| [Image: Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus] |
| [Image: Southern Blight] |
| [Image: Blossom End Rot] |
Ag News:
Vegetable Field Day
Vegetable Problems in the Home Garden
Checklist of Things to do in June
Vegetables to Plant in June
Q & A
Vegetable Field Day June 20 at USDA
The Vegetable Field Day (formerly Tomato Field Day) will be held on Saturday, June 20, 2009, beginning at 9 a.m. and lasting until noon. This will be held at the USDA ARS Sugarcane Research Laboratory (5883 USDA Road, Houma – Across from Chauvin Funeral Home). This field day is hosted by the La-Terre Master Gardeners, LSU AgCenter, and USDA Sugarcane Research Station.
Topics will include tomato varieties, eggplant, squash, pepper, cucumbers and green beans.
There will be the largest tomato contest (adult/youth) and nutritional information on vegetable and how to prepare them.
Come out and hear the Master Gardeners and how they prepared and planted and cared for these vegetables.
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Vegetable Problems in the Home Garden
We are beginning to be in full production with our spring and summer vegetables. These are some diseases that are showing up on tomatoes now.
One that is very prevalent is tomato spotted wilt virus. This is transmitted from thrips so you need to control the thrips and plant resistant varieties. Once it is in the plant there is no cure.
Southern blight is showing up now that we had the rain. Southern blight is caused by the fungus Sclerotium rolfsii. the first symptom is a general drooping of the plant. A white mat of fungal tissue can be observed around the stem at the soil line. In later stages, brownish structures (about the size of mustard seed) are present at the soil line. Cutting the stem also reveals a dark brown discoloration in the vascular tissue. Unfortunately homeowners are limited on what can be used to control this disease.
Blossom end rot is showing up on the fruit now. The first sign of the disease is a slight water soaked area around the blossom end of the fruit. As the affected area increases, it becomes leathery and dark. Blossom end rot is caused by a lack of calcium in the developing fruit and fluctuation in moisture, either too wet or too dry effect the uptake of calcium. Over fertilization can also cause the problem.
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- Begin to evaluate your trees that made it through the last hurricanes for the upcoming season.
- Prune azaleas no later than mid-July. This applies to most spring flowering shrubs as well as hydrangeas and gardenias.
- Search citrus trees for aphids, white-flies, and Asian citrus psyllid. Spray if these are present on trees.
- Check lawn for chinch bugs-they show up during hot-dry weather.
- Centipede lawns should receive its second and last fertilization in July. St. Augustine and Bermuda can be fertilized until September.
- Continue to plant warm season bedding plants.
- If you plan on planting pumpkins for Halloween they should be planted in early to mid-July.
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- Transplant heat-set tomatoes for fruit production in August through October.
- Plant collards, cucumbers, melons, cantaloupes, okra, southern peas, pumpkins and summer squash.
- Transplant eggplants, all the peppers and sweet potatoes.
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Question: Can I fertilize camellias and azaleas in the summer?
Answer: Camellias and azaleas need care to set a good crop of flower beds for next year. Healthy vigorous plants will set buds, but weak plants may not. If plants lack vigor, fertilize them, provide moisture during stressful periods and control pest.
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