Crop Protection

Thrips hit onions; foliar disease boosts risk

Onion thrips are a major challenge to organic growers and to growers who grow onions with conventional practices. Foliar diseases like stemphylium are also a major challenge. New research from Michigan State University (MSU) is... more »

New guide helps Northeast farms learn tarping

A new publication helps growers understand how tarps work. Cornell Small Farms Program's Reduced Tillage project's “Tarping in the Northeast: A Guide for Small Farms” provides comprehensive information on the emerging practice of tarping. To help weed and... more »

New biostimulant operating unit created by Valent BioSciences

To further help support the goal of its parent company, Sumitomo Chemical Co. Ltd., to achieve carbon neutral status by 2050, Valent BioSciences LLC recently announced that it is establishing a new operating unit designed... more »

Study shows planting cucumbers early can help to avoid downy mildew

Downy mildew affects cucumber crops in South Carolina every year and can cause huge crop losses, but Clemson University researchers say planting early can cut growers’ losses to just about zero. A 2021 study conducted... more »

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 »