In last week’s update, we discussed how sanitation following spring melons was important in preventing whitefly buildups during the summer. Now that the melons are finished and growers are preparing ground for fall produce crops, another sanitation practice (weed management) is very important in preventing insect buildups in fall crops. Effective weed management is critical for the profitable production of vegetable crops in the desert southwest for all the obvious reasons. However, weed management is also essential for another important, but often overlooked, reason. Several common weed species found in and around vegetable crops can serve as host plants to many insect pests that can later infest nearby crops. Although flowering weeds can provide a reservoir for natural enemies, and a source of nectar and pollen for a pollinators, these same weedy refuges can serve as host sources for many key insect pests that cause economic damage to vegetable crops. Weeds found on field margins and ditch banks can provide insect pests with suitable resources needed for rapid population growth which subsequently can lead to insect infestations occurring in adjacent vegetable crops. In addition, many weed species can provide insects with host plants that serve as a bridge between cropping seasons when vegetables crops are not in production (i.e., July-August). Since most of these key insect pests have the ability to move relatively long distances to find new food sources, weeds that are allowed to grow unchecked in fallow fields during the summer often serve as a key source of insect infestations for fall vegetable and melon plantings. For example, pale-striped flea beetle and beet armyworm populations will commonly develop on common purslane that has been allowed to grow in fallow fields prior to fall vegetable and melon plantings. Volunteer melons and cotton can also be considered weeds (“a plant out of place”). If not controlled in a timely manner, these weedy volunteer plants can sustain large numbers of insect pests, as well as many of the plant viruses that are transmitted by insect vectors, that can migrate onto newly planted fields. Finally, weeds can serve as impediments to insecticide applications. Dense weed foliage in vegetable and melon fields can negatively influence foliar spray applications by intercepting spray droplets before reaching the target crop, which can result in less insecticide deposition and unacceptable crop damage. Soil applied insecticides (e.g., imidacloprid) can also be impacted by unmanaged weed growth. Weeds growing unchecked during stand establishment can compete with the seedling plants for water and fertilizer, but they can also compete with crop plants for soil insecticides. Excessive weed densities can significantly intercept insecticides in the soil profile and reduce the amount available for uptake by the target crop. For more information on this topic, please visit this report: Interactions between Insects and Weeds in Vegetable Crops.

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. 
 

Month	Max	Min	Average	Rainfall
January	68	42	54	1.14 in
February	73	47	59	0.50 in
March	77	50	63	0.31 in

 
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.

Based on last week’s weather, it’s officially summer in my book. Things seem to be slowing down, so I thought I’d change pace this week and take the opportunity to ask you, the readers of this newsletter, if there are any topics you are interested in hearing more about. I am happy to do some research and try to find some answers. Drop me a line at siemens@cals.arizona.edu or feel free to call me at 928.782.5869. I’d love to hear from you.

Yuma Weather

Clovers can be very difficult to control weeds here, but it is also a major crop and common ornamental. Clovers can survive under poor growing conditions and are not controlled with glyphosate and seem to get worse every year. There are more than 50 types and 300 species of clover and they can be easily misidentified. They are all in the legume (Fabracea) family and can use a bacterium (rhizobium) in the soil to convert nitrogen in the atmosphere to a form that they and other plants can use for fertilizer.    There are only 4 or 5 clover species that are agricultural pests here. The ones we get the most questions on are white and yellow sweet clover. These are in the Melilotus family. White sweet clover (Melilotus albus) is tall for a clover and can get 3 to 5 foot in height. The leaves are thinner than most clovers and this difficult to control weed lives at least 2 years and sometimes longer. Glyphosate and most of the contact herbicides do not control it. The plant growth regulator herbicides work best. Yellow sweet clover (Melilotus officinalis) is less common here. The flowers are yellow, and it is not as tall and vegetative as white sweet clover. Yellow is more common at higher elevations.   California burclover (Medicago polymorpha) and Black medic (Medicago lupina) are in the same genus as alfalfa and are more of a problem in landscapes, parks and golf courses than in agricultural fields here. They do not grow upright and spread below the crop or turf. The true clovers are in the Trifolium genus and include white and strawberry clover. These creep along the ground and root at the nodes of the stem. These are more of a urban landscape weed and not considered an agricultural problem. Creeping woodsorrel or Oxyalis looks like a clover but it is not related. It is a turf weed that spreads rapidly along the ground and can live for several years. Preemergent herbicides are effective against all these clovers before they become established. The postemergence herbicides that are most effective in controlling these clovers are the plant growth regulators. Contact herbicides and glyphosate are generally ineffective.

Area wide Insect Trapping Network   VegIPM Update, Vol. 13, No. 17, Aug 24, 2022
 
Results of pheromone and sticky trap catches can be viewed here.
 
Corn earworm:           
CEW moth counts increased slightly in the past 2 weeks, about average for late summer
 
Beet armyworm:         
Trap counts stay active in some locations (Yuma Dome Valley and Wellton) particularly near alfalfa.
 
Cabbage looper:          
Cabbage looper numbers remained low consistent previous years.
 
Diamondback moth:     
DBM moths not active in any trap since June; average for this time of the year.
 
Whitefly:                       
Adult movement decreased in past 2 weeks consistent with previous years
 
Thrips:                          
Thrips adults decreasing in most locations, and trending comparable to previous years.
 
Aphids:                        
Aphid movement is absent and consistent with what we typically see during the summer.
 
Leafminers:                   
Adult activity tending downward, average for early late August