Nematode

Timely Viticulture is an electronic newsletter designed to remind grape producers of seasonal vineyard needs and considerations throughout the year.

As this growing season winds down and for the next few weeks it is a good time to examine vegetable roots for root knot nematode (RKN). I would be suspicious of having RKN if my vegetables seemed to need more water than normal or wilted during the heat of the day and recovered later or plants had nutrient deficiency symptoms rarely seen in your fields and the addition of fertilizers did not seem to alleviate the deficiency symptoms.

Fusarium Wilt, caused by the soil borne pathogen Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. niveum is becoming more problematic in seedless watermelon production in Southern Maryland. Unfortunately, there are few effective management options for this soil borne disease. New races of Fusarium Wilt are now present in the area that can overcome traditional cultivar resistance. Effective fungicides are limited and do not provide season-long control at labeled rates. In many cases, once a field is infested with Fusarium Wilt, watermelon production is no longer a viable option. One option that has been effective in other areas is grafting of susceptible cultivars onto fusarium resistant rootstocks of interspecific hybrid squash or citron species. Watermelon grafting is more difficult than tomato grafting and is normally done by outside companies who specialize in the technique.