Purdue Extension resources for Hoosier fruit, vegetable growers
Three updated resources from Purdue Extension will help Indiana fruit and vegetable growers stay on top of the latest crop management strategies and research.
New this year, the 2020 Midwest Vegetable Production Guide for Commercial Growers is available online for free. The online version is searchable by crop, pest and control measures and is accessible on any platform from data phone to desktop. The online guide can be found at mwveguide.org. A hard copy guide is also available at Purdue Extension’s The Education Store. The guide is an annual summary of state-specific information on vegetable varieties, fertility, seeding rates, fertilizer rates, weed control, insect control and disease management.
The hard copy and online versions are updated to include new information on insecticides, herbicides and fungicides; plant-parasitic nematode management; an updated pesticide application record form; modified variety recommendations, including sweet potatoes; and disease, weed and insect management. Printed copies of the Midwest Vegetable Production Guide are $15.
To supplement the guide, producers can subscribe to the Vegetable Crops Hotline at https://vegcropshotline.org. The hotline is updated every two weeks during the growing season with the latest crop management information. Growers may sign up for email notifications for free or subscriptions for a printed copy are $15 per year, 2 years for $25 and 3 years for $30. Email notifications will include hot topic notifications between issues.
The Midwest Vegetable Trial Reports from 2019, are available for free download. These reports provide yield and quality data based on field test results under different cropping conditions for multiple varieties of cabbage, cucumber, melon, pepper, sweet corn, tomato and watermelon. Reports include work conducted at land-grant universities around the Midwest including Kansas State University, the University of Kentucky, Michigan State University and the University of Missouri as well as at Purdue. Reports from previous years are available and new reports will be added periodically. Visit https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/mwvtr/ to access the 2019 reports.
Growers can now also access the 2019-20 edition of the Midwest Fruit Pest Management Guide. The guide is updated every other year to provide the most complete information and recommendations for controlling weeds, diseases and pests of all major fruit crops grown in the Midwest.
Janna Beckerman, Purdue professor of plant pathology and coordinating editor of the guide, worked with Purdue professor of entomology Rick Foster and horticulture Bruce Bordelon, as well as contributors from universities in 13 states to compile the current edition. Bordelon said having updated information regarding pesticide labels is critical for fruit growers to use pesticides effectively and legally in their operations, which is why the guide has the most updated information available. Bordelon added that an online PDF version of the guide is updated regularly should the need arise during the growing season.
The contributing states are working together this year to get grower input on the guide’s format to make the 2021-22 version more user friendly.
To supplement the guide, producers can subscribe to the Facts for Fancy Fruit newsletter at https://fff.hort.purdue.edu/. The newsletter is published regularly throughout the growing season and provides the latest crop management information.
Printed copies of the Midwest Fruit Pest Management Guide are $15 and boxes of 10 are available for $135.
To order Purdue Extension resources by phone, call 765-494-6794. For more information, visit Purdue Extension’s The Education Store at https://edustore.purdue.edu.
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