VEGETABLE CROP UPDATE

TOMATO & PEPPER EDITION

Janice LeBoeuf, OMAFRA Vegetable Crop Specialist 

·         Annual tomato and pepper scout/IPM training session
·         New Products for Tomatoes and Peppers
·         Interactive online IPM training

   Annual tomato and pepper scout/IPM training session

The scout/IPM training session for tomatoes and peppers will be held on Friday, May 1 from 8:30 am to 2:00 pm in the Vet Tech Building, Rm. 232 at Ridgetown Campus.  Lunch is on your own.  Handouts are provided (including a copy of the Ontario cropIPM CD).

To find the dates and locations of other vegetable, fruit, and specialty crop IPM training sessions, visit www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/conferences/index.html.

To register for any of these sessions, contact the Agricultural Information Contact Centre at 1-877-424-1300 or the Brighton Resource Centre at 613-475-1630.

    New Products for Tomatoes and Peppers

There are a number of new pesticide registrations for tomatoes and peppers since last spring.  Some are new chemistries and some are new brand names for familiar active ingredients.  To help you sort them out, here’s a summary:

You can find the labels for these products on the PMRA Label Search website at http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/cps-spc/pest/registrant-titulaire/tools-outils/label-etiq-eng.php or contact your ag retailer or OMAFRA specialist.

   Interactive online IPM training

OMAFRA has introduced a new training tool for growers and ag personnel working in vegetable and small fruit crops.  Ontario CropIPM - Integrated Pest Management Training is available both online (www.ontario.ca/cropIPM) and on CD.

Ontario CropIPM is an interactive educational tool to improve your knowledge of Integrated Pest Management in Ontario crops. Growers, scouts and consultants can learn about insects, diseases, disorders, and weeds by:

·     searching photo galleries, 
·     using identification keys, 
·     consulting pest scouting calendars, 
·     comparing photos of often-confused pests, 
·     learning about soil diagnostics and herbicide injury,
·     referring to glossaries, 
·     and checking additional resources. 

Ontario CropIPM includes modules for tomatoes and peppers, as well as brassicas, cucurbits, strawberries, and sweet corn.  There is no charge to use the online version, at www.ontario.ca/cropIPM.  A CD version is also available.  The CD can be purchased at many OMAFRA Resource Centres or ordered online (now in stock) at www.serviceontario.ca/publications or by phone at 1-800-668-9938 ($10 + tax, order # AF141).

Visit the OMAFRA Vegetable Web Pages: ontario.ca/crops - click Vegetables