MID-ATLANTIC 2011 fruit & vegetable convention PROCEEDINGS for the vegetable, potato, fl ower, small fruit & general sessions 2011 Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention for the Vegetable, Potato, Flower, Small Fruit & General Sessions February 1 to 3, 2011 Hershey Lodge and Convention Center Hershey, Pennsylvania sponsored by the State Horticultural Association of Pennsylvania the Pennsylvania Vegetable Growers Association the Maryland State Horticultural Society and the New Jersey State Horticultural Society in cooperation with Penn State Cooperative Extension Rutgers Cooperative Extension and the University of Maryland published by the Pennsylvania Vegetable Growers Association 815 Middle Road, Richfield, Pennsylvania 17086-9205 717-694-3596 www.pvga.org Pennsylvania Vegetable Growers Association An association of commercial vegetable, potato and berry growers Board of Directors President: Arthur King ’13 First Vice President: Brian Campbell ’12 Second Vice President: Robert Shenot ‘13 Secretary-Treasurer: John Mason ‘11 Past President: Kenneth Martin ‘11 Directors: Robert Amsterdam ‘11 Fred Dymond III ‘11 Barron Hetherington ‘11 Glenn Hetherington ‘12 Curtis Kaelin ‘12 Lois Klinger ‘13 Ernest Mast ‘12 David Miller ‘11 William Reynolds ‘13 Hilary Schramm, Jr. ’12 Jonathan Strite ‘13 Thomas Styer ’12 Timothy Weiser ‘13 Staff Executive Secretary: William Troxell, Troxell Administrative Services Educational Committee Brian Campbell – chair Steven Bogash, James Crawford, Arthur King, Lois Klinger, David Miller, Andrew Smith, Thomas Strzelecki Convention Task Force General Chair – Brian Campbell Program Chairs – Michael Orzolek and Elsa Sanchez – general John Berry – direct marketing and agritainment Thomas Butzler – snap beans and vine crops Steven Bogash – greenhouse, cut flowers and web-marketing Kathleen Demchak – small fruit Timothy Elkner – vine crops John Esslinger and Eric Oesterling – sweet corn Beth Gugino – onions and pesticide safety Arthur King – CSA marketing Luke LaBorde – food safety William Lamont – potatoes, leafy greens and high tunnels Kenneth Martin – tomatoes and reduced tillage William Reynolds – agritainment Lee Young - food safety and post-harvest handling Other Members - Robert Ambrose, James Crawford, Ted Dymond, Gary Faulkner, Peter Ferretti, Shelby Fleischer, Thomas Ford, Bruce Hellerick, Lois Klinger, David Miller, Steve Sample, Robert Shenot, Andrew Smith, Jeffrey Stoltzfus, Thomas Strzelecki, Thomas Styer, Robert Trax, and Grant Troop Audio-Visual Coordinators - Tara Baugher and Thomas Butzler TABLE OF CONTENTS DIAGNOSING VEGETABLE PROBLEMS ONIONS Crop Diagnostics: What’s Wrong with this Crop? Onion Production 101 Michael Orzolek, Penn State University .................................... 1 Arthur King, Harvest Valley Farms ......................................... 56 Herbicide Injury Symptoms Iris Yellow Spot Virus: The New York Story Dwight Lingenfelter, Penn State University .............................. 4 Christine Hoepting, Cornell Coop. Extension ......................... 58 Nutrition Symptoms Maximizing the Level of Onion Thrips Control Using Insecticides Michael Orzolek, Penn State University .................................... 7 Brian Nault, Cornell University .............................................. 62 Air Pollution Symptoms Dennis Decoteau, Penn State Univ. ......................................... 10 COLE CROPS Managing Diseases of Cole Crops During a Cool, Wet Season Extreme Weather Effects on Plants Christine Smart, Cornell University ........................................ 65 Joe Russo, ZedX Inc. ................................................................ 12 Variety Selection Animal Damage Symptoms Jan Van Der Heide, Bejo Seeds ............................................... 67 Gary San Julian, Penn State University .................................. 14 Colorful Cauliflower Production SNAP BEANS Michelle Casella, Rutgers Co-op Extension ............................ 70 Ways to Have Poor Weed Control in Snap Beans Nutrition of Cole Crops Dwight Lingenfelter, Penn State University ............................ 20 Carl Rosen, University of Minnesota ...................................... 72 Update on Virus Epidemics in Snap Beans by Aphid Vectors Brian Nault, Cornell University .............................................. 23 GENERAL VEGETABLES Soil pH, CEC and Organic Matter: How are They Related? SWEET CORN Carl Rosen, University of Minnesota ...................................... 76 Reduced Tillage Sweet Corn Improving Caretenoid Phytochemical Concentrations in Vegetable Lenny Burger Jr., Burgers Farm .............................................. 26 Crops Tackling the Top 10 Weed Issues in Sweet Corn Dean Kopsell, Univ. of Tennessee, Institute of Agriculture ..... 78 Dwight Lingenfelter, Penn State University ............................ 27 Management Strategies for Phytophora Techniques for Producing Early Sweet Corn- Clear Plastic and Covered Christine Smart, Cornell University ........................................ 81 Using a Hoop Layer Asparagus Production Brent Barnhart, Country Creek Produce ................................. 30 Robert Precheur, The Ohio State University ........................... 83 How We Harvest Sweet Corn - One-Row Mechanical Harvester Brassica Cover Crops and Seed Meals as Soil Biofumigants in Vegetable William Geise, Geise’s Sweet Corn .......................................... 31 Crop Production Dean Kopsell, Univ. of Tennessee, Institute of Agriculture ..... 86 HIGH TUNNELS Basic Plant Nutrition What to Consider When Purchasing a High Tunnel Frame Ernest Bergman, Penn State Univ. emeritus ............................ 89 Ed Person, Ledgewood Farms ................................................. 32 Burning Plastic for Energy: An Update Putting the Economic Pencil to High Tunnel Production James Garthe, Penn State Univ. .............................................. 91 Adam Montri, Michigan State University ................................ 35 Using High Tunnels for the Production of Tomatoes and other Crops SPIKING YOUR FARM MARKET Fred Forsburg, Honeyhill Farm .............................................. 38 The Significance of Educating Consumers - Your Customers How I Use High Tunnels in My Farm Operation MeeCee Baker, Versant Strategies ........................................... 93 Ed Person, Ledgewood Farm and Greenhouses ..................... 39 TOMATOES ORGANIC VEGETABLES The A-B-C’s, I Mean N-P-K’s of Tomato Production The Role of Crop Rotation in Weed Management Dean Kopsell, Univ. of Tennessee, Institute of Agriculture ..... 94 Charles Mohler, Cornell University ........................................ 41 FOOD SAFETY A Crop Rotation Planning Procedure/Crop Rotation During the Penn State GAPs Program Transition from Conventional to Organic Vegetable Production Luke LaBorde, Penn State University ...................................... 97 Charles Mohler, Cornell University ........................................ 44 Grant Programs Available that Allow Farmers to Try New and Innovative Practices on their Farms Carol Delaney, Northeast SARE .............................................. 47 Growing Potatoes Organically Melvin Henninger, Rutgers University .................................... 50 Tools for Integrated Crop Management of Peppers Mark Bennett, Ohio State University ....................................... 53 TABLE OF CONTENTS POSTHARVEST HANDLING VINE CROPS ABCs of Post-Harvest Handling Fungicide Resistance Management for Cucurbit Crops Lee Young, Washington County Co-op Extension.................. 100 Andrew Wyenandt, Rutgers Coop. Extension ........................ 146 Evaluation of Yield and Postharvest Quality of Winter Squash Cultivars Winter Squash Variety Trial Update in West Virginia Elsa Sanchez, Penn State University ..................................... 148 Lewis Jett, West Virginia University ...................................... 101 Early Season Virus Transmission by Striped Cucumber Beetles in PA Market Maker Cucurbits Sarah Cornelese, Penn State University ................................ 104 Gerald Brust, University of Maryland ................................... 152 Maintaining Quality at the Wholesale/Retail Level Weed Issues in Cucurbit Crops Wesley Kline, Rutgers Cooperative Extension ....................... 105 Bradley Majek, Rutgers Ag. Res. & Ext. Ctr. ......................... 154 SMALL FRUIT LEAFY GREENS Spotted Wing Drosophila Update in Small Fruit Consumer Preferences for Specialty Greens and Herbs Kathleen Demchak, Penn State University ............................ 108 William Sciarappa, Rutgers University ................................. 157 Understanding the Role of Root Diseases in Strawberry and Raspberry Growing and Harvesting Leafy Greens Decline Tom Sheppard, Sheppard Farms ............................................ 159 Kerik Cox, Cornell University ............................................... 110 Activities of the Leafy Green Council Weed Management in Strawberries: What’s New Ray Clark, Leafy Greens Council .......................................... 160 Richard Bonanno, University of Massachusetts .................... 112 CUT FLOWERS Experiences with Brown Marmorated Stink Bug in Raspberries How I Market Lisianthus and Other Interesting Flowers Bryan Butler, Carroll County Extension ................................ 114 David Dowling, Farmhouse Flowers & Plants ..................... 162 Arkansas Table Grapes for Local Markets Managing Insect Pests in Cut Flowers John