Cucumbers

There have been problems in our vegetable fields with three pests, which include striped cucumber beetles, leafhoppers and twospotted spider mites. I think most of the problems we are having with these three comes from our mild winter as each has had an outbreak population after a mild winter sometime in the last 12 years.

Evaluation of fungicide programs for management of downy mildew of cucumbers – Trial 2, 2016

Evaluation of fungicide programs for management of downy mildew of cucumbers – Trial 3, 2016

The weather for the last week or so in our area has been ideal for air pollutants to cause injury to vegetable crops, especially cucurbits. One of these air pollutants is ozone, which is considered to be the most damaging phytotoxic air pollutant in North America. Injury is most likely during hot, humid weather with stagnant air masses.

Southern blight is a fungal disease that is most common in the tropics and subtropics, but also is found in the SE United States in the summer. In Maryland we usually find it in the southern part of the state in counties like St. Mary’s, Charles and Wicomico. It has been found this year in more northern counties such as Frederick, Montgomery and Baltimore.