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Watermelon growers meet to plan pest control
1:23 p.m., Jan. 30, 2007--Winter is upon us, but watermelon growers in the region already are hard at work to prevent pests like cucumber beetles from cropping up and getting the best of the popular fruit this summer. Forty-two growers and extension agents from across the region met via interactive TV on Thurs., Jan. 11, at the Carvel Research and Education Center on UD's Georgetown campus to develop a pest-management plan for watermelon. The workshop connected growers and county extension agents from New Jersey, Delaware, the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Virginia and North Carolina. “The purpose of the workshop was to bring together growers and state pesticide coordinators to identify the pest-control measures needed in order to keep watermelon growing in our area,” Susan King, the UD Cooperative Extension specialist who organized the workshop, said.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), through its Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service, awarded a grant to the University of Delaware to host the regional workshop, King said. UD is in USDA's Northeast region, which also includes Penn State and Cornell universities. It was the first time the group has met by interactive TV, and based on the meeting's success, King said she hopes to hold more regional meetings this way in the future to cut down on time and travel costs. “We've focused on pest management plans for our major crops first,” King said. So far, plans have been developed for pickles, spinach and lima beans in addition to the latest one on watermelon. During the workshop, the participants took a pest-by-pest approach to identifying current management practices--both chemical and nonchemical--and those currently under development for watermelon. Watermelon is the world's largest edible fruit. Its primary pests in this region range from insects, such as seed corn maggot and cucumber beetles, to diseases such as leaf blight and downy mildew, to the bane of every gardener--weeds. While some problems can be overcome through crop rotation and other strategies, other pests are battled with the assistance of specific chemicals, or in the case of weeds, through a combination of herbicides and hoeing.King noted that there was a strong turnout of Delaware growers at the workshop. “We can't do these plans without the involvement of our growers, crop consultants, and industry people,” King said. “They are absolutely essential to the process.”
In addition to identifying specific pests and pest controls, the latest watermelon strategic plan also highlights priorities for research, regulatory activities and education and training programs that are needed to transition to alternative pest-management practices, according to King. “The plan we developed now will be used by the EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] when making regulatory decisions about watermelon pesticides,” King said, “and that's critical to growers in Delaware and throughout the region.” According to the most current data available from the National Agricultural Statistics Service, Delaware ranked ninth in the United States in watermelon production in 2005, with the crop valued at more than $8 million. “These kind of efforts are going to keep watermelons growing in Delaware,” King noted. “Yep, think of that this summer.”More information about Delaware's watermelon crop is available online at [www.ipmcenters.org/cropprofiles/docs/DEwatermelons.html]. Article by Tracey Bryant
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