COOPERATIVE EXTENSION WORK IN AG RI CULTURE AND HOM E ECONO MI C S

STATE OF FLORIDA

COL LEGE O F ACRIC ULT URC:,

U N IVE.~S 1TY OF FLOR I DA , AND

UN tTE. O S TA T f; S DEP ARTMENT OF

/\ c n 1C UL TUFt£, COOPERATING

Vegetable Crop Specialists AGfllC V L TU R A L EXTE N S IO N S0:.•1v

COUNT Y A CC l'<IT A NO

HO Mc OcM O N S TR A T 10 .N \V o~•·

GA I N C !'",VII .. LC . F t. or!O A

NO. 56 March, 1961

TO: County Agents

IN THI S ISSUE: Vegeta ble Research Sunnnary (Belle Glade, Ft . Pi erce aP..d Ft . Lauderdale Stations)

The Annual Repo rt of the Florida Agricultural Experiment Stations f or t he yea r ending Jun e 30, 1960, is already out. Nevertheless, we f elt that rese a rch on vege ta ble s shoul d be pul le d to ge th er i n summary fonn fo r quic ~c rev ieuing . In this i ssue , (e. continuation of Vegetarian No . 53 and 55) , we sti.mmari ze hi gh :9oints of vegeta ble rese ar ch cond1J.cted at th e Evergl ade s Experiment Station, Indian River Labor atory an d the Plan ta tio n Labo rat ory .

Many of th e chemi cals mentioned in this re port are for exper iment al pur ­poses onl y and ~houJ.d not be used on vegetable crops until approYecl by t he I<'ood and Drug Administration .

I - Bacteri al Spot of Pepper and Tomatoes - (Ft . Pi e rc e )

Results indic a te stra i n di fference in the bacterial spot organism . is olate s of this pathogen var ie d in th eir sus cept ibility to streptomycin . me.y explain diff eren ce in response to s tre pt omycin under fie ld conditions .

Ten Tnis

~~- \ , .. \ .. · · II - Compari son of Ai r Blast and Boom Sprayers - (Belle Glade) , l' "

For control of' Early Bl igh t in cele ry on muck, best overall control wa s obtained wit h the conven ti onal bo om sprayer . Di sease contr ol by air blast sprayer de cre ased with distance from th e sprayer . Rating u sed "'.-ie.s 1 to 7 (1 = dis ea se free and 7 = hi ghest i ncid ence of ear ly bl igh t as found in check plots) . Cont r ol with boom sprayer was 3.2. With air blast , contro l was 4 . 0 on the 5th row f rom t he sp ray er, 5 . 2 on the 11th row and 6.2 on the 17th ro•.r. Penetrati on into the plant was consi dered inadequate with air bl ast sprayer .

III - Viruses Affect i ng Vegetables - (Bell e Glade)

Two pepper fanns that were isolate d fr om lrnm-m sou rc es of virus Y by a t le as t 3/4 miles and on which excellen t pre -3?lanting weed ( rd ghtshc.. de) cont r ol :programs were carried out , ha d very minor lev els of ime ction of virus Y. T..0.ere was no infl uence on tobacco mosai c virus spr ea d on t hese farms . 'Ibi s i ncltc at es that to ba cco mosaic vi rus is introduced on the farm by means other t han f ly ic3 insects .

On f a rms where pre -plan tin g weed control was good but isolat:ton from nearby sourc es was impos sib le) res ul ts were variable . One s1.1ch fe .r.m near ly

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e scaped dama ge from virus Y, t he oth er suff ere d damage as severe a s on a f ann in whic h no pre - sea son weed control was pract i ce d . Virus Y inci denc e on al l th e se fa nns occu r red shortly af t e1· t he fi rst increa se i n populations of winged ~reen pea ch aph i d .

I t ap? eared that weed control on th e farill.S during th e growi ng seas on may ce lp r educe spre ad of virus Y. This is proba bl y due t o the r emoval of host pl a nt s of th e aphid rather th an r emova l of vi rus -ho st species .

IV Cor n St em Weevil Cont rol - ( Belle Glad e)

DDI' (1 ga l lo n, 25% EC pe r 100 gallo ns of water ) appl i ed a t 4-day i nterv als from se edli ng emergence for 6 or 7 application s resu l ted in increase s ta nd and yie lds . DDI' WP was almost equa l to DDT EC in control .

V - Vegetab le Varieties on Muck - (Belle Glade )

A. Bush Snau Beans .-- In t he spr ing of 196o, signifi cantly bette r yields and highe st pe rcen tag e of fir st pick ing we1·e obtain ed ·wit h Exten der , B- 3370, a nd Valentin e typ e 942, th an with Wade (ch eck) . Harvest er and Re s . Asgrow Val enti ne prod uce d yields similar t o Wade, but t heir appear ­a nce was outs ta ndi ng . In observa tio na l tr ia ls B3125-X- 5- 2, 1331.J.89, NK 108, Slenderw hite , Harri s Shi pper and Asgrow St . Bl. Val. prod uced the bes t yiel ds . Flori da 101 -B wa s superior in appearan ce among the ye l low (wax type) va riet ies .

B. Cele ry . -- The 1959 fa ll t r ia l s wer e ha rve sted December 1. Gr een Ligh t , Emera l d , Improved Pascal 375 and Pa scal 137-D5 were t he best yi elde rs f ol l owed closely by 16-11. In th e observ at iona l t ri al s XP- 15 and a new selection of Green Li ght app eare d to be pr omis in g . I n t he spri ng tr ia l s, ha rvested June 1, 1959, 52-70 , Green Li ght, 16-11 and Pasc a l 137 -D5 yielded above 1000 cra t es per a cre . Emera ld yielde d 990 crat es . In t he ob servational trials , XP 22 , Gr een Li ght new se l ectio n, XP 15, Tall Utah 137H, 259 - 19A, MSu-162 and Tall Uta h 70K yi eld ed above 1000 crat es per acre.

C. Swep·:.-, C}:>r t' .• -- In f a l l tri a ls gr mm under hea vy rain fal l condit i ons, varf.,.;:;~6:\0 -35, 107, R- 8, RSC, R8E, Flod gold, Iobe ll e and Si ,~t ypak yield 2<l a s well or b et ter than Golde n Secu r i t y . In t he 196o sp r in g tr i a ls where no bli gh t was obse rv ed, Golcle n Sec u r i ty sign i fica ntl y out ­p:coduced all varie t i e s ( 415 boxes/A . ) . Varie ty Cr . 770-1 was t he best yield er of the whit e sweet corn hybri d s followe d by Hybrid 31, Winter Belle (R- 62683 ) and Silv erliner ( chec !c 298 boxes /A . ) . Varie t y R- 52474 wa s infe r ior in yiel ds to the check, but in appe a rance and quali t y seemed superior .

D. Carr ot s. -- Best variety f or fres h ma rket wa s Gold Pak (10 t ons/A. U. S. extra ) followed by Walt ham Hico l or a nd Long Impera tor . For pr ocessi ng, Long Imperator and Red Cored Cbantena.y app eared t o be the best .

E. Onion s .-- Best yiel d was obtain ed wit h Granex and White Granex hyb ri ds ( 500 to 700 - 507~ bag s/A . ) .

VI - Corn Ear worm Control - ( Bell e Glad e )

DDT EC spray was more effect i ve than DDT WP spray. Sprayi ng pre ssur es

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of 20 0 , 100 and 50 psi were no c1ifferent in effectiveness aga in st earwo:nu. Tnere were no ciii'ferences in nozzle arr ang ements, either .

In each of the above experiments, both the fall armywonn, Laphygrna. f:rugi ­uerda , and t he corn earwonn, Heliothis zea , we::ce attacking ears and were con-side red as earwonns . -

VII - Sueet Corn Breeding - (Belle Glad e)

Several station hybrids show moderate to hi gh re si stance to H. tu roitum . New commercial hybr ids having high resistance and showing promise were FM 6256 anu Harris D1189.

VIII - Weec. Contr ol in Vegetab l es - (Belle Glade)

Amiben, diur on and simazin were promising pre - emergence and sol on post ­emerg ence of' weeds at la y-by of staked ta.11atoes on East Coast sandy soils . No crop injury was apparent .

Karsil is well adapted and effective in control of emerged weeds in cel ery &nd would be recommended upon appropriate clearanc e, labeling and commercial ava ilability .

Si1nazin, CDEC and CDAA we::ce effective in control of weeds in sweet corn . CDAA was judged superior in weed control and yield of sweet corn .

i i - Contr ol of Insects on Crucifers

During the fall, with low looper populations, combinations of t oxaphe ne + ba ci].us (Bacillus thuringiensis), endrin + bacillus and phosdrin and baci llus wer e eq_ual to or superior to each used separa t ely at twice the conce ntra tion . B8.cillus used alone compared favorably with any of the chemicals used alone .

In the spring, with hea v-.:r looper populat ions, similar results were obtained when poly hed ral virus was used instead of bacillus.

X - Effec t of Foliar and Soil Applic at ions of NPK in Comb1na.t ion with the Fungi cide Dyrene on Incidence of Bacterial and Early Bli ghts of Celery -"( Bell e Glade)

Plots receiving foliar ure a had higher bacterial blight inci den ce, de ­creasec yield , and increased N conte nt of petiole tiss ue . P had no si gnificant effe ct exc ept to increase P conten t of pet ioles . K de creased early bl igh t inci ­dence and th e amount of dead folia ge . Incre as e in dyrene concentration increase d yield and rib len gt h, reduced early blight and decreased N and Pin petiole tissue .

Soil and fo liar N inc reased fresh weight si ngly and together, decr eas ed pe rcent d'r'J wei ght and increased Kand N content s of plants . Incidence of bacter ­i a l blight was higher and early blight was lo wer on plots receiVing either soil or foli a r nitro gen . The bacterial blight effect was significant in the field a illonth afte r transplanting .

XI - Contr ol or Insects on Vegetables - (Belle Glade)

T'niodan and a combi nation of toxaphene and Bacillus thurengieusis gave

per :fe ct control of bean leaf roller larvae . To:~pn.ene and parathion gave nearly pe rlect control .

SD44o2 gave complet e control and toxaphone nearl y complete contr ol of cowpea curculio . Phosdrin and dimethoate were :fairly ef fective against this in ­sect .

Budworm. cont rol on sweet corn signific antl y increased yield . DDT EC 1ra.s oetter than DD1' WP.

SD- 3562, demet on , phos phorni don, thiodan , dibrom, phosdrin and thithion were promis i ng for green peach aph id on celery. SD 3562 of the above wa s e~fective agai nst sepentine leaf miner .

:lG:I - Vegetab le Varie tie s - (Ft. Pierce)

A . Toma tues .-- In fall replicated trials Homest e ad 2 4 produced h i ghcct yields and l argest f ::cuit, but quali t y was poor. Indi an River and ~.anapal produced in t ermediate yields of medium sized f ruit of average qi.lality .

In spring replicated tri als , Indian River and .Manapal :pro duc~. hi 'gbe:..~ 'yields and· l a rger fruit tha n Homestead 24.

In trellis , pink -harvest t rial, res ults ranked in or der of pre fere nce were as fo llows:

Mana.pal Manlucie Indian River

Yield

2nd 3rd 1st

Fru it si ze

2nd 1st 3rd

XIII - Dise a ses of Tomatoes - (Ft .Pierce)

Crack - resistance

2nd 3rd 1st

i1a.neb- dyrene combination was similar to dyre ne or dichlone alone for botri.(ti s cont rol. This combination was similar to maneb alone for late bli ght control and to dyrene alone for gray lea f spo t-. control.

Low pH wa s correlated with high incide nce of botrytis .. Fruit rot was also &irectly related to degree of f olia ge inf'ection from botT'.,-tis.

XIV - Veg etabl e - Pasture Rotation - (Ft. Pierce)

Pure stands of pangola grass eliminated root -knot nematode wit hin 8 weeks on small e:>..rperimental plot s. Clean - fallow and fallow with flooding elimina ted n2matodes in same l ength of time . Bl owing san d and. bed erosion were wor se in clean fa llow plots .

Y:il - Bacterial Diseases of Vegetables - (Ft . Pierce)

Copper or str eptomyci n applied se parately to tomatoes did not control ba cteria l leaf spot . The two combined redu ced in ci den ce of this to mat o disease. The most effect iv e material was cupric amadine (not approved for use) .

XVI - Side dress i ng Potatoes - (Ft. Pierce)

Sidedress in g potatoes with N and K~ at rates of O, 4o and 8o lbs . /A . six

weeks after planting did not significantly increase yield following an applic a ­tion a t planting of 150 lbs . /N, 200 lbs./P205 and 200 lbs . /K20 per acre . Plots receiving 4o lbs . /N plus 4o los . /K2o per ac1·e side dress yield ed best .

XVII - Veget able Varieties - (Ft. Lauder dale )

A. Beans, Bush Sna 1?. -- Harvester and Ext ender var ieties produced high yields of qualit y beans in the 1959 Sout hern Cooperative Vegeta ble Trials .

B. Cant aloupe . -- Florida No. 8 outproduced Smith's Perfect .

C. Peppers .-- Fl ori da Giant M. R. (Resistant Florida Giant), Keystone Resistant Giant St . No. 3, and Cali fornia Honder produced higb. yields of quality peppers in the sp ring trial of th e 1959 Southern Coopera ­tive Sweet Pepper Trial. 1"nere were no significant differen ce s in the winter trial which was i nj ured by low te xnperatures .

D. Sweet Corn. -- Hybrid 105 procluced the highe st fa ll yielcl of quali ty corn in the 1959 Southern Cooper.s.tive Sweet Corn Observation al Trial. Golden Hybrid RS, 25776 and Golden Security yielded the highest number of marketable ears in the re pl icated trial.

XVIII - Ferti lizer Stud ies - (Ft . lauderdale)

A. Lime Test with Pepper .-- One tone app li cation of a gric ultural lime ­stone res ul ·i.;ed in incre ase d yields of pepp ers and a higher soil culciu..~ level after 30 inches of rainfall .

B. Sidedre ssin g Rates for Peppers .-- Yields were increased by raising t he r ate of bi -weekly 10- 0- 10 applications from 200 to 300 pounds per acre in a commercial field .

C. Urea -Formaldehyde Fertilizer .-- No significant differences were found in bean ancl pepper yields between urea - fonna.ldehyde and inorganic sources of nitrogen .

D. Organic Fertilize r .-- Inorganic fertilizer containing copper , manganese , an d boron increasec 1 yields above those from organic f er tiliz er derived from ei the1· garbage of hu..vnus. The yields from the organic fertilizer pl ots were not significantly different from the check yields.

E. Method of Fertilizer Application .-- No significant yield differences resulted bet ween broadcast and ban ded surface fertilizer applications fo r peppers and southern peas.

XIX - Protecting Vegeta bles From Wind and Cold - (Ft. Lauderdale)

A. Windbreaks for Cucumbers . -- The t wo rows of cucumbers on both the east and west sides of sorghum windbreaks produced higher marketable yields than the fourth row east of the windbreaks . The crop was har ­vested f rom new grouth pr oduced af ter cold wind in jured the vines the l ast of November .

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B. Slo pi ng of Cucmuoer Beds . -- Sloping oeds to t he south gave hi gi.~er winter cucumb er yields on be ds ori ented eas t to west . There were no di:fferences followin g periods of ·warm weather .

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