Fruit and Vegetable News

Author: Natalie Hoidal, UMN Extension We've seen some very heavy rains followed by hot weather over the last couple of weeks. These conditions can cause crusting on the soil surface. In this brief overview, I'll discuss how / why crusts form, and how you can respond in the immediate and longer term. At this point in the season, most crops are already in the field. However, many of you will continue to plant successions of brassicas, lettuce, carrots, and other crops. We tend to see some of our heaviest rains and thunderstorms in the summer, so keep the possibility of crusting in mind as you time your plantings. Soil crusting: Why does it happen?  Crusting often leads to uneven emergence Photo: Angie Peltier Soils that have high aggregate stability (a function of soil texture, organic matter, and biological activity) are able to retain their structure in the face of heavy rainfall. A soil with lower aggregate stability is more likely to experience some disintegration...

Author: Annie Klodd, Extension Educator-Fruit and Vegetable Production Strawberry bloom and fruit set in Annapolis berries, on June 1, 2020 in White Bear Lake, MN. Bloom is an exciting time in the strawberry field, but it is also an important time for managing strawberry diseases. While we can't see the disease symptoms at this time, disease spores are actively spreading and infecting the plants and blossoms. The infections that occur now can cause the symptoms that we see later. Therefore, it is important to control diseases at this point in the season to prevent damage to fruit and leaves. Keeping diseases at bay during this time will lead to lower fruit and leaf infestations later in the season and allow better fruit quality, healthier plants, and higher marketable yields. During bloom, effective organic or synthetic fungicides should be applied from 5-10% bloom until flowers have finished blooming, according to the application intervals on the product labels. Di...