Potato growers have an opportunity to view standard and new fresh market potato varieties, hear how to manage Colorado potato beetle and potato leafhoppers in this exceptional year, learn how the black dot disease can hurt yields as well as quality, get an update on late blight, and hear how growers are using the new late blight forecast system to assist in their fungicide spray decisions. The meeting will be held Thursday, August 23rd, 5:30 – 8:30 pm, at John Williams’ Farm, 5077 Russell Rd, Marion.
Please pre-register for dinner by Friday, August 17th by calling Carol MacNeil at 585-313-8796. DEC and CCA credits will be available. Cost – $5 for current CVP enrollees (1 per enrollment); $10 for others. Visit the Cornell Vegetable Program website for information on sponsor opportunities and the full meeting agenda at http://cvp.cce.cornell.edu/event.php?id=28.
Don Halseth, Cornell potato specialist, established a large trial and will be evaluating the maturity, yield and marketability of white, red and some specialty varieties. Growers will get to hear what he’s learned so far. They’ll also have an opportunity to describe how the varieties they’re growing are performing and what they would like to see in new varieties. Brian Nault, Cornell entomologist, is interested in hearing about growers’ experiences with different insecticides for Colorado potato beetle, and will share a plan for rotating insecticides in different classes to slow the development of resistance. This can be a practical and successful strategy, but you need to know what insecticides are closely related. Join us to get the full story! Did you know that the black dot disease can also attack potato stems causing early dying? This increasingly serious disease may be causing greater losses than you thought. Tom Zitter, Cornell plant pathologist, will describe the symptoms and how you can protect your crop. Finally, learn about the new late blight management tool that assists growers in making more timely fungicide spray applications. Potato and tomato growers and consultants in the Cornell Vegetable Program (CVP) area are now using the Late Blight Decision Support System (DSS), which provides farm specific forecasts of when fungicide protection will be needed, based on pin point weather forecasts, the susceptibility of the grower’s varieties to late blight, and what fungicide is being used. The DSS email/text Alerts are a popular way for growers to get their updates. Carol MacNeil, Cornell Vegetable Program Specialist, and cooperating growers will describe how the system’s working this year.
Thanks to Stanton Ag Service for sponsoring!
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