Spinach Production in West Central Michigan

Michigan State University Extension

Veggie School

Thursday, February 26, 2004

Jim Breinling,Michigan State University Extension

Brief Background

• Interest in processed frozen spinach

• Spring of 2003 - 4 growers planted

• Summer of 2003 - 4 plantings in Mason/Oceana counties - approx. 80 acres

• Decision - not to harvest - over winter

• Potential for expansion 2004-2006

Planting of Spinach in Mason County, Oct. 13, 2003

About the same time last Sept.- Oct.

• Found on a web site

National Spinach Conference

November 20 & 21 2003

Fayetteville, Arkansas• Vegetable AoE - Growing the Michigan Vegetable

Industry• $2,000 grant - myself and three other growers

attended

1st Day of Meetings at Washington County Extension Office

What did we learn?• Spinach is good for you

- Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Iron

- Antioxidant activity

- Folic Acid & disease-prevention properties

- Age-related Macular Degeneration

- Bottom-line - eat more spinach! Why? For all the above reasons…. it’s good for you!

Herbicides Issues

Nilda Burgos - Department of Crop, Soil, and Environmental Sciences at University of Arkansas

• Need for additional herbicides critical• 3 registered in Arkansas

- cycloate (Ro-Neet), sethoxydim (Poast), and phenmedipham (Spin-aid)

- metolachlor (Dual) preemergence; Sec. 18, many years

- Exploring herbicide resistance by whole plant selection

Herbicides Issues (con.)

- started fall of 2001 - 4 cultivars

- .5 and 1.0x rates of glyphoste (Roundup) and glufosenate (Liberty) - a few plants survived

- 2003 study spinach tolerance to imazamox (Raptor)

- Raptor labeled cowpea - rotation with spinach

- rates highly injurious when applied preemergence

- lower rates need to be tested

- Spinach cultivars show differential tolerance to foliar application of Raptor

Potential Herbicides - Spinach Texas the Oklahoma

Russell Wallace - CES, Texas A&M • Bixby, Oklahoma 2002-2003• 3 highest yielding preemergence treatments

- Lorox (0.10 lb. a.i/A)

- Ro-Neet (3.0 lb. a.i) & Lorox (0.05 lb. a.i)

- Define (0.15 lb. a.i) & Lorox (0.05 lb. a.i) • Crystal City, Texas

- Ro-Neet, Dual Magnum and Outlook alone had least crop injury

- Best combination included:

Ro-Neet (3.0 or 4.0 lb. a.i) and Outlook (0.25 lb. a.i)

Ro-Neet (3.0 or 4.0 lb. a.i) and Lorox (0.05 or 0.10 lb. a.i)

Outlook (0.25 lb. a.i) and Lorox (0.05 or o.10 lb. a.i)• Results look promising , need more investigation regarding rates and and

combinations

Other topics

• Update on Downy Mildew of Spinach

• Biology and Management Spinach White Rust

• Verticillium Wilt of Spinach

• Foliar Fungicide Alternatives in Spinach

• Screening and Breeding for Resistance to Leafminer in spinach

• Current and Future Insect Management in Spinach and Greens

• Spinach Breeding in the Mid South

Spinach Insect Pests and Controls

• Paul McLeod, Department of Entomology at U. of A.

• Aphids - Green Peach Aphid

- Scout 2 - 3 weeks prior to harvest

- 20 plants - threshold average 5/plant

- Control - imidacloprid

• Grasshoppers

- Spinach spring and fall “green islands”

- Pyrethroid insecticides

- Other controls; location of field, “bug knockers”

What we saw - Fri. Nov. 21, 2003

Trip to University of Arkansas - Vegetable Substation - Kibler, Arkansas

• Spinach Variety Trail - Focus White Rust Resistance

- 39 selections - 5 Tiers

- Flat Leaf F-380, XP-17047

- Semi Savoy - Padre

- Full Savoy - Ozarka II

Spinach variety trial, U. of A. Kibler Substation

Du-All; seed bed preparation; U. of A.

White Rust on spinach - underside of leaf

White Rust on spinach - top of leaf

St. Helens, spinach variety trial, Nov. 21, 2003 8 weeks after planting

Greens harvest at Newton Farms; Kibler, AR

Returned to U. of A. Vegetable Substation

Dual damage on spinach leaf

Raptor resistance plots

Visit to Gist Farms Spiro, Oklahoma

Sat. Nov. 22, 2003

• 7,000 acres - Sharecropping

• 800 acres Spinach and Greens, also grow acreage of Snap Beans

• Harvesting of Greens and Spinach

• Overwinter plantings of spinach

Growers pose during inspection of spinach planter

Close up - one of three planter units

Three ten row beds - note, roller in front

Over winter spinach, Gist Farms, Nov. 22, 2003

Roller used to level spinach beds

So after all that, what did we really learn...

• Need 15-18 # of sulfur /A in the form of ammonium sulfate - reduce need of nitrogen

• Plant on heavier soil types - ph level important 5.8-6.2 min.

• Can increase plant population / acre - more rows to drilling

• Proper seedbed preparation - 4 times w/ Du-all in Oklahoma

• shallow seeding - use of “pop up fertilizer”

So after all that, what did we really learn….. (con.)

• Roll after planting, roll overwinter plantings in spring to level

• Spintor for control of leafminer 2 days prior to harvest

• Use 2-3 varieties - flat leaf types grow faster than some savoy and full savoy

• yield goal - 7 to 8 ton/acre

• Stomp spinach, pack tight 40,000 lb.+ per load

- 70° and lower, Oklahoma up to 3 days

- cut early mornings or evenings

- if over 80° - problems