• Supplemental label for Quintec on pumpkins and winter squash

• What=s working on Downy Mildew

• Higher Corn earworm populations

• Fall armyworm still around

• ECB back up

• Spider mites on eggplant

Supplemental label for Quintec on pumpkins and winter squash
The most effective material you can use for powdery mildew control on cucurbits is Quintec. Quintec is even more effective than Pristine or Procure because it has not been exposed to this water mold for as many years.  Until recently Quintec has not been available for use on any cucurbits and last week I reported that there was a new supplemental label in CT for use on melons.  Good news!  Quintec can now be used on pumpkins, winter squash and gourds, if, and only if, you have a copy of the supplemental label in your possession at the time you make the application.  You can find the supplemental label on the CDMS website at www.CDMS.net or for those of you who do not use the computer you can call my secretary at 860 875-3331 and she will send you a copy in the mail or by fax.  

What do you need to know about Quintec?  First, it only works on powdery mildew, not on our other major diseases, so you will need to apply something for downy mildew, Plectosporium, black rot and scab.  You could use a combination like Quintec, Tanos and Bravo or Quintec, Ranman and Bravo or Quintec, Presidio and Bravo for your next spray.  Remember that Quintec is a systemic like Pristine, Procure and Rally, so the best resistance management program is to use it only one time this season and then put it away for next season and switch to sulfur if you need another powdery mildew material this year.  Also, Quintec can be used on melons, pumpkins, winter squash and gourds only.  You can not use this product on summer squash or cucumbers and you can be cited for an illegal pesticide residue if you do. Quintec is applied at 4-6 fluid ounces per acre, has a 3 dh restriction, and will last for 10-14 days before you need another powdery mildew application with a different material.  

What's working on Downy Mildew
So far, the only products that grower have reported poor results with this year for downy mildew control are Previcur Flex and the phosphoric acid type products like ProPhyt.  All other top rated materials that people are using for late blight on tomatoes also seem to be holding for DM.  These include Ranman, Presidio, Tanos and Curzate.  One grower mentioned using Ridomil Gold Bravo and said it seems to be holding well too. 

Higher corn earworm populations
The number of CEW moths in pheromone traps increased dramatically this week throughout the state.  Trap counts ranged from 15 to 65 moths per night.  Everyone should be on a three day spray schedule on fresh silking corn at this time.  The highest counts were in Shelton, Northford, Wallingford, and Ellington which ranged between 26 and 65 moths per night, while traps in East Lyme, Berlin and East Hartford ranged between 15 and 24 moths per night.  If you are trying to sneak in a spray today before the rains from Hurrican Danny, be sure to include a spreader sticker and try to apply the material so that it has at least 6 hours to dry.  Lannate, SpinTor, Entrust and Bt products will not control this level of CEW pressure.  You should be using either the new product Belt or a synthetic pyrethroid, such as Warrior.

 Here are the CEW thresholds: 

Fall armyworm infestations
Traps in Shelton, East Lyme and Ellington captured between 6 and 21 FAW moths this week, while traps on other farms were empty or have been taken down for the season because there is no more whorl or pre-tassel corn. Pre-tassel stage plantings in Shelton had 60% of the plants infested with small, young FAW larvae and required treatment this week. Most other farms had low levels of infestations in the corn, but scattered flights of moths indicate that you should still be scouting each pretassel stage planting and applying SpinTor, Avaunt, Intrepid or Belt if more than 10% of the plants are infested before the plants start to silk. Some growers reported finding worms in their corn this week and they may be FAW larvae that are getting into the end of the ear before the first silk spray.  

European corn borer
Trap counts for ECB were higher in Northford and East Lyme this week, between 13 and 21 moths, but still low at most locations. A couple of growers have reported finding CEW, also known as tomato fruit worms in both tomatoes and peppers. It would probably be wise to spray both of these crops with a selective a material such as SpinTor or Intrepid this week.      

Here is a list of infestations found at different sites while scouting sweet corn this past week. *means that the planting is over threshold and should be sprayed.  MW=mid-whorl, LW= late-whorl, PT=pre-tassel, S=silk.