MELON FIELD DAY CANCELLATIONS: Brad Abrameit and Enrique Perez

There will not be a Melon Field Day this Spring for either Hidalgo or Starr Counties due to disease conditions in the trial plots. However, you are welcome to visit the plots on your own. Plot maps are available from each County Extension office for the various trials. Data will still be taken on these trials, so we ask that you stay off of the vines and not cut or pick any of the melons. Trial information will be compiled and made available for you later in the season.

TAES TOMATO BREEDING LINES AVAILABLE FOR OBSERVATION: David Wolff

Recently, we wanted to check the seed germination of TAES pepper breeding lines developed by Mr. Paul Leeper. We have checked the germination of some of the most advanced lines and experimental hybrids, and have planted small, observational plots of these on the station in Weslaco. The plots consist of 22 freshmarket breeding lines, 45 experimental fresh market hybrids, 24 processor breeding lines, and 21 commercial hybrids (mostly older hybrids).

On Thursday, May 22, from 9:00-11:00 a.m. we will have a field day on the station to observe the tomato material. All growers, seedsmen, and other interested individuals are invited to attend. If you have any questions, call David Wolff (968-5585), Lynn Branderberger (968-5581) or Brad Abrameit (383-1026).

STUDY PUBLISHED ON MELON MULCHES: Lynn Brandenberger

Work that was completed on various mulches for use in melon production here in the L.R.G.V. was published in the April-June issue of HortTechnolgy. The study titled Physical characteristics of mulches and their impact on crop response and profitability in muskmelon production points out the need to consider the durability of different plastic mulches and also the importance of how difficult it is to remove a particular mulch from the field after the growing season.

Comparisons were made in the study regarding the cost of removal for sixteen different plastic mulches based on removal times and their associated costs. Costs ranged from a low of 24 dollars/acre to a high of 87 dollars/acre. If you would like to receive a copy of the article contact Lynn Brandenberger or Bob Wiedenfeld at the Weslaco Center at (210) 968-5581.

CANTALOUPE FRUIT ROT: Tom Isakeit

The unusual sustained wet, cool conditions in the Valley over the past few months has resulted in a multitude of disease problems.

The biggest impact has been on the cantaloupe crop. Gummy stem blight, caused by the fungus, Didymella bryoniae, first appeared on the crowns and vines, then leaves, and finally, the fruit. Losses in fields caused by fruit rot have been high. In fact, some fields were not harvested. The problem is that while there are obvious symptoms of fruit infection, particularly, cracking of fruit, other infections had no obvious external symptoms. The brown lesions associated with this fungus could be seen only by cutting into the rind. Such infected fruit can not be expected to hold up after shipping. (By the way, the incidence of fruit rot caused by Fusarium spp. is quite low. Fruit rots caused by other pathogens, such as bacteria, have not been detected.)

Growers reported treating early and aggressively with benomyl to control the gummy stem blight fungus. Unfortunately, our studies so far indicate that the fungus present in the Valley is resistant to benomyl. This is not at all surprising, since resistance to benomyl has been documented in other areas, most recently, last year in South Carolina. The other unfortunate aspect is that there are no other systemic fungicides labelled and effective for gummy stem blight. Growers will have to rely on protectant fungicides such as chlorothalonil to prevent the establishment of new infections on plant tissue. This treatment would have to be done early in the season, before the disease gets established in a field.

We will be looking at some other fungicides for efficacy against gummy stem blight. Hopefully, promising candidates could be available shortly, either through normal registration, or section 18 clearances.

This is a foliar disease caused by the fungus, Exserohilum turcicum. It has been quite prevalent on corn and sorghum this season, which, again, is related to cool, wet conditions that favor disease development. The optimal temperature range for disease development is 64-80 F. Although symptoms are prevalent now, this does not mean that it is necessary to apply propiconazole (Tilt). According to Dr. Gary Odvody, spraying should be considered if all these conditions are met:

1) Expectation of continued, cool, wet weather;

2) Lesions cover more than 20% of lower leaves;

3) Extensive lesion development on leaves at the

height of the ear;

4) Plants have not yet silked.

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF HIGH-TECH INFORMATION RETRIEVAL: Brad Abrameit

Today's fast paced society demands a fast paced response to questions that it has. As a farmer or industry associate, your needs are no different. Many consider agriculture to be a slower paced industry, often slower to adapt new technologies and advancements, but take a closer look, and you'll realize that agriculture is going full speed ahead.

The massive amounts of information on the World Wide Web relating to agriculture back up the fact that agriculture is up and running with the rest of the world. If you've ever used the Internet, or the World Wide Web, whatever you prefer to call it, you know what I mean, if not, now is the time to start.

The Internet and the Web are, generally speaking, one in the same. The Internet relates more to the hardware network responsible for delivering the collection of information, which makes up the World Wide Web (WWW). Regardless of what you call it, the system offers a quick and simple way to access information using a computer. The days of going to the library and subscribing to dozens of magazines are slowly being replaced with your home or office computer.

As an example, I typed in the key word cantaloupe into the Infoseek search engine and within less than a minute, I was given access to 964 matches of articles, databases, companies, etc. relating to this topic. The number of matches will depend on the search engine you use. What's even better, you are able to narrow those selections down to find exactly what you are looking for by using combinations of words. For example "cantaloupe and disease" (entered into your search as +cantaloupe+disease) will give you 5 matches ranging from a field diagnosis article on melon diseases to a paper on Fusarium Rind Rot. By spending 5 minutes on your computer, you now have up-to-date information at your fingertips.

Other examples of information which can be found on the Web are real-time weather reports, world-wide commodity prices and reports, product supplier information, technical support and reports, and much more...virtually anything you can think of. With a little practice, you will soon find a number of sites which are worthy of "bookmarking" for quick reference. Table 1 lists a few sights which may be of interest to you.

Table 1. World Wide Web site addresses
Web Site	Address
Aggie Horticulture	http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu
Texas Ag. Extension Serv. Publications	http://agcomwww.tamu.edu/agcom/publish/EG-HOMEX.HTM
TAMU Home Page	http://www.tamu.edu
AgriNet - Texas A&M University	http://agrinet.tamu.edu
Texas State Agency - Agriculture, Dept. of	http://www.texas.gov/agency/551.html
Texas Subtropical Agricultural Center	http://primera.tamu.edu/./
Agonline Discussion Group	http://agriculture.com/agtalk/agonline/
Texas Agricultural Experiment Station	http://taeswww.tamu.edu
TAMU Department of Entomology	http://entowww.tamu.edu
TAMU Plant Pathology & Microbiol.	http://plantpathology.tamu.edu/PLPA/dept_toc.html/
U.S. Department of Agriculture	http://www.usda.gov
TNRCC	http://www.tnrcc.texas.gov/
Texas Agricultural Market Research Cntr.	http://agrinet.tamu.edu/centers/tamrc/
Texas State Data Center/	http://www-txsdc.tamu.edu/
Texas Vegetable Association	http://www.tva.org
Ag Links - Links for the Ag. Industry	http://www.gennis.com/aglinks.html#wthr

Lynn Brandenberger/Editor

The information given herein is for educational purposes only. References to commercial products or trade names are made with the understanding that no discrimination is intended and no endorsement by the Cooperative Extension Service is implied.

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