Tag: Pest Control

Squash Vine Borer

Pest: Squash vine borer (Melittia cucurbitae) Pest identification and lifecycle, most common symptoms and crops affected: Squash vine borer moths are day-flying moths with a 1 to 1.5 inch wingspan and bright orange-red markings. In flight, they look like wasps. There is thought to be only one generation per year in New England with adults

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Tarnished Plant Bug and Four-Lined Plant Bug

Pests: Tarnished Plant Bug (Lygus lineolaris) and Four-Lined Plant Bug (Poecilocapsus lineatus) Pest identification and lifecycle, most common symptoms and crops affected: The tarnished plant bug is a small (6 mm), bronze, brown and black bug that feeds on a very wide variety of plants (up to 300 different species). They overwinter as adults under

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Potato Leafhoppers

Pest: Potato Leafhoppers (Empoasca fabae) Pest identification and lifecycle, most common symptoms and crops affected: The potato leafhopper has been arriving here in New England earlier and earlier. If you see unexplained yellowing of leaves of beans or potatoes, check for the critter. They primarily feed on beans, potatoes, eggplants, strawberries and alfalfa, but will

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Striped Cucumber Beetle

Pest: Striped cucumber beetle (Acalymma vittatum) Pest/disease identification and lifecycle, most common damage symptoms and crops affected: Striped cucumber beetle is our most serious early-season pest in cucurbit crops. These beetles spend the winter in plant debris in field edges and with the onset of warm days and emergence of cucurbit crops they rapidly move

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Colorado Potato Beetle

Pest: Colorado Potato Beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata) Pest identification and lifecycle, most common symptoms and crops affected: As with most other insects and plants, there is a direct relationship between higher temperatures (in the range between about 55 and 90 degrees) and faster rate of development. That includes egg-laying, egg hatch, larval growth and feeding rates.

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Seedcorn Maggot and Other Maggots

Pests: Seedcorn maggot (Hylemya platura), Onion maggot (Delia antiqua), Cabbage maggot (Delia radicum) Pest identification and lifecycle, most common symptoms and crops affected: Seedcorn maggot larvae feed on seeds and young seedlings of many crops (including corn, beans, beets, peas, spinach, onions and Brassicas). The first symptoms are usually poor germination (or failure of seedlings

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Seedling Problems

In the early spring, when most plants are still in greenhouses — a much more controlled setting than gardens and fields — a lot of the problems that arise are abiotic (i.e., not infectious). Sometimes abiotic issues are transient (e.g., cold temperatures) so it’s good to both check new growth to see how it looks

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Leek Moth

Pests: Leek Moth (Acrolepiopsis assectella) Pest/disease identification and lifecycle, most common damage symptoms and crops affected: Leek moth is a newer invasive pest of allium crops like onions, garlic, shallots and chives, and, as the name suggests, they are particularly fond of leeks. As with most moth pests the crop damage is from its larval

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Three-Lined Potato Beetle

Pests: Three-Lined Potato Beetle (Lema daturaphila) Pest/disease identification and lifecycle, most common damage symptoms and crops affected: The favorite foods of the three-lined potato beetle are crop and weed species in the Physalis genus, notably tomatillo and husk cherries. Potatoes, tomatoes and eggplants are also sometimes attacked. The adult of this pest is about the

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Spinach Leafminer and Beet Leafminer

Pests: Spinach leafminer (Pegomya hyoscyami), Beet leafminer (Pegomya betae) Pest/disease identification and lifecycle, most common symptoms and crops affected: These closely related species of leafminer attack spinach, beet, chard and some weeds, such as lambsquarters. The adult is a fly that lays its eggs on the undersides of leaves. Eggs hatch in as few as

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