Support from digital solutions can help farmers and consultants make even better decisions about when and how to treat crops.Īlong with other management techniques, fungicides are also often necessary to control downy mildew. This can help inform whether another intervention, such as a fungicide, is needed. In damp weather, farmers can get out and scout fields, regularly looking for early signs of downy mildew. In this case, it may be possible to harvest plants before newer leaves are infected and remove older, damaged leaves so the plant is still marketable. 1 In leafy vegetables, downy mildew seems to have a greater impact on older leaves. Depending on the region and crop, farmers may be able to time their planting and harvest to avoid times of year when weather creates the greatest downy mildew pressures. This helps limit the sources of pathogen spores that may re-infect crops the following season.ĭowny mildew loves wet weather and temperatures of 15-23 degrees Celsius. If downy mildew has appeared in a field in the past, farmers also need to manage crop residues carefully, particularly in areas where the climate allows the disease to overwinter. For example, by adjusting plant spacing and irrigation, farmers can create conditions less favorable for downy mildew to thrive. There are a number of things farmers can do in the field to help reduce incidence and severity of downy mildew. This can be an excellent first line of defense, but not all crops have resistant varietal options, and even resistant varieties may still have some disease susceptibility. Today, there are more crop varieties available with resistance to downy mildew, particularly for cucumber and cantaloupe. To effectively manage downy mildew, farmers need to use a variety of practices and technologies, including: IPM helps farmers make decisions around managing all kinds of pests-including weeds, insects and diseases-in ways that reduce the risks of resistance development and minimize environmental impact. To control water-borne diseases like downy mildew, farmers have to use multiple methods in an approach known as Integrated Pest Management (IPM). 2 Downy mildew infestation can mean less abundant harvests and, ultimately, fewer choices and higher prices at the grocery store. Even a few spots can render a head of cabbage or bunch of kale unmarketable. In these vegetables, downy mildew grows right on the portions of the plant that are harvested and consumed. In leafy vegetables, the impact can be even more severe because marketplace quality standards are so high. The result can be smaller fruits and lower sugar content, affecting yield, flavor and quality. When it infests the leaves of fruiting vegetables, like cucumbers and melons, the leaves turn brown and die, decreasing the green surface area that drives fruit production. It attacks a wide range of produce many of us consume every day, like tomatoes, cucumbers, melons, grapes, greens, herbs and squash. 1ĭowny mildew is a parasitic water mold disease that can devastate fruit and vegetable crops. In cold climates, it can’t survive the winter, but come spring, it blows in from warmer areas, ready to infect fields as soon as conditions allow. Thriving in wet conditions, it spreads quickly, producing thousands of spores that can move hundreds of miles on the wind. When temperatures and humidity are right, spores begin to develop, creating soft gray areas on the undersides of leaves. It starts as small, yellowish spots, often indistinguishable from other common diseases in vegetables.
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