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Project Leader: Judson Reid, CCE Educator, Yates County
Cooperators: Raymond Wenger-Yates County Greenhouse Grower; Helene Dillard, Ann
Cobb, George Abawi, John Ludwig, Don Crosier- Department of Plant Pathology, NYSAES,
Geneva; Jana Lamboy-IPM Extension Associate; Finger Lakes Produce Auction, Penn
Yan.
Type of grant: Pheromones; biorationals; microbials; conventional pesticides
Project locations: NYSAES, Geneva, NY and Scenic View Farms, Ellis Rd. Dundee, NY.
Findings could be applied nationally.
Abstract: Greenhouse production of vegetables in the Finger Lakes region of New
York State is growing exponentially. Yates County alone has seen a 1700% increase
in farms growing edible greenhouse crops over the last 6 years. Ontario, Seneca,
Steuben and Orleans are showing dramatic growth. Immigration of Old Order communities
of Mennonite and Amish families is responsible for this revitalization of agriculture. IPM is ideal for these greenhouses. Why?
- Old Order families use farm activities
to be together. That means infants, children and parents work together in greenhouses.
- Vegetables are commonly grown in the same house as flowers. The two crops don’t
share pesticide registrations.
- Most growers desire low input approaches to agriculture.
- There are very few pesticides registered for edible greenhouse crops.
The goal
of this project was to evaluate several beneficial microbial products for controlling
damping-off, a common disease in these systems. Under grower conditions none of
the products performed acceptably. At the New York State Agriculture Experiment
Station Hydrogen Dioxide provided some disease control but was not equal to a fungicide.
Future research could look at using Hydrogen Dioxide in combination with a microbial
as an alternative to fungicides.
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