of using eye goggles when applying pesticides to crops at
New Holland Vegetable Day.
‘Vine Decline’
(Continued from Pago A2O)
roots quicker and produces at a
timely rate.
“Studies out of Florida and
many other areas show that with a
younger-age transplant, they tend
to put out a lot more roots a lot fas
ter,” said Samulis.
The older transplant goes into a
“delayed dormancy,” said the
agent “The growth cycle is held
tack and they don’t really pop
right out of the ground.”
When planting from seed, it is
best to plant in a warm soil (if
planting early, use a clear or black
plastic mulch) with the pointed end
of the seed up.
Sidedress
Growers normally sidedress at
least once with a nitrogen material.
Brown rot
is only serious
if you don’t know
how to stop it.
You won’t stop rot with
ordinary fungicides. But
Funginex* isn’t ordinary.
control. Even if applied
to stone fruit after you
spot early signs of fungal
disease, Funglnex actu-
ally stops disease from
spreading. Stops spores
from causing infection
Minimizes crop damage.
when resistance to other
fungicides becomes a
problem. So what used
to be serious, isn’t.
f Now brought to you by |
CIBA-GElGFunglnex Ist of low
hazard to the en\ironment
low toxicity, rapid decomposition,
low hazard to bees
and mites, and can be used in
IPM programs
FUNGINEX
STOPPING POWER
The use of drip irrigation makes it
easy to apply a liquid-based fertil
izer; if not, sidedressing can occur
with the use of a “caddy” which
injects fertilizer through a hole
punched through the plastic.
If banding the fertilizer, itcan be
applied at the end of mulch, before
or after fruit set
At the height of the growing sea
son, it is critical the plant receives
water —about 1 inch per week and
sometimes up to 2 inches a week,
especially when the temperature is
greater than 90 degrees and there is
a heavy fruit set
Also, growers must ensure the
plant receives pollination, and
bees are critical to the operation.
Many New Jersey growers store
hives near the watermelon plots for
bee accessibility.
It has true curative
And Funglnex works
Lancaster Fanning, Saturday. February 22, 1992-A2l
Ray Samulis, Burlington
County, NJ. ag agent, said
the key to good watermelon
production is being aware of
"vine decline.”
Person part
of system
When applying herbicides and
pesticides, keep in mind that, if
using a hand sprayer, the person
“is part of the delivery system,”
said Don Daum, Penn State ag
engineer, at the Vegetable Day.
Daum reviewed the importance
of safety with sprayer use.
The important element in good
spraying is “practice, practice,
practice,” said Daum. New appli
cator personnel should learn the
correct application of a chemical
(using water as a practice fluid)
before applying the chemicals.
Also, critical elements include
nozzle selection for the right appli
cation; selecting the time of day
(morning or evening when winds
die down to minimize drift); effec
tive width of the bands; and ensur
ing enough water is available as
required.
Dangerous vapors
Also, the operator should wear
long sleaves, trousers, hat, gloves,
eye goggles, and use a special
charcoal-filtering masks to prevent
(he person from breathing in the
dangerous vapors. (Do not use dust
masks —they merely allow vapors
to penetrate.)
Daum said to beware of adver
tising claims on some of the air
blast products some claim to
cover 60 feet, while really only
reaching to about 32 feet under the
best of conditions.
Daum also emphasized the new
technologies becoming available
to the pesticide user, including an
applicator that uses air blast and
droplet techniques; a boom sprayer
with fan; and a motorized back
pack air delivery system.
Daum said that growers who
need more information on hand
ling and safety when using pesti
cides can choose various fact
sheets available at county exten
sion offices.
Also at the vegetable day were
sessions on identifying and moni
toring insects, greenhouse soil
media management and insect
control, asparagus and raspberry
production, beekeeping culture,
raising fall crops, strawberry reno
vation and weed control, tree fruit
management, soil fumigation, and
other topics.