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Crop Scouting - Resources
for Vegetable Crop Scouts
Integrated pest management (IPM) is an approach to pest control
that considers all management options to maintain pests below an
economic injury level. Scouting provides an objective summary of
the crop condition and pest situation in a field.
Here is a list of resources for vegetable crop scouts.
Crop Updates
- Stay current! The updates offer timely information on crop production,
pest identification, pest control, pest monitoring, weather, changes
to pesticide registrations, meetings, conferences, new publications
of interest to the vegetable industry, and more.
- Working with specialty crops? ONspecialtycrops keeps you up-to-date
with the latest information for commercial specialty crop production
in Ontario. Also visit Specialty
Cropportunities, a new resource designed to assist growers
transitioning to production of new, specialty or non-traditional
crops.
General Resources
- Interactive, online training and information on pests and pest
management in a number of vegetable and fruit crops.
- Descriptions and ordering information for the OMAFRA field
vegetable publications. Updates on recent pesticide registrations
are in the 2014
Supplement (pdf).
- The home page for Ontario field vegetable information - production
and beyond - from OMAFRA
Diagnostics
- Diagnostics is one of the most interesting and challenging aspects
of crop production. Use the list in this article to help narrow
down on the causes of problem areas in a crop.
- Bioassay technique for detecting herbicide carryover in the
soil, testing EC of transplant plugs, soil pH quick test.
- There are several test kits now on the market for quick identification
and confirmation of certain pathogens. OMAFRA's horticultural
plant pathologist tested some them. Read about it here.
- OMAFRA Factsheet covering plant parasitic nematodes, taking
and handling samples, thresholds for economic damage.
- If you've ever sampled for nematodes in soil, you've read the
guidelines for sampling and handling of samples. But what if things
don't go according to plan? Are the samples ruined? What can you
get away with and what will result in completely inaccurate results?
When you've gone to the trouble of sampling and are about to invest
in paying a lab for nematode counts, this is something you need
to know.
Soil and Nutrients
- Tips on diagnosing problems originating in the soil, plus the
diagnostic tools and where to get them.
- OMAFRA Factsheet with guidelines on soil sampling and soil test
interpretation.
- A list of labs accredited to perform soil tests for pH, buffer
pH, P, K, Mg, Mn, Zn and Nitrate-N on Ontario soils.
- A list of labs that offer leaf and petiole tissue analysis for
Ontario crops.
Natural Enemies
- list of resources on ONvegetables.com
- Youtube Video - Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center
Tomato Resources
- This apps offer high-quality, peer-reviewed images, diagnostic
keys, tools, tips, and recommendations for the identification
and management of various tomato diseases.
- For iPhone and Android
- OMAFRA Factsheet with information and photos on tomato bacterial
disease.
- How to take soil samples for nematode and verticillium counts.
And how to treat them right so the counts will be as accurate
as possible.
- Using pheromone traps to monitor for variegated cutworm in tomato
fields.
- A photo gallery with descriptions of herbicide injury in tomatoes
(ppi and pre).
- A photo gallery with descriptions of herbicide injury in tomatoes
(post).
- Dr.
D. Robinson's (Ridgetown Campus - University of Guelph) presentation
from IPM/Scout Training workshop
- Focus on Tomato is an online educational resource launched in
2012 by the Plant Management Network, a not-for-profit publisher
of agricultural and horticultural resources. It features webcasts
aimed at helping growers and consultants develop healthier, higher
yielding tomato crops as well as improve their knowledge in storage
and food safety.
Reference Books
Reference
books for vegetable crop scouting
For more information:
Toll Free: 1-877-424-1300
E-mail: ag.info.omafra@ontario.ca
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