Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs

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

ONvegetables.com (Vegetable 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.

ONspecialtycrops (Specialty Crop Updates)

• 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

Ontario CropIPM

• Interactive, online training and information on pests and pest management in a number of vegetable and fruit crops.

OMAFRA's Vegetable Crop Production Publications

• Descriptions and ordering information for the OMAFRA field vegetable publications. Updates on recent pesticide registrations are in the 2014 Supplement (PDF).

OMAFRA Vegetable Production Information Index Page

• The home page for Ontario field vegetable information - production and beyond - from OMAFRA

Diagnostics

The Twenty Questions of Crop Diagnosis

• 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.

Pest Diagnostics - Univeristy of Guelph Laboratory Services

• Acess guidelines on taking and handling samples (PDF), services and fees, submission forms, and more.

Diagnostic Tools and Tests for Vegetable Scouts

• Bioassay technique for detecting herbicide carryover in the soil, testing EC of transplant plugs, soil pH quick test.

Evaluation of Easy-to-Use Pocket Diagnostics Test Kit for Confirming Plant Disease

• 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.

Sampling Soil and Roots for Plant Parasitic Nematodes

• OMAFRA Factsheet covering plant parasitic nematodes, taking and handling samples, thresholds for economic damage.

Counting nematodes? Proper sampling and handling is key!

• 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

Soil Basics for Field Scouting

• Tips on diagnosing problems originating in the soil, plus the diagnostic tools and where to get them.

OMAFRA Soil Testing Information

• OMAFRA Factsheet with guidelines on soil sampling and soil test interpretation.
  

Accredited Soil Testing Laboratories in Ontario

• A list of labs accredited to perform soil tests for pH, buffer pH, P, K, Mg, Mn, Zn and Nitrate-N on Ontario soils.

Laboratories for Leaf and Petiole Tissue Analysis in Ontario

• A list of labs that offer leaf and petiole tissue analysis for Ontario crops.

Natural Enemies

Resources on natural enemies and pollinators

• list of resources on ONvegetables.com

PDFs/NaturalEnemiesFlyer-FINAL.pdf">Natural Enemy Field Guide (PDF)

• From the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center and the Great Lakes Vegetable Working Group.

Identifying and Enhancing Natural Enemies in Vegetable Crops

• Youtube Video - Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center

More on Natural Enemies in Vegetable Crops

• Presentations from the Natural Enemies workshops, from the Great Lakes Vegetable Working Group.

Tomato Resources

Smartphone app – Tomato MD

• "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

Bacterial Diseases Of Tomato: Bacterial Spot, Bacterial Speck, Bacterial Canker

• OMAFRA Factsheet with information and photos on tomato bacterial disease.

Soil Sampling for Verticillium and Nematode Analysis

• 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.

Variegated Cutworm Monitoring Information for Tomatoes

• Using pheromone traps to monitor for variegated cutworm in tomato fields.

Herbicide Injury Symptoms in Tomatoes - PPI and PRE Herbicides

• A photo gallery with descriptions of herbicide injury in tomatoes (ppi and pre).

Herbicide Injury Symptoms in Tomatoes - Postemerge Herbicides

• A photo gallery with descriptions of herbicide injury in tomatoes (post).

Weed Control in Tomatoes and Peppers

• Dr. D. Robinson's (Ridgetown Campus - University of Guelph) presentation from IPM/Scout Training workshop

Focus on Tomato - Plant Management Network

• 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