By Clint Thompson
North Florida watermelon producers have dodged disease buildup with this year’s crop due to the lingering drought conditions present in the region. But that doesn’t mean growers should not be on high alert.
Bob Hochmuth, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Regional Specialized Extension agent in Live Oak, Florida, highlighted what producers should be on the lookout for amid the current conditions.
“We are alert to the conditions we have now, it would mean that there’s a couple of things that we want to be on the lookout for,” Hochmuth said. “From a disease standpoint, powdery mildew is one of those diseases that can still infect watermelon plants during dry conditions like we have now. Powdery mildew is one that we definitely need to keep an eye out for.”
Hochmuth suggests adding a material for powdery mildew, though there have yet to be reports of the disease in the Suwanee Valley. The two best fungicide materials for powdery mildew are Vivando and Rhyme, followed by Quintec.
“The second (concern) is spider mites. They typically like this kind of dry weather. It’s not a common, serious pest from year to year. We want to make sure that we’re on the alert looking for spider mites,” Hochmuth said. “The third thing is a lot of times during really, really dry weather like this, we tend to have a little bit of higher pressure from rindworms, because there’s not that many places for the adult moth activity to have a place as lush and beautiful as a green watermelon. Irrigated hay and watermelons can be very attractive to some of the moths that are the adult stage of the rindworm complex.”