in the future. Click here to visit our archives!!!
The electronic version of the 2007-2008 Vegetable Production Handbook is available online!
New EDIS Horticulture Publications
"Rootstocks for Florida Peaches, Nectarines, and Plums" is now available on EDIS at: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/HS366. This publication, written by J. Ferguson and J. Chaparro, describes recomended rootstocks for Florida, rootstocks no longer recomended for Florida stone fruit, and proceedures for harvesting, cleaning and stratifying 'Flordaguard' seed prior to cleaning. Click on the link in the description above to read this great publication!
" Florida Subtropical Peaches: Production Practices " is now available on EDIS at: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/HS348. This publication, written by J. Ferguson, J. Chaparro, J. G. Williamson, R. Rouse and R. Mizell, describes topics in Florida subtropical peach production such as nursery practices, site selection, orchard design, planting and much more. Click on the link in the description above to read this great publication!
"Critical Issues for the Tomato Industry: Preventing a Rapid Postharvest Breakdown of the Fruit" is now available on EDIS at: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/HS363. This bulletin represents a summary of the all work done and current guidelines for tomato growers and packer/shippers to minimize risk for rapid postharvest breakdown. Click on the link in the description above to read this great publication!
"Strategies for Subtropical Peach Production in Florida" was released by EDIS (http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/HS364). This publication, written by J. J. Ferguson, J. X. Chaparro, D.M. Omalley & L. Harrison, describes strategies for growing subtropical peaches in Florida and gives the number of chilling units different varieties require.Click on the link in the description above to read this great publication!
"Training and Pruning Florida Peaches, Nectarines, and Plums" was released by EDIS (http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/HS365). This publication, written by J. Ferguson, is a valuable resource on how to prune and train peach, nectarine and plum trees. Click on the link in the description above to read this great publication!
"Guidelines for Enrolling in Florida's BMP Program for Vegetable Crops" was released by EDIS (http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/HS367). This publication, written by Aparna Gazula, Eric Simonne and Brian Boman, describes the process for enrolling in Florida BMP program for vegetable crops as well as where you can find additional resources and help with the implementation of your BMP program. Click on the link in the description above to read this great publication!
Other sources of Hortcultural Information.
Direct link to the BMP Manual for Vegetables & Agronomic Crops in Florida
Click here for a PDF printer friendly version of this article.
Downy Mildew on Basil
By Gene McAvoy, County Extension Director/ Regional Vegetable Agent III, UF/IFAS Hendry County Extension Office
Downy Mildew has been reported on basil in at least three locations around south Florida . It has also been confirmed at the UF/IFAS Plant Disease Clinic in Immokalee.
Downy mildew is a new disease on field-grown basil in Florida and may be related to a downy mildew that has been seen in Europe on greenhouse-grown basil in Italy and Switzerland .
Symptoms initially appear as a faint yellowing of leaves concentrated around the middle vein. On the underside of leaves, a gray, fuzzy growth or russetted appearance may be apparent. Although symptoms may appear relatively mild in the field, the disease causes major postharvest problems causing the leaves to blacken and become un-saleable once the crop is harvested and packed.
The greenhouse industry has also reported that a new downy mildew that affects coleus has recently been discovered in multiple locations around the United States and is causing alarm for both coleus growers and researchers. This new coleus downy mildew disease is caused by a microorganism that may be new to North America .
Tests of coleus downy mildew DNA, however, have indicated that it is a different species — one that has previously been seen in Europe on greenhouse-grown basil in Italy and Switzerland . For now, the coleus pathogen can be referred to as Peronospora sp. It is known that it can infect both coleus and basil, but the possibility it can go to additional plant hosts certainly exists.
Growers should be aware that downy mildew can be explosive when the weather is wet and humid. The downy mildew pathogen requires free moisture from condensation or watering on the plant surface to germinate. Reports indicate that some growers have had difficulty achieving satisfactory control.
Downy mildew has the bad habit of changing and becoming resistant to the systemic fungicides. Alternating systemic and protectant materials with different activities will help guard against the development of pesticide resistance in this downy mildew.
Dr Rick Raid, Pathologist EREC in Belle Glades and Dr Pam Roberts, Pathologist SWFREC are currently investigating this disease and are conducting fungicide tests with a number of materials to determine efficacy against this pathogen.
Fungicide efficacy trials on coleus reported in Greenhouse Product News indicates that many of the products labeled for downy mildew in other crops provide good control of this pest. Be sure to check the label to make sure it is registered for use on basil.
For additional info and photos go to http://pestalert.ifas.ufl.edu/pdr-1029.htm
Excerpted from South Florida Vegetable Pest and Disease Hotline – October 26, 2007
Contributing Authors
Dale Bennett County Extension Director & Extension Agent IV
Jeffrey K. Brecht Professor, postharvest physiology
Jacque Breman County Extension Director & Extension Agent IV
Daniel J. Cantliffe Distinguished Professor and Chair, greenhouse production
Craig K. Chandler Professor, breeding/ genetics
Dan Culbert
Extension Agent III
Phyllis Gilreath Extension Agent IV
Bob Hochmuth Extension Agent IV
Chad M. Hutchinson Associate Professor, vegetable production
Yuncong Li Associate Professor, soils
Tom MacCubbin Extension Agent IV
Gene McAvoyCounty Extension Director & Extension Agent III
Teresa Olczyk Extension Agent IV
Stephen M. Olson Professor, small farms
Rafael Munoz-Carpena Associate Professor, hydrology
Mark A. Ritenour Associate Professor, postharvest
Ed Skvarch Extension Agent I
Bielinski Santos Assistant Professor, vegetable production
Steven A. Sargent Professor and Scientific Editor, postharvest
Eric H. Simonne Associate Professor, vegetable nutrition
William M. Stall Professor, weed science
Danielle Treadwell Assistant Professor, organic/sustainable production
Richard Tyson Extension Agent IV
Alicia Whidden Extension Agent II
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