Tag: Pest Control

Condition: Waxy Breakdown (an abiotic disorder) Pest/disease identification and lifecycle, most common damage symptoms and crops affected: Waxy breakdown of garlic is a physiological condition that sometimes affects garlic, though typically only rarely in Maine. Development of the condition is not fully understood but often associated with very high temperatures and/or sunscald damage around harvest

Disease: Powdery Mildew of Cucurbits (Podosphaera xanthii and Erysiphe cichoracearum) Pest/disease identification and lifecycle, most common damage symptoms and crops affected: Management options: Powdery mildew is a common disease of pumpkins and winter squash. All cucurbits are susceptible, but many common cucumber and melon varieties have had powdery mildew resistance bred into them. The disease

Pest: Hornworms (Manduca sexta, M. quinquemaculata) Pest/disease identification and lifecycle, most common damage symptoms and crops affected: Hornworms are probably the most destructive insect that attacks tomatoes. They are giant caterpillars that grow rapidly and can do a vast amount of eating in a very short amount of time. Sometimes it seems that healthy-looking tomato

Pest: Scarab beetles (Asiatic Garden, Japanese, Oriental, Chafers) Pest/disease identification and lifecycle, most common damage symptoms and crops affected: There are several species of scarab beetles that are common in New England turf, fruit and vegetable crops. These were all introduced to the United States. Japanese beetles are the most common and widely distributed. Below

Pest: Basil Downy Mildew (Peronospora belbahrii) Pest/disease identification and lifecycle, most common damage symptoms and crops affected: Downy mildew of basil was first reported in Uganda back in 1930. Relatively recently it spread to Italy in 2004, France in 2005, United States (Florida) in 2007 and by 2009 had made its way to New England.

Pest: Tortoise beetle (species in the Cassidinae subfamily) Pest/disease identification and lifecycle, most common damage symptoms and crops affected: There are many species of tortoise beetles globally but only two that are commonly noticed in Maine: clavate tortoise beetle (Plagiometriona clavata) and golden tortoise beetle (Charidotella sexpunctata). Adult tortoise beetles lay their eggs on the

Blossom End Rot Blossom end rot is a familiar sight for many tomato growers, but it can affect other crops as well, such as peppers and squash. Though it may look like a disease, and it sometimes allows infection by secondary decay organisms, blossom end rot is an abiotic growth disorder caused by stressful growing

Disease: Early blight on tomato (Alternaria) Pest/disease identification and lifecycle, most common damage symptoms and crops affected: Early blight is a serious problem in tomatoes and potatoes, but rarely affects peppers and eggplants. In most years, it is very common; much more common than late blight, which is usually rare in Maine. All aboveground portions

Pest: Anthracnose (Colletotrichum fioriniae) Pest/disease identification and lifecycle, most common damage symptoms and crops affected: The fungus pathogen that is responsible for anthracnose on garlic scapes (Colletotrichum fioriniae), is the same fungus that causes celery anthracnose — described in this pest report from 2019. One theory for the relatively recent appearance of the disease is