O-zone Injury on Vegetables
Crystal Stewart-Courtens, Extension Vegetable Specialist
Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture
Hot, humid weather with stagnant air masses may lead to ozone damage on crops. Ozone warnings were recently issued for much of New York. These warnings are intended for people with respiratory problems and let them know they should limit their outdoor activity and try to stay as much as possible in air-conditioned locations. These warning are also a good indicator that ozone damage may occur in plants.
Common ozone symptoms are small, irregular, shaped spots that range in color from dark brown to black (stipple like) or light tan to white (fleck like). These spots are found only on the upper surface of the leaf. Very young and old leaves are less susceptible to ozone while newly mature leaves are the most susceptible. With severe damage, symptoms may extend to the lower leaf surface.
Insect feeding (red spider mite and some leafhoppers) produce flecks on the upper surface of leaves, much like ozone injury. Flecks from insect feeding are usually spread uniformly over the leaf surface while ozone flecks are concentrated in specific areas, usually most pronounced at the leaf tip and along the margins.
The most sensitive crops include: Bean, Broccoli, Muskmelon, Onion, Potato, Radish, Spinach, Sweet Corn, Tomato
Intermediate crops include: Carrot, Endive, Parsley, Parsnip, Turnip
Tolerant crops include: Beet, Cucumber, Lettuce
Upcoming Events
Niagara Region Vegetable Meeting
August 14, 2024
Clarence Center, NY
We'll start this meeting off at Root Down Farm to hear late season disease management updates in peppers and cole crops, plus current best management practices to limit fungicide resistance. Potato variety recommendations and disease control questions in potatoes will be addressed.
Then we'll head to Kreher's beet field to view and discuss alternative weed control technologies. The beet field is an on-farm demonstration of various flame weeding protocols in comparison with stacked tool cultivation equipment. One or two weeding robots will be on-hand for live demonstrations and discussion of the technology's current abilities and future potential. We'll also cover industry updates and a review of late summer disease management in squash.
2.0 DEC credits will be available in categories 23, 1a, and 10.
2024 Chipping Potato Twilight Meeting
August 20, 2024
Dansville, NY
Join us for a brief, on-farm meeting including insect pest updates and viewing of the chipping potato variety trial. 1.0 DEC credits in categories 10, 1a, and 23 will be offered. Dinner follows!