November 2024 - 40

FRESH VIEWS
BY ANNA TESTEN | USDA-ARS
Disease management
W
Updating disease plans by prioritizing resources can aid
growers in reducing or preventing losses
hether you have struggled
with diseases in the past
or diseases are the bane
of your crops, now is a good time to
develop or revisit plans for managing
diseases in your operation. Planning
for diseases will help to make
effective management decisions,
prioritize resources and help reduce
and even prevent disease losses.
When developing or refreshing
your operation's disease
management protocols, it is
important to correctly identify and
prioritize diseases and maintain good
records to help with future oversight
and strategy.
Know thy enemy
Disease management hinges on
accurate diagnosis of the pathogens
plaguing your crops. Misdiagnosis
leads to the selection of ineffective
management strategies. An example
is misdiagnosing a viral or bacterial
disease as a fungal disease and
spraying a fungicide, wasting time
and resources as the fungicide will
have no impact on those pathogens.
Diagnostic resources are available
online from university Extension
websites and in print, including
disease compendia for individual
crops. Additionally, local plant
disease diagnostic clinics (npdn.org/
lab_directory), Extension educators
or plant pathologists can help with
malady diagnosis.
Regular scouting is needed to
ensure that any condition is identified
in a timely manner. However,
infections caused by viruses
or soilborne pathogens can be
somewhat hidden in nature as they
can be difficult to observe.
Symptoms of some viral diseases
can be subtle and confused for
40 | NOVEMBER 2024
Hydroponic cucumbers. Photo by Anna Testen.
nutrient deficiencies. If you suspect a
viral disease, contact your local plant
disease diagnostic clinic for testing
options.
Soilborne diseases can also
cause symptoms similar to nutrient
deficiencies, such as stunting and
yellowing. Check roots and stems
during the growing season and at
season's end for disease symptoms.
When directing management
efforts towards specific disease
priorities, growers can save time and
resources. Strategies for aggressive,
fast-acting pathogens need to be in
place to prevent and reduce losses.
Examples of aggressive pathogens
are Phytophthora infestans, which
causes late blight in potatoes and
tomatoes, and Phytophthora capsici,
which causes blight of cucurbits and
pepper. Diseases that directly affect
the consumers' end product, such
as green bean anthracnose, should
be prioritized.
Some diseases can be annoying
but do not affect yield or produce
quality in a meaningful way. Other
infections may occur rarely in your
area due to climate or regional
disease differences, making that
condition a low priority in terms of
management resources. Ideally,
growers should still implement a

http://www.npdn.org/

November 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of November 2024

Editor's Letter
Tomato farming success
Mesotunnels impact
Great Lakes EXPO: Unlocking farm potential
Great Lakes EXPO Schedule
Hydroponics
Seed Variety Showcase
Organic Grower
40 Under Forty Fresh Views
Veg Connections
Farm Market & Agritourism
Ag Labor Review
Classifieds
Advertiser Index
November 2024 - 1
November 2024 - 2
November 2024 - 3
November 2024 - Editor's Letter
November 2024 - 5
November 2024 - Tomato farming success
November 2024 - 7
November 2024 - 8
November 2024 - Mesotunnels impact
November 2024 - 10
November 2024 - Great Lakes EXPO: Unlocking farm potential
November 2024 - Great Lakes EXPO Schedule
November 2024 - 13
November 2024 - Hydroponics
November 2024 - 15
November 2024 - 16
November 2024 - 17
November 2024 - 18
November 2024 - Seed Variety Showcase
November 2024 - 20
November 2024 - 21
November 2024 - 22
November 2024 - 23
November 2024 - 24
November 2024 - 25
November 2024 - 26
November 2024 - 27
November 2024 - 28
November 2024 - 29
November 2024 - 30
November 2024 - 31
November 2024 - 32
November 2024 - 33
November 2024 - 34
November 2024 - Organic Grower
November 2024 - 36
November 2024 - 37
November 2024 - 38
November 2024 - 39
November 2024 - 40 Under Forty Fresh Views
November 2024 - 41
November 2024 - Veg Connections
November 2024 - 43
November 2024 - Farm Market & Agritourism
November 2024 - 45
November 2024 - Ag Labor Review
November 2024 - 47
November 2024 - Classifieds
November 2024 - 49
November 2024 - Advertiser Index
November 2024 - 51
November 2024 - 52
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