March 10, 2009

Vegetable growers can look to Purdue publications for advice

"Growing a successful fruit or vegetable crop is a complicated process," said Dan Egel, plant pathologist for the Purdue Cooperative Extension Service. "We offer a group of publications that helps growers with the technical aspects of variety selection, pest and disease management and more."

The publications include:

* "Midwest Vegetable Production Guide for Commercial Growers 2009," a publication offering information on all aspects of vegetable production, including pest management and pesticide overviews and lists some varieties that have performed well in Indiana in the past.

* "Midwest Vegetable Trial Report for 2008," which provides detailed data and research reports from 2008 melon and vegetable trials.

* "Sweet Corn Pest Identification and Management Guide," a resource containing information about sweet corn production, fertilization, timing of insects and includes pictures of pests.

All three publications are available for free download on the Purdue Fruit and Vegetable Connection Web site at https://www.hort.purdue.edu/fruitveg/default.shtml. On the site, producers also will find links to purchase hard copies of the publications.

A free hard copy of the "Sweet Corn Pest Identification and Management Guide" also is available to sweet corn producers who complete the Sweet Corn IPM Survey.

"This is a regional survey being conducted in several Midwestern states by the Great Lakes Vegetable Working Group, who hope to gather information about the kinds of pest management practices producers are using on sweet corn," said Rick Foster, Purdue Extension pest management specialist. "Some of the questions asked will relate to record keeping, pesticides used, herbicide programs, field scouting and more."

An electronic version of the survey is available on the Fruit and Vegetable Connection site, or hard copies are available by contacting Foster at 765-494-9572.

In addition to the annual publications, growers can subscribe to the Vegetable Crops Hotline newsletter for up-to-date, season-specific information.

"The Vegetable Crops Hotline newsletter is a great resource for growers to access timely information on this season's specific growing issues," said Liz Maynard, Purdue Extension horticulture specialist. "It also offers reminders to growers about normal pests and ways to deal with them, gives suggestions on how to reduce pesticide resistance and announces any meetings or educational programs offered by Purdue throughout the season."

A free subscription to the Vegetable Crops Hotline newsletter and a free copy of the production guide are available by becoming a member of the Indiana Vegetable Growers Association. More information on membership is available by visiting the association's Web site at https://www.ivga.org/.

Writer: Jennifer Stewart, 765-494-6682, jsstewar@purdue.edu

Source: Liz Maynard, 219-785-5673, emaynard@purdue.edu

Ag Communications: (765) 494-2722;
Beth Forbes, forbes@purdue.edu
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