2015 fruit diseases equal 2016 fruit disease riskBy Kim Leonberger, UK Extension Associateand Nicole Ward Gauthier, UK Extension SpecialistDisease presence last year can indicate a risk for the same dis-ease this year. Many pathogens overwinter in Kentucky on in-fected plant material or as pathogen survival structures. Poor sanitation practices can lead to an increased risk of these dis-eases in the upcoming season. A record of fruit samples sub-mitted to University of Kentucky Plant Disease Diagnostic Laboratories in 2015 was used to evaluate the most prevalent diseases. The most common diseases of apple, pear, and other pome fruit were cedar apple rust and fire blight (Figure 1). In

What’s insideGreen industry status ....... 3Cover crop highlight .......... 4

Coming upJuly 18 - Southern Illinois Summer Twilight Series, 6 p.m. CST, Spring Valley Farm, Pulaski, IL. Jerry P. and Lisa D. Thurston will share their experiences producing, marketing, pack-ing, and shipping vegetable crops. For details, click here.

July 19 - Organic Seed Production Webinar Series: Trials and Selection. From the Organic Seed Alli-ance and the Multinational Exchange for Sustainable Agriculture. Click here for details.

Aug. 11 - UK Industrial Hemp Research Field Day, 9 a.m. EST, Spindletop Research Farm, Lexing-ton. Tours from 10 a.m. to noon, followed by lunch. Free. For more information, visit http://hemp.ca.uky.edu. Address for GPS: 3250 Ironworks Pike, Lexington, KY 40511.

July 2016

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Brett Wolff, EditorChristy Cassady, Editor/Designer

Educational programs of the Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service serve all people regardless of race, color, age, sex, religion, disability, or national origin.Cooperative Extension Service | Agriculture and Natural Resources | Family and Consumer Sciences | 4-H Youth Development | Community and Economic Development

Figure 1: A summary of typical apple, pear, and other pome fruit samples submitted to UK Plant Disease Diagnostic Laboratories in 2015. (Image: Kim Leonberger, UK)

Using Cultural Practices (with Low Spray, No Spray, & Organic Options) (PPFS-FR-T-24)http://www2.ca.uky.edu/agcollege/plantpa-thology/ext_files/PPFShtml/PPFS-FR-S-24.pdf

peach and stone fruits, the most com-mon diseases were canker diseases (bacterial canker and perennial can-ker) and peach leaf curl (Figure 2). The most common diseases of berries (blueberry, blackberry, raspberry, and strawberry) were root/crown rots (Phytophthora, Rhizoctonia, and Fu-sarium) and leaf spots (Figure 3). In grapes, the most common diseases were black rot and anthracnose (Fig-ure 4, Page 3).

Assessment of diseases likely to occur during the growing season provides the opportunity to utilize preventa-tive management measures. The Uni-versity of Kentucky Plant Pathology Department provides numerous pub-lications with additional information and management options for these diseases. County Extension agents also provide information on disease diagnosis and management.

Resources:• Backyard Apple Disease & Pest Management Using Cultural Prac-tices (with Low Spray, No Spray, & Organic Options) (PPFS-FR-T-21)http://www2.ca.uky.edu/agcollege/plantpathology/ext_files/PPFShtml/PPFS-FR-T-21.pdf• Backyard Stone Fruit Disease & Pest Management Using Cultural Practices (with Low Spray, No Spray, & Organic Options) (PPFS-FR-T-22)http://www2.ca.uky.edu/agcollege/plantpathology/ext_files/PPFShtml/PPFS-FR-T-22.pdf• Backyard Berry Disease & Pest Management Using Cultural Prac-tices (with Low Spray, No Spray, & Organic Options) (PPFS-FR-S-25)http://www2.ca.uky.edu/agcollege/plantpa-thology/ext_files/PPFShtml/PPFS-FR-S-25.pdf• Backyard Grape Disease & Pest Management

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Figure 2: A summary of typical peach and stone fruit samples submitted to UK Plant Disease Diagnostic Laboratories in 2015. (Image: Kim Leonberger, UK)

Figure 3: A summary of typical berry (blueberry, blackberry, raspberry, and straw-berry) samples submitted to UK Plant Disease Diagnostic Laboratories in 2015. (Image: Kim Leonberger, UK)

• Midwest Fruit Pest Management Guide (ID-232) http://www2.ca.uky.edu/agcollege/plantpathology/ext_files/PPFShtml/ID-232.pdf• Fruit, Orchard, and Vineyard Sani-tation (PPFS-GEN-05)http://www2.ca.uky.edu/agcollege/plantpathology/ext_files/PPFShtml/PPFS-GEN-05.pdf• UK – Diseases of Fruit Crops, Or-namentals, & Hemp Facebook Pagewww.KYPlantDisease.com

By Matt Ernst, independent writer

The green industry, which includes businesses in-volved in the production, installation and mainte-nance of ornamental plants, is the largest of Ken-tucky’s specialty crop industries, with total plant sales approaching $100 million annually. This article looks at broader industry and consumer trends for greenhouse and field nursery produc-tion. These trends may also be of interest to other specialty crop growers outside the green industry.

A big impactThe USDA in 2014 estimated Kentucky bedding plant producers generated about $45 million in sales, with nursery production adding another $15 million. Add in perennials and other crops, like cut Christmas trees, and the state’s green industry approaches sales of $100 million annually – more than double Kentucky’s annual produce sales.

Green industry economic impact in Kentucky, and nationwide, is far greater than gross sales. Both wholesalers and retailers employ field and green-house workers, as well as providing plant material to in-house and independent landscapers. Equip-ment, transportation and input purchases support local suppliers. All that economic activity quickly adds up.

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Figure 4: A summary of typical grape samples submitted to UK Plant Disease Diagnostic Labora-tories in 2015. (Image: Kim Leonberger, UK)

Green industry is looking for growthBroader economic health is very important to the green industry. Construction (new housing) downturns weigh heavily on the green industry, perhaps more on nursery producers. Consumer confidence and economic uncertainty also impact plant purchases – and that is leaving much of the green industry at slim-to-none profit margins this year.

Here are three things the green industry in Ken-tucky, and nationwide, is watching this year: one challenge, one opportunity and one wildcard.

Economic challengesThe U.S. economy in general, and U.S. consum-ers in particular, continue sending mixed signals to producers. Greenhouse operators planned for some increases in production, with fewer price ris-es, according to Greenhouse Grower magazine’s 2016 State of the Industry Survey. That is pinching greenhouse profits. Nurseries that survived the Great Recession may be generating some profits, but those profits are generally slim, leaving little room for capital investments.

Like many other small businesses in this uncertain year – an election year, no less – green industry firms may postpone or forgo investment. Still, the

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same percentage of greenhouse firms planned to build or replace a structure in 2016 as in 2015, ac-cording to the Greenhouse Grower survey.

New technology, new productsLarger green industry firms will keep using tech-nology and management to keep costs in line and manage inventories. Inventory management, in-cluding improved delivery timing to retailers, has greatly benefited from technology.

Small and mid-size firms are looking hard at new products, including greenhouse vegetables. Na-tionally, the Greenhouse Grower survey reported one-third of the 255 growers responding would grow vegetables this year, with another 10 percent considering it in the future. Smaller firms continue to carve out unique and local market niches, espe-cially markets too small for large wholesale grow-ers to service, in order to pursue profitability.

The consumer wildcardThe overwhelming wildcard in the green indus-try calculus is the consumer – especially younger consumers. Plant purchases are geared toward a homeowner population, and consumer trends have younger consumers forgoing or delaying home ownership. Consumer preferences for all things local also persist, and that could bode well for smaller greenhouse and nursery firms.

The ways all consumers buy things are chang-ing, especially among the millennials. The prod-uct story and the way the product plays on social media is increasingly important. Green industry growers have, for generations, taken great pride in selling plant material of outstanding quality. Telling customers the story behind that plant pro-duction is more important than ever if producer profit margins will move above the slim levels of recent years.

ReferencesUSDA/NASS Census of Horticultural Specialties (2014) https://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publica-tions/2012/Online_Resources/Census_of_Horti-culture_Specialties/

“2016 State of the Industry Whitepaper.” Green-house Grower. Download available at http://www.greenhousegrower.com/business-manage-ment/download-greenhouse-growers-2016-state-of-the-industry-whitepaper/

Cover crop highlight - buckwheatBy Nathan Johanning, Extension Educator, University of Illinois Extension

There are always opportunities to include cover crops in your production system, and I just want-ed to take a chance to highlight a cover crop you can make use of and some details about it.

Buckwheat is a broad-leaf, sum-mer annual cover crop most noted for its fast g r o w t h and sup-pression of weeds. In addition, buckwheat loves the summer heat and is somewhat tolerant of dry conditions and adapt-ed to a wide range of soils. It is also great for the soil, and it has a fibrous root system that improves soil tilth and is able to mineralize and make ad-ditional phosphorus available to plants in the soil. The white blossoms are a favorite of pollinators, beneficial insects, and butterflies.

PlantingBuckwheat will germinate on the soil surface with some moisture, but drilling or shallow incorpo-ration will improve stand and consistency. Seed-ing rate would be 30-50 lbs/A. Utilize the higher seeding rates when surface broadcasting or where you want to be aggressive on weed suppression, and lower rates with drilling and more ideal seed bed conditions.

TerminationBuckwheat is notorious for reseeding, so you need

to keep an eye on it. Also, it is fast growing, reach-ing maturity relatively quickly. You can get the first flowers 40 days after planting, and mature seed can form 7-10 days after flowering. It has an indeterminate habit and will continue to bloom and flower up the stem as it grows. To prevent any chance for seed formation, terminate 7-10 days after first flower. Termination is fairly easy and adequately achieved by mowing, light tillage, or herbicide burndown with glyphosate or paraquat (or others).

So what if some does go to seed? Some growers used to actually let some seed form and then mow, and it will germinate and regrow for a continued cov-er. Overall, a l t h o u g h very com-p e t i t i v e , buckwheat is not hard to kill with tillage or c o m m o n herbicides. From ex-perience, it does not tolerate the residual herbi-cides such as atrazine products (sweet corn) or Sandea that are commonly used in many crops along with most broad-spectrum or broadleaf her-bicides. Buckwheat seed does not have a long life (seed dormancy) so as long as you do not let any of the volunteer plants go to seed, you can get the area under control. Also, buckwheat is very frost sensitive, and it will be one of the first plants to succumb to any remote cold. In my experience in southern Illinois, plantings made at or after La-bor Day generally die before they have enough growth to make much seed. Of course, this is very dependent on the timing of that first frost/freeze.

Making use of buckwheatWith a fast turnaround, buckwheat would be a great summer cover crop to put out after some spring crops like greens, onions, or brassica crops as a fill before fall plantings. As I mentioned above, using it later in the season about 40-50 days be-fore frost can be useful as well. Any time you have around a month and a half of summer open in a

field, buckwheat would be a good candidate to fill the spot. It will help keep the weeds down and benefit your soil at the same time!Nathan Johanning, Extension Educator, University of Il-linois Extension (618-687-1727; njohann@illinois.edu)

Updated budgets, crop profiles now available on CCD websiteBe sure to check out the CCD website for 2016 grape budgets (vinifera, French-American hybrid and American, and table grape varieties). An up-dated asparagus budget is also available. These resources are available on the CCD budgets page at http://www.uky.edu/ccd/tools/budgets.

A number of CCD crop profiles are undergoing revision in an effort to provide growers with up-to-date information on production and marketing of specialty crops. Recently updated crop profiles available on the CCD website include asparagus, organic asparagus, hops, beekeeping and honey production, and goldenseal. Other updated crop profiles to watch for in the coming months include edamame, organic brambles, organic lettuce and leafy greens, garlic, persimmons, plums, ginseng, raspberries, and greenhouse cut flowers. New crop profiles on maple syrup production and lav-ender are currently under review. To find these and other CCD crop profiles, visit the Production page at http://www.uky.edu/ccd/production, or search for a specific crop from any CCD Web page.

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