This study was conducted at the Yuma Valley Agricultural Center. The soil was a silty clay loam (7-56-37 sand-silt-clay, pH 7.2, O.M. 0.7%). Spinach ‘Revere’ was seeded, then sprinkler-irrigated to germinate seed Jan 18, 2024 on beds with 84 in. between bed centers and containing 30 lines of seed per bed.  All irrigation water was supplied by sprinkler irrigation.  Treatments were replicated four times in a randomized complete block design.  Replicate plots consisted of 15 ft lengths of bed separated by 3 ft lengths of nontreated bed.  Treatments were applied with a CO₂backpack sprayer that delivered 50 gal/acre at 40 psi to flat-fan nozzles. 
 

 
Downy mildew (caused by Peronospora farinosa f. sp. spinaciae) was first observed in plots on Feb 19  and final reading was taken on February 26, 2024. Spray date for each treatments are listed in excel file with the results.   Disease severity was recorded by determining the percentage of infected leaves present within three 1-ft² areas within each of the four replicate plots per treatment.  The number of spinach leaves in a 1-ft² area of bed was approximately 144. 

The data (found in the accompanying Excel file) illustrate the degree of disease reduction obtained by applications of the various tested fungicides. Products that  provided effective control against the disease include Orondis ultra, Thrive 4 M, Fungout, Cevya, Eject and Zampro. No phytotoxicity was observed in any of the treatments in this trial.

Plans are firming up for the 3^rd AgTech Field Demo: Automated & Robotic Technologies. The event will be held Tuesday, October 25th at the Yuma Agricultural Center. Registration begins at 7:00 am and the program starts at 7:30 am. The event will feature 15 of the latest automated and robotic technologies being demonstrated in the field (agenda below).
As mentioned in previous articles, we would love to showcase as many innovations as possible. It is getting a little late, but if you are interested in being added to the program, please let me know and we will do our best to try and accommodate you. It’s an open invitation - private companies, university and government researchers are all welcome to show their technology.

Fig. 1. Equipment being readied for demonstration at the 3^rd AgTech Field
Demo: Automated & Robotic Technologies being held October 25^th at the
University of Arizona’s Yuma Ag Center.

Faculty and staff at the Yuma Agriculture Center and Yuma Co. Extension office have been instructed to work from home when possible during this crisis. Fortunately, technology exists to continue most activities with little interruption. Some of our activities have been interrupted. One of these is conducting activities that offer Continuing Education Units. We are, however, exploring the opportunity to conduct meetings and workshops remotely that will qualify for CEU’s. Some opportunities already exist in which you can earn credits. Here are some sites that you can access to do this:

Western Farm Press
https://www.farmprogress.com/line-ce-course-available-free-western-farm-press-website?ag_brand=westernfarmpress.com

Certified Training Institute
https://www.certifiedtraininginstitute.com/pesticide/arizona-pesticide-continuing-education-courses/pmd-courses/

University of California Cooperative Extension
https://campus.extension.org/

UC Statewide IPM Program
http://ipm.ucanr.edu/training/
https://agceuonline.com

Check out courses, sort by accrediting state and topic.