11 Jul Agronomy Update – July 11

Hi everyone,

It sounds like most of the province will get a significant amount of rain today.  Most of Prince County has already received 20-25 mm of rain as of 9 am this morning, with more on the day.  Hopefully most of the rain will have a chance to soak in rather than simply run off. The forecast looks pretty warm and sunny after today for the next 6-7 days, so hopefully this rainfall is enough to carry the crop for the next week or so.

I’ve had more of a chance to get out into fields the last week and a half, and the crop is looking vigorous and healthy across the province.  Fields planted before the end of May are at row closure or close to it.  Tuber initiation is ahead of schedule in many fields, with significant tuber development already.

Pest and Disease Update:

Aphid Alert:

• Last week was the 2^nd full week of aphid collections.

• Aphid numbers were higher last week, up to almost 7 aphids per trap for the week.  No Green Peach aphids detected so far.  Potato aphids largely in Prince County.  Non-colonizing aphids are the majority of what was detected.
• All seed producers should be following a consistent spray schedule with a minimum of 2L of oil per week plus aphicides while aphid numbers are high. 

Spore Trapping:

• No late blight spores were detected in PEI this week.  No spores were detected in either NB or Maine as well.
• Late Blight has been detected in Ontario.

• Airspore is finding early blight, brown spot and grey mold spores.  Numbers for early blight are higher in East Prince, but that seems to be driven particularly by one field.  Grey mold numbers declined on Wednesday and are relatively low.
• As fields rapidly achieve row closure, growers should be ensuring that applications of targeted early blight/brown spot fungicides are applied before the rows are closed for susceptible varieties.
• If you have observed early blight or brown spot in any fields and would like to submit a sample for resistance testing, please contact me!  You can either drop off samples at the office, or we can arrange to collect samples.

Additional Pest/Disease notes:

• There have been multiple reports of large numbers of European corn borer egg masses in the last two weeks. Diligent scouting for egg masses is encouraged, with sprays timed at the blackhead stage for those egg masses.
• So far, I have been hearing mostly that Colorado potato beetles are being controlled by seed/in-furrow insecticides, but we will likely start coming to the end of the effectiveness window for those chemistries very soon.

Living Labs BBQ on Monday, July 15^th in West Prince:

The Living Labs Field Tour and BBQ originally planned for today has been rescheduled to Monday, July 15^th.

11 a.m. Legume Tour at https://maps.app.goo.gl/Z4u9Y1ew5fD9Qmgw8 on Mill Rd

Coordinates: 46.74365, -64.13847

We will also have a “Field Tour” sign on the edge of the field. Look for orange flags!

12 p.m. BBQ at Fox Island Elite Seed Farm, 269 Fox Island Rd.  All are welcome!

Other Upcoming Agronomy Related Events:

Tuesday, July 16^th:       Crop Update Meeting, AIC Building, Kensington.  8 – 9 am.  All are welcome!

Saturday, July 27^th:     Open House at AAFC Harrington, 10 am – 2 pm.

Wednesday, Aug 7^th: PEI Weed Tour, AAFC Harrington, 9 am – noon.  RSVP to Nicolle.macdonald@agr.gc.ca

PVY AgriScout Robot Project Update:

 Mary Kay and I were out this week to assess the accuracy of the PVY detecting robot that UPEI has developed in partnership with AIM, the PEI Department of Agriculture and NBDAAF.  Under field conditions, it appears to be very accurate at detecting PVY symptoms, even when infected plants are shaded or surrounded by healthy plants.  The project is ongoing, but the following video from CBC PEI provides a nice overview of what we are hoping to achieve with this project:

https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/9.6444533

Have a great weekend.  Hope to see many of you Monday or Tuesday next week.

Ryan