Hope you are all enjoying the summer so far and keeping busy. Although, we’re about 2 months away from the Fall produce season, it’s never too early to begin thinking of IPM strategies you will be using to battle key insects next season. This includes keeping track of their typical activity during June, July, and August. Below is a short discussion detailing individual pests. 
 
Aphids:    The major aphid species that are important in produce crops each spring include green peach aphid, foxglove aphid and lettuce aphid.  These species are considered cool season pests and are biologically most active during the winter and spring when temperature average around (55-65 F). We do not find them on summer crops as the high temperatures prohibit their activity. They essentially become extinct each summer only to reappear in the fall to infest crops in Oct-Dec migrating into the desert via N-NW winds that occur after the monsoons.
 
Diamondback Moth (DBM):  Another key pest that disappears each summer but for a different reason than for aphids. The host range of DBM is limited to only brassica crop and plants. Although brassica weeds are common during the winter, they occur during the summer due to high temperatures and dry conditions. Thus, like aphids, DBM populations from the previous spring season become “extinct” during the summer when brassica crops and weeds are absent. They reappear each fall migrating in on high winds associated with tropical storms from Mexico, or arrive into the region on infested brassica transplants from California.
 
Whiteflies:       A resident pest that occurs year-round in the desert. As a warm season pest, whiteflies are most abundant on fall produce crops, and seldom a problem during the winter and spring. Peak abundance occurs during the summer months on cotton, and again in September and October on fall brassica, leafy vegetables and fall melons.  Thus, it is important to control whiteflies in cotton prior to defoliation to prevent large migrations onto fall produce crops. In addition, whiteflies can be found on several weeds such as purslane, goosefoot, ground cherry, and sunflowers. Sanitation in and around fields being prepped for fall plantings is important. Preventatively, growers should consider applying soil, system insecticides such as imidacloprid or Verimark to Fall produce crops.

Beet Armyworm (BAW):  A warm-season pest that occurs year-round in the desert. They tend to reach peak abundance twice a year. Generally, the most important peak is in September and October when weather is ideal for their development, flight activity and oviposition. A second peak occurs in late spring. Activity is generally light during the summer, occurring primarily in alfalfa crops. Although BAW is known to migrate in from the south via monsoon and tropical storms, resident populations annually occur in alfalfa during the summer. Thus, to minimize BAW in fall produce crops, thorough management of BAW can potentially minimize their movement onto Fall produce crops.  Weeds are also a source of BAW (purslane, goosefoot, sunflower and Russian thistle) so sanitation in and around fields is important.
 
Western Flower Thrips (WFT):  Also a resident pest that can be found in the desert year round. WFT is most abundant on lettuce in the late spring, but peaks in abundance on alfalfa, melons and cotton is May and June. During the late summer numbers drop dramatically where thrips can be found on melons and alfalfa and weeds like goosefoot and purslane. WFT slowly move into lettuce again in early fall and are least abundant during the winter.  Sanitation of weeds during the summer can help reduce thrips abundance moving into the fall crops and weeds.
 
For more information see:   Keeping Track of Major Produce Pests During the Summer

Lettuce dieback is a soil-borne disease caused by two closely related viruses from the family Tombusviridae Tomato Bushy Stunt Virus (TBSV) and Lettuce Necrotic Stunt Virus (LNSV) that has been reclassified as Moroccan Pepper Virus (MPV). The disease has been observed throughout the main lettuce producing areas of California and Arizona.
 
Towards the end of December in 2019, we received some samples that looked like lettuce dieback disease. The samples came positive for a new virus tentatively named as Lettuce dieback associated virus. We have been seeing symptoms in resistant cultivars (with Tvr1 gene) which suggests that the new virus is involved in the symptomology. 
 
Little is known about the virus as of now, as it is still a work in progress. What we know so far, is that the virus is soilborne, and has been found to have more correlation with the dieback disease more than Tomato bushy stunt virus. 
 
The new development has been that the virus population in Yuma is genetically different than other isolates sequenced so far. So what does it mean? It means that the genetic/DNA sequence of the virus population in Yuma is different, which also means that the detection techniques may not work as efficiently for isolates collected from Yuma. This can result in false negatives. 
 
To overcome this, we need to collect samples from Yuma and surrounding area from different fields, test them, and generate more genetic data, to develop effective diagnosis protocol. If you see any field with lettuce with symptoms of dieback please contact me (bpoudel@email.arizona.edu, 928-920-1110) and I will collect samples and send it to USDA lab. 
 
 
 Dr. William Wintermantel (pictured above, bill.wintermantel@usda.gov ) has been working on the virus and has developed protocol for virus testing.
 
 Dr. Wintermantel has also shared the protocol with Trical Diagnostics so if you want rapid molecular diagnosis please contact Steve Koike (SKoike@trical.com).
I can send the samples to Dr. Wintermantel’s USDA lab for diagnosis and it will be free, but as you all know it wont be as fast as the private lab. Starting next growing season molecular diagnosis of viruses will be available at your Yuma Plant Health Clinic.

Two years ago, Alphabet’s (Google) X-Labs initiated one of their infamous and far reaching “moonshot” projects focused on growing food sustainably on global scale. As you might expect, the project has been, and is kept pretty secret, but the company recently unveiled some details about the project through a company blog article (Grant, 2020) and their newly established website (https://x.company/projects/mineral/). The project is called “Mineral” and according to project lead Elliot Grant, the team has been working “alongside experts in the field – literally and figuratively…developing and testing a range of software and hardware prototypes based on breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, simulation, sensors, robotics and more”.

One of the tools the team has developed is a self-propelled “plant buggy” equipped with multiple cameras, sensors, GPS and other electronic equipment (Fig. 1). According to Mineral’s website, “Over the past few years, the plant buggy has trundled through strawberry fields in California and soybean fields in Illinois, gathering high quality images of each plant and counting and classifying every berry and every bean. To date, the team has analyzed a range of crops like melons, berries, lettuce, oilseeds, oats and barley—from sprout to harvest.” Stated objectives of Mineral’s software are to combine and analyze data collected from the field, soil health information and weather data to 1) predict how different varieties of plants respond to their environments, 2) allow growers to treat individual plants with fertilizers and pesticides to optimize production and reduce inputs and 3) help growers predict the size and yield of their crops.

It is exciting that a cutting-edge tech company like Alphabet is taking on an agricultural project like this. It will be fascinating to see what technical breakthroughs and solutions the company will be able to achieve for all crops, including vegetables.

References
Grant, E. 2020. Mineral: Bringing the era of computational agriculture to life. X Development LLC blog article. Mountain View, CA: X Development LLC. Available at https://blog.x.company/mineral-bringing-the-era-of-computational-agriculture-to-life-427bca6bd56a.

March is traditionally the time when winter annual weeds die and summer annual weeds start growing. Weed management would be much easier if this transition was clear cut. Like everything else, many factors can complicate this. Especially here in the low desert with mild winters and summer irrigation. Some summer annual weeds have survived all winter and some winter annual weeds will grow all summer. Sprangletop and sandbur are classified as summer annuals but they have survived all winter in a dormant state and will regrow from established crowns as it continues to warm up. Not all survive the winter and some new plants will come from seed this summer. Those coming from seed can be controlled with preemergence herbicides but those coming from crowns can not be. Other weeds that survive year round that are not normally classified as perennials are clovers, mallows and thistles. Many of these have become very widespread and difficult to control. White sweet clover and both green and Mexican sprangletop have become more widespread every year.

Area wide Insect Trapping Network   VegIPM Update, Vol. 15, No. 21, Oct 16, 2024

Results of pheromone and sticky trap catches can be viewed here.

Corn earworm: CEW moth counts increased in most traps; about average for early October.

Beet armyworm: Trap counts increased in most areas last week, and about average for early October.

Cabbage looper: Cabbage looper trap counts still most locations, below average for this time of the season.

Diamondback moth: Adult activity increasing, particularly in the Yuma and Dome Valleys.  Above average for this time of season.

Whitefly: Adult movement increasing Tacna, Dome Valley and Yuma Valley; overall about average for early October.

Thrips: Thrips adult movement picking up in all areas, overall activity above average.

Aphids: Winged aphids beginning to show up the north Yuma and Gila Valleys; about average for early October.

Leaf miners: Adult activity light in all areas, about average for this time of season