Fruit and Vegetable News

Marissa Schuh , Integrated Pest Management Extension Educator, University of Minnesota Extension. Reviewed by Annie Klodd. Originally published April 2021, updated 2026. With their long season and spreading growth habit, pumpkins often present a weed control challenge.  Here are some important factors and considerations when working to manage weeds in pumpkins and winter squash.  Waterhemp in a pumpkin patch. While a few sporadic weeds may seem insignificant, one average waterhemp plant produces about 250,000 seeds. Photo: Annie Klodd, University of Minnesota Extension. First, know your weeds. This is beyond knowing you have general issues with grasses or broadleaves.  Some cultural techniques and herbicide chemistries are more effective against some weeds than others.  Being familiar with the specific weed issues in the fields you are planting into will help you tailor your weed control program for success.  Most farms have three to four main problem weeds, so ...

Author: Marissa Schuh , Integrated Pest Management Extension Educator, University of Minnesota Extension. Reviewed by Natalie Hoidal. Originally published 2021, review and updated 2024. We are starting to get reports of Aster Yellows, read on for more information on this disease and the insect that moves it around, aster leafhopper. Aster Leafhoppers Can Move Aster Yellows Around Aster leafhoppers are small, quick-moving, and innocuous in appearance.  They have piercing-sucking mouthparts that they use to feed on plant juices. Aster leafhoppers are small and yellow-green. Photo: Whitney Cranshaw, Colorado State University, Bugwood.org While leafhoppers are often present in many crops, their direct feeding damage (referred to as hopperburn) doesn’t typically rise to economic levels.  When they do become a problem, it is because they are travelling with a disease called aster yellows.  Aster yellows infects and impacts many plant species, with crops of concern being carrots...

Marissa Schuh, Integrated Pest Management Extension Educator. Originally published in 2022, updated for 2023. We hear from growers in the summer about cutworm issues in high tunnel crops, oftentimes long after the damage has been done.  It is always hard to retrace the steps and figure out what caused the damage.  As crops go into high tunnels, now is the time to think about past cutworm problems so we can hopefully catch the culprits and work on the problem in the future. There are many species of cutworm, though they all have a habit of curling up when disturbed. Photo: Clemson University - USDA Cooperative Extension Slide Series , Bugwood.org. Who are the cutworms? “Cutworms” is a label that applies broadly to a large group of caterpillars with a wide range of life histories.  Some of the insects live in Minnesota year-round, while others migrate on weather fronts.  There are approximately 10 different cutworms and armyworms species we see in Minnesota that could ...