Upcoming Perennia events

The Dirt on Dirt: Sustainable Soils on the South Shore  
Please join Amy Sangster, Perennia Soils Specialist, Rosalie Gillis-Madden, Perennia Vegetable Specialist, and Brian MacCulloch, NSDA Agriculture Resource Coordinator, for an afternoon focusing on soils, potting mixes, and transplant health.

Tuesday March 27, 2018 1:00 - 3:00 PM
Provincial Building Boardroom, 312 Green St. Lunenburg, NS

More details can be found on the Facebook event here.

Registration is required, please contact Gail Walsh 1-877-710-5210 (toll-free) or 902-678-7722 to register by March 23, 2018.

Pest Management in the Hopyard

There are many factors to consider when managing pests in a hopyard: life-cycle of the organism, good Integrated Pest Management (IPM) techniques, mode of action and efficacy of the products, and pesticide application efficiency. Pesticide Points will be available.

April 5th from 2-4 pm

This workshop is designed for growers with existing hopyards and will be informative for organic, conventional, and spray-free growers.

A session will be held in-person at the Perennia offices at the Kentville Research Station (32 Main Street, Kentville, NS) OR you can join remotely from

• The Truro Perennia offices (199 Dr Bernie MacDonald Drive, Bible Hill, NS)

• The Antigonish NSDA offices (190 Beechhill Road, Antigonish, NS)

More details can be found on the Facebook event here. Please contact Gail Walsh 1-877-710-5210 (toll-free) or gwalsh@perennia.ca to register by April 3, 2018, so we can be sure to accommodate numbers.

Sprayer Efficacy Workshop - Location

The Sprayer Efficacy Workshop will take place on Thursday, July 20, 2017 from 1:00 - 3:00 pm.  The approximate street address is 9780 NS-201, Wilmot, NS.  Keep your eyes peeled for Perennia signs!
 


If you contact Gail Walsh 1-877-710-5210 (toll-free) she will email you a map.


Perennia IPM Specialist Peter Burgess and Vegetable Specialist Rosalie Madden will discuss nozzle selection, canopy penetration, and the importance of water volume!  Pesticide points available.

Thursday, July 20, 2017 

Spurr Brothers Farms, Melvern Square 

1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Downy mildew in lettuce

Downy mildew was found in a lettuce field in the Valley this week by Erika Bent (APM Agricultural Pest Monitoring Cons. Ltd.).  We don't always see lettuce downy mildew (Bremia lactucae Regel), but it can be very destructive. Spores are spread via splashing water or wind.  Air currents can carry spores several kilometers.  Cool temperatures (between 15' and 21' Celsius) are conducive to disease development, especially under wet conditions.  This includes heavy dew set in the mornings and overhead irrigation. 

Infection usually starts in the older leaves and travels inward.  Pale green or yellow areas will become apparent on the upper surface of the leaves, often having an angular appearance, with sporulation occurring on the underside.  This infection can spread very quickly, especially under favourable growth conditions, so be sure to check your fields often!

Fields that have been recently harvested are ideal locations for disease buildup to get out of hand, so be sure to plow down lettuce residue.

There are numerous fungicide options, which can be found on the Perennia Lettuce Management Schedule. Downy mildew can build up resistance to pesticide group modes of action very quickly, so be sure to rotate between pesticide groups at every application. While there are varieties that have been bred to be resistant to downy mildew, due to the quickly evolving nature of this disease, varieties may not be resistant to all strains of downy mildew.

Sprayer Efficacy Workshop

Please join Perennia Integrated Pest Management Specialist Peter Burgess and Vegetable Specialist Rosalie Madden for a discussion about sprayer efficacy.

We will discuss nozzle selection, canopy penetration, and the importance of water volume!  Pesticide points available.

Thursday, July 20, 2017 

Spurr Brothers Farms, Melvern Square 

1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Please contact Gail Walsh 1-877-710-5210 (toll-free) or gwalsh@perennia.ca to register by July 17, 2017.

Be sure to give Gail your e-mail address as we will send out a map of the field locations the day before the workshop.

 

Cucumber beetles are here

Stripped cucumber beetle, illustration by Jessica MacDonald

Striped cucumber beetles have made their annual debut in the Annapolis Valley.  These pests are problematic in many ways.  Feeding damage can stunt plants, and when flowers are predated, it can reduce fruit set and yield.  Cucumber beetles also vector bacterial wilt.  Scarring on fruit by adult beetles reduce the marketability of the crop. 

Newly emerging cucurbit plants are particularly susceptible to stunting and bacterial wilt, while older plants can withstand up to 25% defoliation.  Early season control is essential with this pest, and it is important to scout your fields regularly. 

For more information on cucumber beetle biology, beneficial insects, and organic management, check out Managing Cucumber Beetles in Organic Farming Systems on eXtension.
 
Please click here for Perennia's Pest Management Guides for Cucumbers and for Melons.  For Perennia's Pest Management Guides for Pumpkin and Squash, please click here.  Insect netting can also be an effective control option for this pest, but netting must be removed at flowering for pollination to occur.

Wind Meters

Perennia's Caitlin Congdon using the wind meter

Here at Perennia we've recently acquired a wind meter that can attach to a phone.  The small fan-like attachment plugs into the headphone jack and works in sync with a free app called Wind Meter established by the company, WeatherFlow.  The wind meter itself costs about $50 (CAD), which is comparable to a similar product from Weatherhawk, although the Weatherhawk version is not yet available for Android.

The wind meter and app will measure wind speed in either kilometers per hour or miles per hour and displays the real time wind speed, gusts, and lulls, and also track the average and report wind direction. Readings can be stored or sent via email and text, or viewed on a map.

Perennia's Research Technician Caitlin Congdon has been using the wind meter when we spray our trials to minimize drift. She has compared the app and phone plugin with our handheld model and has found it to be very accurate. This type of gadget is small enough to be carried in your pocket with your phone, and is an easy way to provide specific on-site information.

There are several portable wind and weather meters on the market at a wide range of price points and levels of detail. Some work through apps, either through an attachment to your phone, or via Bluetooth. The Bluetooth devices generally give more information, such as temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, etc. and sell for anywhere from $50-$250 (CAD).

This post was written in part by Caitlin Congdon, Perennia's Agriculture Research Technician.