VegNet Vol. 14, No. 23. July 30, 2007
Ohio State University Extension Vegetable Crops
On the WEB at:  http://vegnet.osu.edu

In This Issue

1. 56 OH counties – Primary Natural Disaster areas

2. Crop Reports

3. Horticultural Field Night

 

USDA DESIGNATES 56 COUNTIES IN OHIO AS PRIMARY NATURAL DISASTER AREAS
Decision Allows Farmers and Ranchers to Apply for USDA Assistance
WASHINGTON, July 25, 2007 ­ The U.S. Department of Agriculture designated 56 counties in Ohio as primary natural disaster areas because of losses caused by frost and freeze conditions that occurred from April 1, 2007, through April 20, 2007.  Those counties are:

Athens, Auglaize, Belmont, Butler, Champaign, Clark, Clermont, Clinton, Coshocton, Darke, Fairfield, Franklin, Fulton, Gallia, Geauga, Greene, Guernsey, Hamilton, Highland, Hocking, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Knox, Lawrence, Licking, Logan, Lorain, Lucas, Madison, Marion, Medina, Meigs, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Morrow, Muskingum, Noble, Ottawa, Paulding, Perry, Pickaway, Pike, Portage Preble, Ross, Sandusky.

 Also eligible in Ohio because they are contiguous are the following counties:
        Allen           Cuyahoga        Hardin          Mercer          Stark           Williams
        Ashland         Defiance        Harrison        Miami           Summit          Wood
        Ashtabula       Delaware        Henry           Putnam          Trumbull
        Carroll         Erie            Huron           Richland        Tuscarawas
        Columbiana      Fayette         Lake            Seneca          Van Wert
        Crawford        Hancock         Mahoning        Shelby          Wayne

In addition, the counties listed below in the adjacent states of Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan and West Virginia are also eligible because they are contiguous:
Indiana:  Allen, Dearborn, Franklin, Jay, Randolph, Union and Wayne counties
Kentucky:   Boone, Boyd, Bracken, Campbell, Greenup, Kenton, Lewis, Mason and Pendleton counties

Michigan: Hillsdale, Lenawee and Monroe counties

West Virginia:  Brooke, Cabell, Hancock, Jackson, Marshall, Mason, Ohio, Pleasants, Tyler, Wayne, Wetzel and Wood counties

 

All counties listed above were designated natural disaster areas on July 20, 2007, making all qualified farm operators in the designated areas eligible for low interest emergency (EM) loans from USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), provided eligibility requirements are met. Farmers in eligible counties have eight months from the date of the declaration to apply for loans to help cover part of their actual losses. FSA will consider each loan application on its own merits, taking into account the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability. FSA has a variety of programs, in addition to the EM loan program, to help eligible farmers recover from adversity.

USDA has made other programs available to assist farmers and ranchers, including the Emergency Conservation Program, Federal Crop Insurance and the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program.

 

Interested farmers may contact their local USDA Service Centers for further information on eligibility requirements and application procedures for these and other programs.  Additional information is also available online at:
http://www.fsa.usda.gov/FSA/webapp?area=home&subject=diap&topic=landing.
FSA news releases are available on FSA’s Web site at: http://www.fsa.usda.gov.

Release No. 1487.07,  Latawnya Dia (202) 720-7962

 

Crop Reports by Ron Becker and Matt Hofelich

Northern, Ohio Crop Report July 27th

Dry Weather:   Precipitation continues to remain very spotty.  Last week scattered areas in North Central and Northwest Ohio received up to 1” of rainfall over July 16, 17, 18th while many areas’s received very little if any precipitation.  Again this week Northern Ohio has seen very spotty rainfall.  Growers with adequate water sources continue to irrigate.  Update, Friday Morning the 27th much of the Northern Ohio area received 2–4 inches of rain with more forecasted for this afternoon.  Now it’s wet!

 

Walking the Fields Tour:   All are again reminded of the August 8, OSU Extension and the North Central Ag Research Station sponsored “Walking the Field Tour”.   The tour will originate for the North Central Research Station at 1165 CR. 43 in Fremont, Ohio starting at 6:00 PM.   The focus this year will be on types of irrigation, vegetable crops and new transplant planting technology.  Listed are web links which outlines the program:  http://www.ag.ohio-state.edu/~news/story.php?id=4203  Or   http://oardc.osu.edu/fielddays/VegCrops_flier_lo.pdf

 

Melon, Squash, Pumpkins & Gourds:  Cucumber beetles can be found at varying levels throughout fields with some bacterial wilted plants in almost all fields if you look hard enough.   Fresh Market growers who had been irrigating started to harvest cantaloupe mid week and yield and quality look promising. 

 

Peppers:  Processing pepper harvest started this week for early plantings of banana types.   Irrigated fields are producing near normal yields.  Insect and disease pressure are minimal.

 

Pickles:   Foliar diseases have started and been noted since last weeks light showers.  There are reports of Gummy Stem starting to show up in some pickle fields.  Downy Mildew is still a big concern with a few new cases reported this week. Growers have tightened up spray schedules from 7 to 5 days, in most cases and it seems to be holding the disease in check.  Concerning harvest, overall yield is down slightly but labor has been picking a high percentage of # 1 & 2’s due to dry weather and slower growth which is helping over all gross return per acre.  There are as well reports of thrips working in the flowers & under the leaf surfaces of pickles.

 

Tomatoes – processing:  Bacterial Canker can be found in most varieties around the area.  Infections range from severe foliar damage & fruit spotting - to light foliar damage & no fruit spotting so far.  Fields are as well a showing lot's of Blossom End Rot in the fruit.  Ethrel was applied this week to early planting and tomato harvest could start by August 8th.

 

Fresh Market & Processing Cabbage:  Increases in Diamond Back pressure have been reported this week. It seems to have been a new hatch.  Imported Worms have been around all year long but there are very few reports of Cabbage Looper at this point.  Thrips are as well prevalent in cabbage fields this year.  Growers are on a 7-10 day spray schedule and Thrip damage to heads has been minimal.    Fresh Market yields have been way off unless the cabbage was irrigated.  Some fields of early fresh market cabbage yielded 25% of the norm.   Processing cabbage yields are as well all over the board.   Yields have been reported in the 25-30 ton range for some fields why other are nearly a complete loss due to dry conditions.

 

Wayne County Report From July 27th

Welcome rains came to Wayne County this week, though in some cases the rains spurred on the development of root diseases in vine crops.  We are finding pythium in several fields of vine crops.  Both downy and powdery mildew are continuing to increase in cucurbits.  Early blight is being found in most tomato fields with many also starting to show either bacterial speck or bacterial canker.  Two spotted spider mites have started showing up in area watermelon and eggplant fields to the point of needing a rescue treatment.  The second flight of European corn borer moths started on 7/24 in our area with two moths being caught in a trap in the Copley area.  By Wednesday, moths could be seen readily by walking in area sweet corn and potato fields.

 

Horticulture Field Night to be held at the OSU South Centers at Piketon on Thursday August 9th from 5 till 8 pm

We will be showcasing the Fruit, Vegetable and Green Industry field trials that are going on at Piketon this year and providing update on other OSU research and programs going on throughout the state.

Sponsored by OARDC and OSU Extension, the program is open to the public with no need to pre-register. Cost is $5 per person.
Field research trial tours will be held from 5-7 p.m. with time for questions afterward. Dinner will be served from 7-8 p.m.
Research trials to be highlighted include high tunnel tomato, pumpkin, seedless watermelon, fresh-market tomato, fresh-market bell pepper, summer squash, primocane-bearing brambles and strawberry plug plant production.
Other information to be discussed includes edible landscaping, ornamental corn, annual bedding plant and ornamental grass evaluations.

Source: Shawn Wright, OSU South Centers, Piketon, wright.750@osu.edu  740-289-2071, ext. 120