Crop Protection

Strawberry disease ID: Neopestalotiopsis or a more traditional disease?

Since Neopestalotiopsis (or Pestalotia) was present in plug plant material distributed in Pennsylvania and the Mid-Atlantic in the fall of 2021, here are some photos and tips on how to tell it apart from other... more »

Methomyl as a restricted use pesticide classified in Michigan

Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) Director Gary McDowell on Feb. 14 issued an order declaring all formulations of the insecticide methomyl as a restricted use pesticide. This action was taken due to... more »

$70M to support program to strengthen pest detection, surveillance

The USDA is allocating more than $70 million to support 372 projects under the Plant Protection Act’s Section 7721 program to strengthen the nation’s infrastructure for pest detection and surveillance, identification, and threat mitigation; to... more »

Yield-robbing nematodes targeted by Certis Biologicals’ MeloCo LC

Certis Biologicals announced Jan. 31 the launch of MeloCon LC, a water-dispersible concentrate containing spores from a naturally-occurring soil fungus that controls a wide variety of harmful nematodes at every lifecycle stage. Plant-parasitic nematodes, an unseen threat... more »

Expanded use of Leap ES bacterial disease management insecticide OK’d

Valent BioSciences has announced that the U.S. EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) has approved the expanded use of Leap ES Bacterial Disease Management Biological Insecticide. As a result of this approval, Leap ES is now registered... more »

Naïo Technologies’ robot in Top 10 New Products at World Ag Expo 2022

Naïo Technologies, the leader in autonomous ag robots, has just celebrated its 10th anniversary and 60,000 hours of operations under real world conditions. With US headquarters located in Salinas, California. Naïo Technologies has been operating... more »

Study: White clay spray mix repels tomato pest

Tomatoes are big business in Florida, the nation’s top producer of the popular fruit, but an insect no bigger than a grain of rice threatens growers’ fields each season. The whitefly prefers the underside of leaves, enjoying a variety... more »

Researcher studies transforming tomatoes with molecular biotechnology

James Duduit, a North Carolina State University horticultural science doctoral student, utilizes molecular biotechnology to transform tomatoes and improve the crop’s resistance to bacterial wilt and other common pathogens. Molecular biotechnology has many crop applications... more »