Coastal Region
Dr. Tony Keinath reports, “Phomopsis blight is showing up on eggplant at the Coastal REC. On susceptible cultivars, like ‘Black Beauty,’ the disease starts as leaf spots; later in the season stem cankers and fruit rot appear. Although several fungicides are registered on eggplant, none are specifically labeled for Phomopsis blight. Aprovia Top and Priaxor might give some control; more testing is needed before a definite recommendation can be made.”
Midlands
Justin Ballew reports, “Last week we had some scattered rains, but some areas remain bone dry. Irrigation is running a lot in those areas. Muscadine harvest has started and so far, this is the largest yield we’ve seen in recent years. Squash, zucchini, eggplant, cucumbers, and tomatoes are also being harvested. Quality looks good, but volume is down a bit in some areas. More fall brassicas are being planted and strawberry growers are just starting the process of prepping their fields.”
Pee Dee Region
Bruce McLean reports, “Much of the upper Pee Dee Region received beneficial rains late last week. This helped to drop temps back to about normal, following the excessive heat from a few days earlier. On most crops, the rain really helped to push production again. Late season cucumbers, squash, zucchini, and okra are looking good. Canary melons are looking excellent. Volumes on these crops are good. Last week’s heat did take a toll on watermelons, though. Volumes are significantly down from the prior week and are likely winding down for the season. Muscadines are a bit varied across the region. In some locations, ‘Carlos’ and ‘Noble’ (wine and juice varieties) are getting very close to harvest, while other vineyards are ripening a bit slower. Harvest on the most mature wine and juice muscadines could begin as soon as next week.
Tony Melton reports, “Heavy rain in certain area but none in others. Some fresh market sweet potatoes are ready for harvest. Processing sweet potato harvest will begin end of August. Pickling cucumbers for machine harvest are still being planted most growers are favoring the parthenocarpic varieties. Brassica planting has begun – seeds and transplants. Fall bearing blackberries are yielding well.”
Upstate
Mark Arena reports seeing pecan scab. “Pecan Scab fungus is a weather dependant disease. There are varieties/cultivars that exhibit tolerance to this disease as shown below in the photos. Observed in Picture #1, we see both the nuts and foliage are showing signs of infection (the brown lessions). Picture #2 shows no sign of disease on either the nuts and/or foliage at the present time. Pecan scab can go undetected for days before the lessions appear, therefore, it is imperaitive to use a preventitive fungicide program to insure nut production.
The South Carolina Grower 