Southwest Michigan vegetable update – Sept. 5, 2018

Producers are having difficulty controlling late season diseases.

Weather

High temperatures for the past two weeks ranged from 72 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit and lows from 51 to 75 F. There was nearly 4 inches of rain at the Southwest Michigan Research and Extension Center and more in the surrounding area. The 50 F degree-day units are at 2,567 for 2018 compared to 2,362 for 2017 and 22,427 for the five-year average. We are probably seven days ahead of last year and 10 or so ahead of the five-year average.

Crop reports

Growers have begun harvesting their final fields. If the weather stays as warm as predicted, last harvest may be done prior to first frost. There has been some difficulty in controlling late-season diseases on many crops due to the frequent rains, high temperatures and high humidity. Cooler, drier weather will be welcome. Rains have also made harvest of processing tomatoes difficult due to the rain itself, but also to resulting wet fields.

Growers will soon be removing plastic.

Hop harvest is about 60 percent complete.

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit https://extension.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit https://extension.msu.edu/newsletters. To contact an expert in your area, visit https://extension.msu.edu/experts, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).

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