NOTE: Degree Day data as of September 27, 2019.
This will be the final week for the 2019 edition of the VCR. Thank-you to all who followed along this year!
Did you find the VCR helpful this growing season? Please let us know with a brief survey!
Temperature – Harvest continues to be underway for for remaining vegetable crops fields across the province . Cooler, seasonal temperatures have been seen in all growing regions with small localized patches of frost reported in some low lying areas. Continue to monitor weather conditions and take appropriate measures to protect crops still in the field from frost damage where possible.
Rainfall – September precipitation varied across the province. Continue (when possible) to avoid entering fields which are still wet from precipitation events or morning dew, especially in fields which may be a few a couple of weeks from harvest in the southern portions of the province. This will help to avoid the potential spread of pathogens from plant to plant in the field. Harvesting equipment should be cleansed between the harvesting of fields to avoid the spread of soil-borne pathogens.
Crop Updates
Brassica Crops – Harvest continues thoughout Ontario and the warm weather over the last two weeks has allowed many head brassicas to mature. Flea beetles continue to be a major pest in most areas. Alternaria and bacterial head rot has been a problem for some broccoli and cauliflower plantings. A clubroot pathotype study is underway; if you have Brassicas with clubroot and are interested in determining what pathotype of clubroot is present, E-mail travis.cranmer@ontario.ca for more information. Are you interested in pest and pathogen identification training? Save the date for the spring Brassica IPM workshop – Thursday, April 30th, 2020 at 1 Stone Road in Guelph. A registration announcement will be posted on the ONvegetables blog in early 2020.
Carrots – It was a great year for carrots as most fields look good above and below ground. Anecdotally cavity spot incidence was up this year, likely from the wet spring we experienced in most regions.
Celery – Harvest is underway but overall it has been a decent growing season for celery. While there are multiple pathogens present causing celery leaf curl and other diseases, in general the disease incidence is low relative to other years. There is a celery IPM session planned for May 7th, 2020 at 1 Stone Road in Guelph. This workshop will cover scouting for pest and pathogens of celery along with carrots and onions. A registration announcement will be posted on the ONvegetables blog in early 2020.
Garlic – Garlic planting has started across SW Ontario for the 2020 crop. If you are purchasing planting stock, it is extremely important that you ensure that what you are planting is free of bulb and stem nematode. Even cloves with an intact basal plate and no observable damage may have nematodes present. The UofG Pest Diagnostic Clinic in Guelph as well as A&L labs in London conduct nematode testing. There will be another full day workshop in Guelph on December 4th from 9-4:30 that will cover every part of garlic production including clean seed, cultivar selection, seeding density, nutrient testing, scape removal, weed control, crop insurance, harvesting, grading, storing as well as scouting/pest management. If there is time at the end of the workshop we will go over a cost of production spreadsheet. To register, call the Agriculture Information Contact Centre at 1 877-424-1300.
Onions – Harvest continues for dry bulb onions. Sporulation and infection may have been conducive for downy mildew in the Holland Marsh which has potential to damage late plantings of green onions. The level of Stemphylium leaf blight development seemed to be less than last year and the level of thrips this year was low in most areas. The level of pink root and onion smut seemed to be higher this year but overall yield and quality seems to be good across the province. There is a onion IPM session planned for May 7th, 2020 at 1 Stone Road in Guelph. This workshop will cover scouting for pest and pathogens of onions along with carrots and celery. A registration announcement will be posted on the ONvegetables blog in early 2020.
Peppers – Many processing and fresh market peppers are staying in the ground until frost, with hand harvesting continuing until then. Overall, the season seemed good for peppers. As of October 10, 2019, there have not been any pepper weevil caught on outdoor traps in Ontario.
Potatoes – Harvest continues at full speed with most growers on-schedule and storages filling fast. Overall quality looks great with yields variable across the board. Many non-irrigated fields just didn’t get enough rain during bulking to fulfill their potential while some irrigated fields and fields that caught the later rains bulked up nicely. We’ve seen a slight increase in scab incidence likely from the dry weather we experience during tuber initiation. Growers did an excellent job controlling late blight this season as there were no outbreaks, even with some stretches of susceptible weather later in the season
Tomatoes – Processing tomatoes are wrapping up harvest within the next week or so and fresh market tomatoes will continue until frost. Yields look average compared to other years, though there was a lot of variability between growers and varieties. Bacterial disease was a struggle in both the spring and late summer for many growers, due to the wet conditions.
NOTE: Data as of September 27, 2019
Pest Degree Day Forecasting
| Pest | Carrot Rust Fly | Onion Maggot | Carrot Weevil | Aster Leafhopper | Tarnished Plant Bug | Cabbage Maggot | Seedcorn Maggot | European Corn Borer |
| THRESHOLD | 329-395, 1399-1711 | 210-700, 1025-1515 | 138-156, 455+ | 128+ | 40+ | 314-398, 847-960, 1446-1604 | 200-350, 600-750, 1000-1150 | See legend below |
| Essex* | 2674 | 2488 | 1957 | 1629 | 1177 | 2130 | 2488 | 1470 |
| Chatham-Kent* | 2451 | 2266 | 1748 | 1425 | 937 | 1916 | 2266 | 1274 |
| Norfolk** | 2340 | 2161 | 1654 | 1339 | 855 | 1819 | 2161 | 1191 |
| Huron*** | 2108 | 1936 | 1453 | 1154 | 703 | 1607 | 1936 | 1013 |
| Wellington** | 2061 | 1892 | 1411 | 1117 | 671 | 1565 | 1892 | 980 |
| Simcoe County*** | 2147 | 1976 | 1490 | 1191 | 739 | 1646 | 1976 | 1051 |
| Durham*** | 2189 | 2019 | 1537 | 1245 | 789 | 1692 | 2019 | 1105 |
| Peterborough | 1972 | 1801 | 1315 | 1016 | 580 | 1472 | 1801 | 879 |
| Kemptville*** | 2200 | 2028 | 1542 | 1237 | 771 | 1700 | 2028 | 1089 |
| Sudbury*** | 1837 | 1680 | 1239 | 969 | 557 | 1380 | 1680 | 842 |
*- Bivoltine region for ECB. First Peak Catch: 300-350 DD, Second Peak Catch 1050-1100 DD
**- Overlap region for ECB. First Peak Catch : 300-350 DD Second Peak Catch 650-700 DD, Third Peak Catch 1050-1100 DD
***-Univoltine region for ECB. Peak Catch 650-700 DD
Use these thresholds as a guide, always confirm insect activity with actual field scouting and trap counts.
Select a region below for the latest weather, crop and pest degree day information:
Essex County
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Chatham-Kent County
Norfolk County
Wellington County
Simcoe County
Durham County
Peterborough
Kemptville
Sudbury
I see that degree days lagged the 10 year averages particularly further north. Interesting, obviously the strength of the sun, and perhaps cloud cover (but reduced amount of rain) I recommend pyrometer readings, both peak and integrated daily readings that would point to perhaps a cooling trend.