Commercial Vegetable Production

June’s hot, dry conditions were conducive to spider mite flareups, particularly in tomatoes.  Ever wonder why? Spider mites are reported to be susceptible to a pathogenic fungus that, when present, is capable of controlling spider mite populations. But for the fungi to survive and do their...

The summer growing season is here and it feels like it.  We are in the midst of a stretch of heat with continued highs in the 90s.  We overall have had modest humidity and a breeze most days which makes it tolerable for us, but plants are really showing stress.  There is some soil...

In our current research project, “Strategies for Improving Biological Control of Insect Pests for Vegetable Growers Utilizing High Tunnels”, cut flower, pepper, and tomato harvest has started. The cut flowers have been harvested for the past three weeks, since the first of June, while...

Over the last few years of growing tomatoes in the high tunnels in southern Illinois at the Dixon Springs Agricultural Center, leaf mold has been observed late in the growing season, typically towards the end of August. At that time of year almost all of the tomato fruit has been harvested and...

It is starting to be potato leafhopper season in Illinois. Potato leafhoppers are pests on a variety of crops (fruit, vegetable, ornamental) and they do not overwinter here, so they migrate in from the south as the weather warms up. Potato leafhoppers feed by inserting their needle-like mouthparts...

I stopped by a large produce grower in my area, Maddox Sweet Corn Farm, and Ted showed me their grafted versus non-grafted heirloom tomato trial. In the photo (photo credit: D. Gucker Illinois Extension 2024), the row of tomatoes on the left and the row on the right are the same tomato variety. The...

Spring cover crops are mainly now reaching their end.  Many have been incorporated or terminated and either planted into or getting ready too. This is year 2 of my no-till/cover crop tomatoes and peppers in a small garden type area.  This is an extension of a research project from...

In our current research project, “Strategies for Improving Biological Control of Insect Pests for Vegetable Growers Utilizing High Tunnels”, the second treatment or strategy besides establishing and overwintering cover crops is growing a row of cut flowers within the same high tunnel as...

Crops are responding to warm spring temperatures and increased daylength. The crimson clover cover crop began flowering on March 29 and by April 3 was in full flower and ready to be terminated. In our current research project, “Strategies for Improving Biological Control of Insect Pests for...

Weed Management is almost always a challenge on vegetable farms.  Even if you do have a manageable weed pest, management practices come at some kind of cost, from herbicide cost to labor for hand or mechanical weeding.  Dr. Stephen Meyers and Jeanine Arana just released a really nice...