We have historically ended our Areawide Pheromone and Sticky Trap monitoring for insects around the first of April as the produce season ends. Beginning last year however, we continued our Areawide Trapping Network throughout the summer and are doing so now to continue to collect trapping data from all 16 areawide trap locations year-round.  So why is this additional trapping data useful? For several reasons. First, understanding the activity of some of our key pests when produce is not available (during the summer) may give us an indication of what to expect as the fall produce season begins. This may be particularly helpful for predicting moth flights and whitefly flights in August-September coinciding with early transplanting and direct seeded crops.  Another example is keeping track of corn earworm which can unexpectedly show up near the beginning of fall harvests. Secondly, trapping for pests during the summer has shown us that 2 of our more important produce pests are not caught in traps during the summer. We presume this is due to the absence of brassica crops and weeds for diamondback moth, and high daytime temperatures lethal to aphids. The fact that trap catches resume in the fall supports our conclusion that these pests are absent in the summer, only to reenter the desert via winds and/or transplants in the fall. And finally, it gives me something to do in the summer.  So, visit the Areawide Summer Trap Network if you’re curious what our key pests are up to. We also taken on another interesting project to monitor thrips activity during the summer. This involves plant sampling using a dislodgement sampling method (beat pan) to determine the relative abundance of thrips adults and larvae on alfalfa, cotton, melons, wheat, Sudan grass, and weeds.  This is being conducted to supplement our yellow sticky trap data that only indicates thrips adult flight movement an area. With this plant sampling we should be able to determine the primary host plants thrips are colonizing in the cropping season during the long hot summer. We are also trying to determine whether these crops allow for the reproduction of thrips. So far, all the crops and weeds we have sampled have shown that thrips will reproduce and complete their life cycle on them. This is important, particularly for weeds, as we are trying to determine whether INSV can be survive the summer in the absence of lettuce. It is also important because it allows us to determine potential exposure of thrips to key insecticides like Radiant and Lannate for resistance management purposes. These crops essentially serve as untreated refugia that likely sustains insecticide susceptibility and is the reason these products are still effective against thrips.  We will be conducting this work throughout the summer, as well as through next produce season. We will be providing data in each Veg IPM update. For the most recent sampling data see our Areawide Thrips Monitoring.  As always, if you have any ideas on thrips monitoring or insect trapping, we’d be glad to listen and discuss. As my dad used to say, “to solve the problem, you must first understand the problem”. 

As part of the SW Ag Summit that recently took place in Yuma, we conducted a breakout session on Thursday, 23 February 2023 titled “Colorado River Water Shortage: Agricultural Perspectives”.
This session provided a brief review of the background and current situation on the Colorado River and included perspectives from members of the lower Colorado River agricultural community including the Palo Verde Valley, Imperial Valley, and the Yuma area irrigation districts.   The program outline included the following participants:   
             
Colorado River Water Shortage: Introductory Overview      
                                    Jeff Silvertooth, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
 
Colorado River Water Shortage: Palo Verde Valley Perspective
Bart Fisher, Fisher Ranch, Blythe, CA           
 
Colorado River Water Shortage: Imperial Valley Perspective
                        Larry Cox, Lawrence Cox Ranches, Brawley, CA
 
Colorado River Water Shortage: Yuma Perspective
Elston Grubaugh, Wellton Mohawk Irrigation & Drainage District, Wellton, AZ 
 
Moderator:      Jeff Silvertooth
 


For geographic reference, Figures 1 and 2 provide maps of the lower Colorado River Valley and Yuma agricultural irrigation districts.
The session was not recorded but we do have each of the presentations available in the following links.
Jeff Silvertooth:
https://live-azs-vegetableipmupdates.pantheonsite.io/sites/default/files/2023-02/2023SWAS_JCS SWAS_ColoR Ag Perspectives_23feb23_FINAL_post.pdf
Bart Fisher:
https://live-azs-vegetableipmupdates.pantheonsite.io/sites/default/files/2023-02/2023SWAS_BF_SW%20Ag%20Summit%202023.pdf
Larry Cox:
https://live-azs-vegetableipmupdates.pantheonsite.io/sites/default/files/2023-02/2023SWAS_LC SWAS 23 February 2023.pdf
Elston Grubaugh:
https://live-azs-vegetableipmupdates.pantheonsite.io/sites/default/files/2023-02/2023SWAS_EG_02232023%20SW%20Ag%20Summit%20Panel_0.pdf
 
Also posted below is the link to an excellent video regarding Yuma Water and Ag that was recently developed and presented on 23 February by the Yuma Fresh Vegetable Association.
www.yumaagwater.com

Figure 1.  Map of the lower Colorado River including the dams, diversions,
and some of the major canal systems.



Figure 2.  Map of the Yuma area irrigation districts.   Source: Yuma Water Users Association, 2015.

DISEASE: Center Rot of Onion
PATHOGEN: Pantoea ananatis, Pantoea agglomerans, Pantoea alli and Pantoea stewartii subsp. indologenes
HOSTS: Onion (Allium cepa L.), garlic (Allium sativum L.), shallots (Allium cepa var. aggregatum L.), leeks (Allium ampeloprasum L.), chives (Allium schoenoprasum L.).

Symptoms and signs
Center rot of onion has not been a major problem in the desert southwest but when the environment is favorable, the disease can cause up to 90% loss. Foliar symptoms (symptoms on leaves) may start with water-soaked lesions spanning the length of the leaf blade, which gradually become blighted resulting in desiccation and collapse of the tissue. Experiments have shown that the bacteria can move from leaves to the bulbs, thus protecting foliage is important to manage the disease.  
 
The  bacteria can overseason to infect onions in a number of different ways.  Like many bacterial pathogens, P. ananatis can be seed-borne with infested seed serving as a survival mechanism as well as a means of dissemination. It has been demonstrated that P. ananatis can be both naturally seed-borne and seed-transmitted in onion. The significance of the bacterium's ability to colonize seed is uncertain, as most onion seed production sites are located in arid climates but extremely important to understand to manage the disease. 
Although P. ananatis can be seedborne, the proposed primary mode of transmission is by two insect vectors. Two species of thrips, tobacco thrips (Frankliniella fusca (Hinds)) and onion thrips (Thrips tabaci), have the ability to transiently acquire and transmit P. ananatis and P. agglomerans . The bacterium can persist in a non-circulative manner in the gut of thrips for 128 h, allowing the vector to infect plants over an extended period of time. 
 
P. ananatis can survive epiphytically and endophytically on a wide range of hosts. These alternative hosts can serve as a source of inoculum in fields where susceptible crops are grown. In Georgia alone, 25 weed species, including carpetweed (Mollugo verticillata), common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia), crabgrass (Digitaria sanguinalis), common cocklebur (Xanthium pensylvanicum), curly dock (Rumex crispus), Florida pusley (Richardia scabra), sicklepod (Cassia obtusifolia), stinkweed (Thlaspi arvense), Texas panicum (Panicum texanum), vaseygrass (Paspalum urvillei), wild radish (Brassica spp.), yellow nutsedge (Cyperus esculentus) and other multiple crop plants were found to harbor P. ananatis populations asymptomatically.

Pic Credit: Colton Tew

At the 2023 Southwest Ag Summit Field Demo a couple of weeks ago, many of the latest technologies were demonstrated in the field. Most were related to pest control. Several of the technologies demonstrated or on display at the event are brand new to the Yuma, AZ area. The new technologies presented included an autonomous orchard sprayer (Fig. 1a), wide span (4 and 6 row) automated weeders (Fig. 1b, Fig. 1c), steam applicators for pre-plant weed control (Fig. 1d) and post-emergent weed control/crop desiccation (Fig. 1e) and a camera guided cultivator (Fig. 1f). This trend towards developing wider and more productive machine machines is indicative of a maturing industry. It will be interesting to watch these machines evolve further and become integrated in our cropping systems.

Fig. 1. New pest control technologies demonstrated/on display at the 2023 Southwest Ag Summit Field Demo included a) mini GUSS¹ autonomous orchard sprayer, b) K.U.L.T.i - Select automated weeder, c) FarmWise’s Vulcan automated weeder, d) UC Davis/UofA band-steam applicator, e) X-Steam-inator’s steam applicator and f) Mantis Ag Technology’s camera-guided cultivator. (Photo credits Fig. 1d: Mazin Saber, University of Arizona)
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[1] Reference to a product or company is for specific information only and does not endorse or recommend that product or company to the exclusion of others that may be suitable.

Thank you for attending the Weed Control breakout session at the Southwest Agricultural Summit last week. Dr. Jesse Richardson presented the historical perspective on how the methods of applying Pronamide have been developed. Some of this information can be found in the following links:
https://cals.arizona.edu/crop/counties/yuma/farmnotes/2003/fn0803kerblettuce.html
 
https://live-azs-vegetableipmupdates.pantheonsite.io/sites/default/files/2023-03/Kerb%20Word%20slides.pdf
 
   Also Dr. Samuel Discua presented an update on the Survey of Weeds as Reservoirs of INSV in Yuma County and the presentation can be found here: 
 
https://live-azs-vegetableipmupdates.pantheonsite.io/sites/default/files/2023-03/SWAG%202023%20Weeds%20Survey%20Update%20.pdf
 
Dr. Jose Carvalho shared with us results from his research program at the Maricopa Agricultural Center including evaluations with the “King of Weeds” Palmer amaranth.
 
Additionally, some information was presented on Prefar Chemigation as well as the effect on spinach plantings if planted too early. The trials were done this season at the Yuma Agricultural Center and The Arizona Cooperative Extension will make videos of these presentations available soon.

Area wide Insect Trapping Network   VegIPM Update, Vol. 15, No. 17, Aug 21, 2024
 
Results of pheromone and sticky trap catches can be viewed here.
 
Corn earworm:           
CEW moth counts decreased areawide; about average to previous years.
 
Beet armyworm:         
BAW moth counts are up in south Yuma valley and Dome valley; about average for August

Cabbage looper:           
Cabbage looper numbers are low consistent with previous years and higher temperatures.
 
Diamondback moth:      
DBM moths were not caught in any trap; average for this time of the year.
 
Whitefly:                      
Adult movement continues to decrease, average for this time of the year.
 
Thrips:                          
Thrips adult activity continues to decline, average for August.
 
Aphids:                       
Aphid movement is absent and consistent with what we typically see during the summer.
 
Leafminers:                  
Adult activity declining and average for August.