- Summer squash, cucumbers, pickles and melons are being harvested.
- Watermelons and hard squash are setting fruit.
- Late June high temperatures caused widescale fruit abortions that were noticed five to 10 days later.
- Hot night time temperatures may also have a suppressive effect on fruit set.
- Reports of virus symptoms in squash were received this week.
- The first symptoms of cucurbit downy mildew disease on pickling cucumber plants in a commercial production field were verified by the MSU vegetable pathology lab.
- Look for weekly spore trap updates and current downy mildew news on the Hausbeck Lab Downy Mildew News website.
- Early season dry conditions likely delayed downy mildew development. More frequent dew periods and rainfall now is favorable for the pathogen (Pseudoperonospora cubensis) and a rapid escalation of the disease is likely if fungicide sprays are delayed.
Symptoms caused by a potyvirus in both fruit and foliage of yellow squash. Photos by MSU Plant & Pest Diagnostics.
