On Friday, October 15, 2010 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that Movento (spirotetramat) has been registered, for a second time. Movento was first registered by EPA in June, 2008, but as you likely recall, EPA issued a cancellation order for the Movento registration in April, 2010 that made it unlawful for the manufacture (Bayer CropScience) to sell or distribute the product. However, the cancellation order allowed for the use, sale or distribution of existing supplies of Movento in possession of retailers, distributors and end-users under the provisions of the previously-approved label. The previous Movento registration was terminated because of a judicial action related to a procedural failure on the part of the EPA (failure to publish a notice of receipt of the spirotetramat registration application in the Federal Register). The new registration has been anticipated for several months, and a statement issued by the EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs said After evaluating the application for registration and comments received from the publication of the notice of receipt for registration, EPA has determined that spirotetramat does not pose an unreasonable risk of adverse effects to human health or the environment if used according to the label directions and, as such, meets the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act standard for registration. Spirotetramat is now registered for use on citrus, grapes, pome fruit, stone fruit, tree nuts, hops, Christmas tree plantations, and certain vegetables, including potatoes. This new registration will be available in the marketplace for the next growing season (see this link)."  It is our understanding that pending state approval by the Arizona Department of Agriculture, local growers may purchase inventory and use Movento under the new label. For more information on the new Movento registration please view this press release from Bayer CropScience.

This study was conducted at the JV farms at Gila Valley. Lettuce variety ‘Guapo’ was seeded, then sprinkler-irrigated to germinate seed on September 19, 2023, on double rows 12 in. apart on beds with 42 in. between bed centers.  Rest of the irrigation was supplied by furrow irrigation or rainfall. Treatments were replicated five times in a randomized complete block design. Each replicate plot consisted of 25 ft of bed, which contained two 25 ft rows of lettuce. Plants were thinned on October 9, 2023 at the 3-4 leaf stage to a 12-inch spacing. Treatment beds were separated by single nontreated beds. Treatments were applied by incorporating in soil before seeding or with a tractor-mounted boom sprayer that delivered 50 gal/acre at 100 psi to flat-fan nozzles spaced 12 in apart.

Month	Max	Min	Avg	Rain
September	100	71	86	0.71 in
October	93	61	77	0.00 in
November	80	51	65	0.08 in
December	71	44	57	0.82 in

 
Fusarium wilt (caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lactucae ) rating was done in the field by observing the typical symptom of lettuce wilt. Confirmation was done by cutting the cross section of roots. Disease scoring/rating was done on December 6, 2023. 
 
The data in the table illustrate the degree of disease control obtained by application of the various treatments in this trial. The disease pressure was extremely high in 2023, and most treatments showed little or no control against the disease. The treatments that showed some activity were Bexfond, Cevya, Rhyme, and Serifel. Plant vigor was normal and phytotoxicity symptoms were not observed in any treatments in this trial.

Common Purslane reappears year after year even in fields where it has been well controlled the previous season. There are a couple primary reasons for this, one is fairly easy to minimize and the other is not. The easy one is to stop relying on cultivation to control it. Purslane is a succulent with stems and roots that can survive for several days, reroot and produce seed. Purslane loves newly cultivated open fields where broken stem and root pieces can reroot. The leaves are waxy and have small stomata to help it survive dry conditions for a long time. Some people grow purslane as a microgreen, and they like to plant it by breaking plants into pieces and spreading them on the surface. The seeds also germinate well on uncovered soil surfaces. The more difficult to control reason that Purslane reappears year after year is that it produces a lot of very small seed that can float and blow long distances. It has been reported that one plant can produce tens of thousands of seeds that can survive in the soil for as long as 40 years. Crop seed is developed to all germinate at the same time while weed seed survives because it doesn’t. Some of the seed that germinates in the field was there already and some has moved in in water or wind. The best method to control purslane is to spray it when it is small (inch or less) with a combination of a systemic and a contact herbicide to kill the roots and rapidly desiccate the leaves and stems.

Area wide Insect Trapping Network   VegIPM Update, Vol. 15, No. 19, Sep 18,2024
 
Results of pheromone and sticky trap catches can be viewed here.
 
Corn earworm:           
CEW moth counts low in most traps; below average for this early produce season. 
 
Beet armyworm:         
Trap counts high in Tacna and Wellton, and about average for early September
 
Cabbage looper:           
Cabbage looper trap counts low in all locations, typical for early September.
 
Diamondback moth:    
Adult activity not picked up in traps yet.  Overall, typical of early September with minimal Monsson activity.
 
Whitefly:                      
Adult movement most active in Dome Valley and S. Yuma Valley; overall below average for early September
 
Thrips:                          
hrips adult movement beginning to increase in Tacna and dome; overall activity typical for early September. 
 
Aphids:                         
Aphid movement absent so far; anticipate activity to pick up when winds beginning blowing from N-NW. 
 
Leafminers:                 
Adult activity light in all areas, about average for this time of season.