By Clint Thompson
Watermelon growers should be on high alert for potential disease buildup in fields in the Suwanee Valley region of North Florida.
Bob Hochmuth, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Regional Specialized Extension agent in Live Oak, Florida, discussed what diseases his producers must be wary of, with the first harvests just days away.
“I would say that we always are going to put downy mildew at the top of the list, when we get into a wet, warm weather pattern, although downy has yet to be confirmed in this region yet,” Hochmuth said. “The other one, sometimes after these little flareups of rain, followed by cool weather, sometimes we’ll get a little activation of bacteria leaf spot. But relatively speaking, that’s not a huge concern relative to what we would see with downy.
“I’m not saying I’m not concerned about powdery (mildew) or gummy stem blight. I would say we’re getting close to the period where we’re going to be more concerned if and when downy shows up.”
Fungicide Sprays
Hochmuth said growers have mostly implemented ‘basic’ fungicide programs and should not waver unless disease confirmations are made.
“We have not been encouraging spraying high dollar, narrowly targeted materials yet. It just hasn’t been very complicated, pretty simple,” Hochmuth said. “Maybe just hang tight until we get at least some confirmation of something brewing. I think that we’re so clean that we still have a week to react.”
Hochmuth estimated that first harvests will begin between May 15 and May 20.