9:00 am Non-Traditional Vine Crops: Beyond Cucumbers and Squash Evan Elford, New Crop Development Specialist, OMAF and MRA, Simcoe, Ontario, Canada

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1 Gret Lkes Fruit, Vegetble & Frm Mrket EXPO December 10-12, 2013 DeVos Plce Convention Center, Grnd Rpids, MI Vine Crops Wednesdy morning 9:00 m Where: Grnd Gllery (min level) Room A & B MI Recertifiction credits: 2 (1B, COMM CORE, PRIV CORE) CCA Credits: PM(1.0) CM(1.0) Modertor: Lin Rodriguez-Slmnc, Plnt, Soil nd Microbil Sciences Dept., MSU 9:00 m Non-Trditionl Vine Crops: Beyond Cucumbers nd Sqush Evn Elford, New Crop Development Specilist, OMAF nd MRA, Simcoe, Ontrio, Cnd 9:30 m Abilities of Wild Bees to Provide Pollintion Services to Pumpkin Jessic Petersen, Entomology Dept., Cornell Univ., NYSAES, Genev, NY 10:00 m Mnging Phytophtor nd Powdery Mildew in Vine Crops Mry Husbeck, Plnt, Soil nd Microbil Sciences Dept., MSU 10:30 m The Impcts of Mnged Flowering Ares on Pollintion nd 11:00 m Session Ends Biocontrol in Ohio Pumpkin Crops Ben Phillips, Vegetble Eductor, MSU Extension, Sginw, MI

2 Non-Trditionl Vine Crops: Beyond Cucumbers nd Sqush Evn Elford New Crop Development Specilist Ontrio Ministry of Agriculture nd Food nd Ministry of Rurl Affirs 1283 Blueline Rod Simcoe, Ontrio N3Y 4N5 Emil: Tel: Fx: Non-trditionl cucurbits re used for vriety of culinry pplictions nd some species re used for other purposes such s personl cre products (e.g. sponges). This session will provide n introduction to non-trditionl cucurbits tht hve been successfully grown in Ontrio field trils s well s generl gronomic requirements nd possible mrkets opportunities. Further informtion on ech species is vilble on the OMAF nd MRA Specility Cropportunities website:

3 Wild Bees Provide Sufficient Pollintion Services to Pumpkin Jessic D. Petersen nd Brin A. Nult Deprt. of Entomology, Cornell University, New York Stte Agriculturl Experiment Sttion, 630 W. North St., Genev, NY 14456; phone: (315) ; Emil: Vine crops such s pumpkin, sqush, cucumber nd wtermelon re some of the Gret Lkes region s most vluble vegetble crops. These crops require pollintion by bees, the most well-known of which is the honey bee, Apis mellifer. Honey bee hives re plced in vine crops during the time they need to be pollinted. Unfortuntely, Colony Collpse Disorder (CCD), prsitic mites, viruses, nd pesticides continue to cuse significnt losses in popultions of honey bees throughout the US. Fewer honey bee hives re now vilble for vine crop growers nd the cost of renting hives hs incresed from pproximtely $30 per hive to $75 per hive. Consequently, growers will continue to py more for renting hives, unless lterntive pollintors re identified to service their vine crops. Previous reserch hs shown tht on n individul bsis, the common estern bumble bee, Bombus imptiens, ws the most efficient pollintor of pumpkin compred with other common species including the honey bee nd sqush bee, Peponpis pruinos. The common estern bumble bee is n efficient pollintor, nturlly bundnt nd vilble commercilly, mking it perfect cndidte s n lterntive pollintor to the honey bee in pumpkin fields. Our previous reserch hs indicted tht pumpkin fields supplemented with bumble bee hives or honey bee hives did not produce greter pumpkin yield (i.e., fruit weight per plnt). Also, there were no more visits to pumpkin flowers by bumble bees in fields supplemented with bumble bees thn in fields tht were not supplemented. Likewise, there were no more honey bee visits to flowers in fields supplemented with honey bees thn in fields tht were not supplemented. These results could be explined by not supplementing these fields with enough bees. In our studies, we followed the recommended stocking density t which commercil bumble bee hives should be supplemented (one Qud per 2 cres) nd wht our locl vine crop growers follow for honey bees (1 hive per 3 cres). To explore how incresing the stocking density of bees might impct yield nd visits to flowers, we compred pumpkin production in fields supplemented with bumble bees t the recommended stocking density with those tht hd three times the recommended stocking density. We lso wnted to produce guidelines tht growers could use to decide whether or not to supplement their pumpkin fields with bees. Does fruit yield or bumble bee visits increse if the density of bumble bees hives is incresed? In the Finger Lkes Region of New York in 2012 nd 2013, we explored the potentil of incresing pumpkin fruit yield nd bumble bee visits to pumpkin flowers by incresing the density by three-times the recommended stocking density. Commercil pumpkin fields were supplemented t the recommended density (1 QUAD per 2 cres; n=10), 3 times the recommended density (3 QUADs per 2 cres; n=10) or not supplemented with bees (n=10). Fields rnged in size from 1 to 10 cres; fields of similr size were grouped nd rndomly ssigned one of the three supplementtion tretments. The jcko-lntern vriety, Glditor, ws plnted in ll fields. Ten seedlings were trnsplnted into ech of three

4 loctions in the field (=30 plnts per field). In September, when the crop ws mture, ll mrketble fruit were counted nd weighed. Dt were nlyzed using ANOVA nd tretment mens were compred (P<0.05). Incresing the density of bumble bee hives in pumpkin fields did not increse pumpkin fruit weight per plnt or bumble bee visits to pumpkin flowers (Fig. 1). Averge fruit weight per plnt (kg) Low density bumble bee High density bumble bee Bumble bee visits per 100 flowers Low density bumble bee High density bumble bee Nonsupplemented Nonsupplemented Fig. 1. Men (± SEM) pumpkin, Cucurbit pepo, vr. Glditor, fruit yield nd bumble bee visits from fields supplemented with commercil bumble bee colonies t low density of 1 QUAD per 2 cres (n=10), bumble bee colonies t high density of 3 QUADs per 2 cres (n=10) or were not supplemented (n=10) in New York in 2012 nd Are there ny situtions where supplementtion with bees could be importnt? The lndscpe surrounding pumpkin fields nd the popultion levels of wild bees re likely importnt in deciding whether to supplement fields with mnged bees. While we hve shown tht supplementing pumpkin fields with bees does not increse fruit yield on verge, there might be circumstnces where the lndscpe surrounding pumpkin fields my not support wild bees nd this could this result in lower fruit yield if supplementtion with commercil bees is not done. To nswer this question, we investigted whether fetures in the lndscpe impct bee visits to pumpkin flowers nd fruit yield. Through series of sttisticl nlyses, we identified two fetures in the lndscpe tht impct wild bumble bee nd honey bee visits to pumpkin flowers nd led to greter fruit yield. The first feture is the level of diversity in lnd-use types cross the lndscpe. High diversity lndscpes (mny different lnd-use types nd pproximtely even prcel sizes s shown in Fig. 2) hve more bumble bees nd greter pumpkin yield compred with lndscpes tht hve low diversity. The second feture is the mount of grsslnd in the lndscpe (i.e., semi-nturl, open-cnopy hbitts such s fllows, shrublnd, weedy ditches nd nture preserves). A lndscpe with greter thn 20% grsslnd is considered sufficient to sustin n dequte popultion of bees for pumpkin pollintion.

5 Guidelines for deciding whether or not to supplement pumpkin fields with bees. To ssess whether supplementtion with bees might be necessry for prticulr pumpkin field, the first step is to estimte the number of bees in the field s either high or low. When pumpkin flowers re in bloom, count the totl number of honey bees nd bumble bees in 60 flowers (mle nd femle), spending 5 seconds counting bees t ech flower you wtch nd then moving on to the next flower. Smple three different loctions of 60 flowers ech to get n verge of the number of ech bee species per 60 flowers. A high bumble bee density would be greter thn 3 bumble bees per 60 flowers. High honey bee density would be nything greter thn 10 honey bees per 60 flowers. It is importnt to note tht this pproch will only be useful for future growing sesons, unless beekeeper is willing to supplement the field with short notice. The next step is to identify the diversity of hbitts in the lndscpe nd the percent of the lndscpe tht is undisturbed grsslnd (within 2 km [~1.25 miles] rdius of the center of the field). These two lndscpe fetures could be estimted through direct knowledge of the lnd-use fetures Fig. 2. Exmples of high nd low lndscpe diversity surrounding pumpkin field in the center of ech circle. surrounding the field or by consulting the Croplnd Dt Lyer produced yerly by the USDA Ntionl Agriculturl Sttistics Service ( Combining knowledge of these fctors (bumble bee nd honey bee density, lndscpe diversity nd percent grsslnd) will help inform wht pumpkin fields should benefit from supplementtion with mnged bees (Tble 1). Tble 1. Guidelines for mking decisions on whether or not to supplement pumpkin fields with bees nd the bee species tht is of interest Bumble bee density Honey bee density Lndscpe diversity High Low % Grsslnd High Low High Supplementing not necessry Consider supplementing High Supplementing not necessry Consider supplementing Low Supplementing recommended Consider supplementing Low Supplementing recommended Consider supplementing

6 Mnging Phytophthor nd Powdery Mildew in Vine Crops Dr. Mry K. Husbeck, , nd Chrles Krsnow Michign Stte University, Deprtment of Plnt, Soil & Microbil Sciences POWDERY MILDEW is mjor folir disese of cucurbits, esy to identify becuse of the whitish, tlcum-like, powdery growth. It develops first on close-set plnts on the shded lower leves nd cn infect lef surfces, petioles, nd stems. Infected leves usully wither nd die. Premture loss of folige often reduces the size or number of fruit nd the length of the hrvest period. The fungus cn multiply nd spred quickly under fvorble conditions, becuse the length of time between infection nd ppernce of symptoms is usully only three to seven dys. A lrge number of spores tht cn infect helthy tissue cn be produced in reltively short time. Spores my be trnsported rpidly over long distnces by ir currents. Mrket qulity of the fruit cn be reduced becuse of sunburn nd premture or incomplete ripening, resulting in poor flvor or rind color (pumpkin). In ddition, powdery mildew infection predisposes plnts to other diseses tht my impct the pumpkin hndle mking it wek nd brittle. Resistnt cultivrs represent n importnt step forwrd in mnging powdery mildew nd re commercilly vilble only for cucumber, cntloupe, nd some pumpkins (Tble 1). Currently, fungicides (Tble 2) in combintion with resistnt cultivrs re the primry control prctice for this disese. Registered products vry widely in their bility to limit the powdery mildew pthogen. Some fungicides could be suitble for use in orgnic growing systems but my need to be pplied erly in the production cycle to ensure tht the pthogen doesn t become estblished prior to beginning protection progrm; control products will need to be repplied frequently. Other products suitble for sustinble or conventionl production re firly new to the mrket nd offer high level of control tht will be very useful since the powdery mildew pthogen is well-known for developing resistnce to older control products tht hve been used over the yers. When choosing fungicides, it is especilly importnt to lternte mong products tht ttck the pthogen in different wys. In the tble below, the FRAC code cn be used s guide to know whether the products ct similrly (FRAC numbers re the sme) or differently (FRAC numbers re different). Another point to consider is tht there re no mgic bullet products tht cn hlt well-estblished problem or powdery mildew epidemic. Mny yers go, it seemed tht the first occurrence of powdery mildew on pumpkins did not occur until erly August. However, in more recent yers, the first powdery mildew reports on Michign vine crops re usully mde round the July 4 th holidy. Tht cn men tht growers re fced with reltively long period where control products my be needed. Scouting fields beginning in June nd crefully looking t older leves tht my be shded nd remembering to check the undersides of the leves, lso, for powdery mildew colonies is importnt. Knowing when the pthogen first comes into production field is importnt so tht mngement strtegy cn be put into plce before the problem is out of control. Regrdless of the type of product tht fits into your specific opertion, mnging the disese erly will be more successful thn witing until crisis nd then trying to protect the crop. Even if only specific number of sprys fit within the control budget, it is best to spend those spry dollrs erlier when they cn do the most good rther thn witing until the powdery mildew pthogen is pst the point of control becuse the sprys re unlikely to offer much help t tht point.

7 Tble 1. Pumpkin cultivrs described s being resistnt/tolernt to powdery mildew. Alddin Denli Hobbit Prnkster Super Herc Apogee Dynsty Hollign Progress Superior Blue Delight Everest Iron Mn Prudence Sweet Lightning Bumpkin Gemini Mgicin Rcer Plus Touch Of Autumn Bunch O Wrts Glditor Mgic Lntern Rscl Tresure Cnnon Bll Gold Dust Millionire Rivl Trophy Cpitl Golden Condor Mystic Plus Rockfellow Tycoon Cptin Jck Goolign One Too Mny Sprtn Wrts Glore Csperit Growers Gint Pcker Stripes And Wrts Wrts Plethor Chrism Hrvest Princess Pegsus Summit White Delight Note: Control products my still be needed in conjunction with using these cultivrs to ensure high level of powdery mildew mngement. However, the number of pplictions required will likely be reduced when growing powdery mildew resistnt/tolernt cultivr compred with growing more susceptible cultivr. Tble 2. Products registered for use on powdery mildew of vine crops. NOTE: This informtion is guide only nd is not intended to replce the specific product lbels. Alwys red the lbel nd follow ll instructions closely. Inclusion of product in this tble does not men tht it is recommended for use, but rther indictes tht it could be used ccording to current lbel interprettions. Also be dvised tht sttes my differ in their registrtion of these products so do your homework before putting together fungicide strtegy. Product Active ingredient FRAC Amicrb 1... potssium bicrbonte...nc 2 Bdge SC... copper hydroxide/copper oxychloride...m1 Brvo Ultrex, Brvo WetherStik, Echo 720, Echo 90DF, Equus 720 SST, Equus DF... chlorothlonil...m5 Cbrio... pyrclostrobin...11 Chmp DF, Chmp Formul 2F, Chmpion WP, Kocide 2000, Kocide 3000, Nu-Cop 50DF, Nu-Cop 3L... copper hydroxide...m1 Copper Count N... copper mmonium crbonte...m1 Cuprofix Ultr Disperss... copper sulfte...m1 Endur... bosclid...7 Flint... trifloxystrobin...11 Folicur 3.6F... tebuconzole...3 Fontelis... penthiopyrd...7 Inspire Super... difenoconzole/cyprodinil...3/9 Kumulus DF 3, Microthiol Disperss, Thiolux Jet... sulfur...m2 Lun Senstion 4... flluopyrm/trifloxystrobin...7/11 Pristine... pyrclostrobin/bosclid...11/7 Procure 480SC... triflumizole...3 Qudris... zoxystrobin...11 Qudris Opti... zoxystrobin/chlorothlonil...11/m5 Qudris Top... zoxystrobin/difenoconzole...11/3 Quintec... quinoxyfen...13 Rlly 40WSP... myclobutnil...3 Serende, Serende Mx... Bcillus subtilis...nc 2 Sovrn... kresoxim-methyl...11 Tenn-Cop 5E... copper resinte...m1 Topsin 4.5FL, Topsin M 70WSB... thiophnte-methyl...1

8 Product Active ingredient FRAC Torino... cyflufenmid...u6 Trilogy... neem oil...nc 2 1 Not lbeled for sqush or pumpkin. 2 NC=Not clssified. 3 Not lbeled for pumpkin. 4 Lbeled for wtermelon only. PHYTOPHTHORA cuses rot or blight of the roots, crowns, stems, leves, nd/or fruit of summer sqush, zucchini, hrd sqush, melons, nd pumpkins. Plnts my pper wilted initilly nd recover in the evenings but eventully the plnts will die. Also, following rinstorm or overhed irrigtion, soil contining the pthogen cn splsh onto the plnt s petioles cusing blighting ner or just bove the plnt s crown. Sometimes, the infected plnt surfces cn be coted with white Phytophthor spores tht cn look similr to powdered sugr. It cn be especilly esy to find the powdered sugr symptoms on the infected fruit. Once the fruit become infected with Phytophthor, it becomes compromised nd cn become infected by other pthogens tht my be secondry such s Pythium. When this hppens, there will be fluffy white ppernce to the fruit tht will grow over the white powdered sugr symptom tht occurred first, mking it hrd to tell which pthogen is relly t fult. Eventully the infected fruit will rot but the pthogen structures tht developed inside the disesed fruit will remin vible nd serve to further infest the field soil cusing incresed problems in future yers. It is possible to hrvest fruit tht looks helthy with symptoms of Phytophthor rot ppering dys lter while the crop is in trnsit or on grocer s shelves. A good wy to void Phytophthor in field (Tble 3) is to tke preventive mesures before there is n outbrek. If there is history of Phytophthor in field, do not plnt susceptible crops. Wter mngement is n importnt component of mnging Phytophthor. Hrd squshes, pumpkins, nd other types of vine crops cn be plnted into rised beds which llow for excess wter to move wy from the susceptible root nd crown re. This strtegy hs proven to be very helpful for pepper production but becomes more chllenging to produce vine crops in this mnner. Choosing vrieties with more of bush-like hbit versus triling vine hbit my be helpful for use in conjunction with the rised plnt bed system. Becuse the disese cn spred through wter, it is essentil tht fields re well-drined nd tht low-lying res of the field re left unplnted. Overhed irrigtion should be sprse nd drip irrigtion is recommended. Irrigtion wter should not be drwn from surfce wter source s it my be infested with Phytophthor spores. Widespred studies conducted in Michign hve clerly shown tht mny sources of surfce wter re contminted with this long-lsting, devstting pthogen. As result, progressive growers hve moved wy from using surfce wter for irrigtion nd use only well wter to irrigte their crops. While drilling wells is expensive, spreding Phytophthor cpsici over susceptible crops nd introducing it to clen fields lso hs very expensive rmifictions. If Phytophthor is recognized nd dignosed in the field during production, remove the disesed plnts nd the surrounding helthy-looking border plnts immeditely. Growers who hve successfully mnged this disese hve seen benefits to plowing under the portions of their fields with Phytophthor including buffer of helthy plnts, to crete firewll between the problem re nd the rest of their helthy crop. Mke sure to clen ny equipment used in the field to prevent spred to other res, nd discrd the infected fruits in n re where crops re not going to be grown. Power wshing equipment to remove soil prticles nd plnt debris will be helpful in limiting the movement of Phytophthor from problem fields to clen fields. If you do not hve history of Phytophthor cpsici in your fields, do everything you cn to prevent it from occurring. If Phytophthor cpsici is present in field, scout often for disese, rotte only with nonsusceptible crop hosts, nd irrigte conservtively from well. Alternte mong fungicides to decrese the likelihood of the pthogen from becoming resistnt.

9 Tble 3. Summny of recommended mngement strtegies for Phytophthor cpsici on pumpkins nd vine crops. Plnt into well-drined, tiled fields. Use rised beds nd drip irrigtion. Avoid using surfce wter for irrigtion. Irrigte springly from well. Keep fruit off of the ground. Rotte crops. Scout fields regulrly for Phytophthor. Do not dump disesed culls in production fields. Apply fungicides preventively nd t short Remove fruits from the field s quickly s intervls when needed. possible nd store in wrm, dry plce. Powerwsh equipment fter it hs been in Remove ny disesed plnts nd djcent helthy infested fields. plnts. Tble 4. Products tested for control of Phytophthor cpsici in 2013 MSU reserch field studies. Product Active ingredient Lbeled FRAC 1 Actinovte AG... Streptomyces lydicus... yes... NC Bio-Tm... Trichoderm sperellum, T. gmsii... yes... NC DPX-QGU42... experimentl... no... NC Presidio 4SC... fluopicolide... yes Revus 2.09SC... mndipropmid... yes Serende Soil... Bcillus subtilis... yes... NC 1 NC=not clssified. For most crops, pplying fungicides for control of Phytophthor through trickle irrigtion (if llowed per product lbel) is helpful to protect the plnts but folir pplictions will be needed lter s the fruit develop, especilly if the fruit ly on the soil surfce in possible contct with the pthogen. Mny hrd sqush nd pumpkin plnts produce lrge, dense cnopies nd proper ppliction equipment is usully required to chieve dequte protection of the fruit. Air-ssisted nozzles cn help to push the fungicide through the cnopy more effectively thn conventionl nozzles. Severl fungicides re registered for use on hrd sqush nd pumpkin. In Michign, some growing res hve fields with Phytophthor cpsici isoltes tht re insensitive to the fungicide mefenoxm (Ridomil Gold, Ultr Flourish). Evlution of biopesticides for control of Phytophthor crown, fruit nd root rot of sqush, lone or in combintion with Presidio. This study ws conducted t the Southwest Michign Reserch nd Extension Center locted in Berrien County, MI on sndy soil. Rised plnt beds were constructed on 10 June using RinFlo 2600 plstic-mulch lyer. The beds were 6 inches tll nd 24 inches wide t the top nd were spced 5½ feet prt on row centers. The beds were covered with 1.25-mil LDPE (low density polyethylene) mulch nd single drip tpe (0.65 gpm/100 ft) ws instlled for plot irrigtion. The tretments were rrnged in rndomized complete block design with four replictes cross eight rows tht were 100 feet long. Ech tretment replicte ws single row 20 feet long with 5-feet buffer zone between replictes. Plnting holes were mde every 18 inches (14 holes per plot) nd Cougr sqush seeds were sown on 9 July. Tretments were pplied s drench t the time of sowing on 9 July, nd repeted t 14-dy intervls on 26 July, 6 nd 20 August to the emerged seedlings. Product drenches were mde by pplying the tretment solution to the plnting hole fter trnsplnting t rte of 3 fl oz per hole using single-nozzle boom equipped with n 8010LP nozzle operted t 13 psi t the boom. Plnts in ech replicte were inoculted by plcing 2 g of Phytophthor cpsici-infested millet in the soil 1 inch from the plnt stem on 9 July. Dt were nlyzed using Sigm Stt version 3.1 (Systt Softwre Inc.) nd tretments were compred using the Fisher LSD multiple comprison test. All tretments significntly reduced plnt deth nd incresed yield compred to the untreted inoculted control plnts (Fig. 1). Actinovte lone did not limit plnt deth s effectively s other biopesticide tretments of Bio-Tm nd Serende Soil, lthough yield ws not ffected. Alternting the

10 biopesticides with Presidio improved the level of disese control for ll the biopesticides nd incresed the totl yields of Actinovte nd Serende Soil bsed progrms. Evlution of ppliction intervl for fungicides pplied through the drip irrigtion system to mnge Phytophthor crown nd root rot of two cultivrs of fresh mrket winter sqush. The experiment ws conducted t the Michign Stte University, Southwest Michign Reserch nd Extension Center in Benton Hrbor, MI. On 17 June, fresh mrket sqush cultivrs Tble Ace (corn, Cucurbit pepo) nd Chieftin (butternut, C. moscht) were trnsplnted into 6-inch rised beds covered with blck polyethylene mulch. Beds were spced 5½ feet on center, nd rows were 25 feet in length. The field ws orgnized in split-plot design, with cultivr s the min effect. The tril ws rrnged with 6 tretments, consisting of three biologicl (Serende Soil lternte Bio-Tm lternte Actinovte AG) or three conventionl fungicide (Presidio lternte Revus lternte DPXQGU42) progrms pplied on 7- (10 pplictions), 14- (5 pplictions), or 21-dy (4 pplictions) schedule. After trnsplnting, the first fungicide in the drip lterntion sequence ws pplied using bckpck spryer equipped with TeeJet 8002 flt fn nozzled hnd wnd nd clibrted to 30 GPA. The ppliction ws mde s soil drench directed to the crown-soil interfce on 19 June. All other pplictions were mde with CO 2 pressurized cnisters pplied using lbeled rtes vi drip irrigtion on 27 June; 1, 8, 15, 22 nd 29 July; 4, 12, 19 nd 26 August. Five dys fter the first tretment ppliction, the plnts were inoculted with P. Ded plnts (%) Yield (lb/20 ft) Plnt deth (%) Yield (lb/100 ft) Fig 2. Phytophthor on Hrd Sqush: Cultivrs nd Fungicides 'Chieftn' 'Tble Ace' 140 'Chieftn' 120 b 'Tble Ace' b b b bc 60 c b b b 40 b cpsici-infested millet (100 g sterilized millet, 72 ml distilled wter, 0.08 g sprgine). Dt were nlyzed using SAS Proc Mixed nd sttisticl differences were compred using the Student-Newmn- Keuls procedure. Tble Ace nd Chieftin treted with the three Presidio fungicide progrms hd lower plnt deth t hrvest thn the inoculted control (Fig. 2). Yield differences mong tretments were not sttisticlly significnt for Chieftin, except the uninoculted control compred with the Serende 14- dy tretment. The conventionl fungicide progrms resulted in lower disese incidence thn the biologicl progrms, nd higher yields. However, in our study it ppered tht Chieftin is less susceptible to P. cpsici thn Tble Ace nd my be useful in n orgnic production system tht relies on biologicl control products. This reserch ws supported by funding provided by the Michign Vegetble Council. c b Untreted control d Inoculted control Fig. 1. Phytophthor on Yellow Sqush Uninoculted control Presidio 0.25 pt Four tretments pplied s drench t 14-dy intervls Presidio 0.25 pt -lt- Actinovte AG 0.75 lb 7-dy (10 pps) Presidio 0.25 pt -lt- Serende Soil 4 pt 14-dy (5 pps) b Presidio 0.25 pt -lt- BioTm 2.2 lb 21-dy (4 pps) Presidio 4 fl oz -lternte- Revus 8 fl oz -lternte- DPX-QGU fl oz b 7-dy (10 pps) b d d d 14-dy (5 pps) b Brs with letter in common re not significntly different BioTm 2.2 lb Serende Soil 4 pt Actinovte AG 0.75 lb 21-dy (4 pps) Serende Soil 2 qt -lternte- Bio-Tm 2.2 lb -lternte- Actinovte AG 0.75 lb

11 The Impcts of Mnged Flowering Ares on Pollintion nd Biocontrol in Ohio Pumpkin Crops Ben Phillips ( ) Michign Stte University Extension, 1 Tuscol St, Suite 100A, Sginw, MI My study system ws Ohio pumpkin fields with diverse surrounding lndscpes. Ohio pumpkins host three min economiclly importnt pests; spotted cucumber beetle (Dibrotic undecimpunctt), striped cucumber beetle (Aclymm vitttum), nd sqush bugs (Ans tristis/rmiger). They lso depend on three min pollintors; generlist honey bees (Apis mellifer) nd bumble bees (Bombus spp.), nd the specilist sqush bee (Peponpis pruinos). I tested the hypothesis tht when florl strips re plnted djcent to crop, popultions of beneficil insects enter the crop from the edges (Pltt et l., 1999; Pontin et l., 2005). OBJECTIVES Given the importnce of pollintion by bees, predtion, nd prsitism of pumpkin pests by nturl enemies, nd the hypothesis bove, I exmined the following objectives, orgnized by ecosystem service: Predtion nd Prsitism Objective 2.1) Determine if locl ddition of florl strips influenced predtion of cucumber beetle nd sqush bug eggs; nd prsitism of dult cucumber beetles, nd both sqush bug dults nd eggs. 2.2) Determine if locl ddition of florl strips influenced the visittion frequency, durtion, nd pollen deposition of honey bees, bumble bees, nd sqush bees to mle nd femle pumpkin flowers cross the pollintion window 6 AM 12 PM. METHODS Study sites In 2012, plot consisting of four rows of jck-o-lntern pumpkins (vr. Glditor ) were estblished between 10 June nd 8 July within ech site. No insecticides were pplied to these sites. Ech plot ws divided into 4 sub-plots where ll dt were collected. Sites were chosen bsed on grower interest in prticipting, nd by their surrounding lndscpe. In pumpkin-growing regions of Ohio, 14 sites were included; six in Wyne, Strk, Ashlnd, nd Medin counties in northern Ohio, nd six in Jckson, Pike, Highlnd, Ross, Clinton, nd Wrren counties in southern Ohio. The visit frequency nd durtion of bees, nd pollen deposition on flowers were investigted only on control nd lyssum tretment frms in 2012 becuse unrelted frmer prctices hd resulted in high weed competition tht reduced pumpkin blooms t those sites.

12 Hbitt mngement In October 2010, six sites were selected to estblish 6 x 60 m perennil florl strip tretment of 23 ntive forbs nd 2 grsses. Ech grower clered the re with field cultivtors nd herbicide, nd rolled the soil flt. I mixed the perennil seeds with swdust t rtio of 1:2 nd spred 1.3 kgs of tht mixture t ech site to overwinter. The perennil florl strip plots were mowed by the growers once per month to enhnce root mss growth during the 2011 growing seson. In 2012, I plnted one row of sweet lyssum on either side of pumpkin plots s the nnul florl strip tretment djcent to pumpkins t six sites in northern nd southern Ohio. The sweet lyssum ws strted from seed in 72-cell plug trys in greenhouse in erly My nd fertilized twice per week for two weeks. The plnts were hrdened off outside for n dditionl two weeks before being between 7-14 June Plnts were wtered nd Preen Grden Weed Preventer ws pplied. The trnsplnts were wtered vi drip irrigtion nd hnd continers (~190 L) twice per week in the field through July. Six dditionl sites served s controls, whose growers plnted pumpkins djcent to mowed grss lley, 6 x 60 m in re. Mesuring predtion, prsitism, nd pollintion In order to mesure predtion on spotted cucumber beetle nd sqush bug eggs, I glued predetermined number of lb-rered eggs to pper crds nd plced 4 sets of them in ech field for 48 hours, twice in July. Ech crd tht ws open to predtion ws pired with crd tht ws covered with mesh predtor excluder for comprison. The proportion of eggs removed from the crds ws mesured upon retrievl. I videotped exposed egg msses for 24 hours to identify predtor ctivity. Prsitism ws determined by hnd collecting t lest 10 striped cucumber beetles, nd 10 sqush bugs from ech site twice in July, nd rering them in growth chmbers for 8 dys. I then froze them, nd dissected them to determine the proportion tht hd been prsitized. Sqush bug eggs were lso rered in the growth chmber to determine if ny egg prsitoids were present. No prsitoids emerged from sqush bug eggs. Pollintion ctivity ws mesured by videotping mle nd femle pumpkin flowers in the field between 6 AM nd 12 PM, nd by collecting pollen from femle flowers exposed to pollintors from 6-8 AM, 8-10 AM, 10-12P M, nd 6-12 PM. This occurred once t ech site during pek bloom, between July nd August, nd only sites with control grss strip or sweet lyssum rows were mesured. RESULTS Predtion nd prsitism In 2012, I found tht numericlly greter egg predtion occurred in pumpkins plnted djcent to the perennil tretments for both species, but there were no significnt differences between the numbers of eggs removed from crds cross the three types of site tretments. I observed 72.22%, 72.1%, nd 80.43% of eggs removed from open spotted cucumber beetle egg crds in pumpkins djcent to the control, lyssum, nd perennil insectries, respectively (Figure 1). I lso observed 8.78%, 7.46%, nd 18.43% of eggs removed from open sqush bug egg crds in pumpkins djcent to the control, lyssum, nd perennil insectry tretments, respectively (Figure 1).

13 Similr to predtion, in 2012 there ws numericlly greter prsitism of striped cucumber beetles in pumpkins djcent to the perennils, but I found no significnt difference between prsitism occurring in pumpkins djcent to control, nd perennil florl strip tretment. I observed 11.65%, 22.96%, nd 24.81% of collected beetles were prsitized in pumpkins djcent to control, lyssum, nd perennil insectries, respectively (Figure 2). The smple size of sqush bug ws not lrge enough to nlyze. I found lrge guild of insect nd non-insect predtors ttcking the eggs, nd most of the ctivity occurred between 9 PM nd 4 AM. By fr, the dominnt predtors of spotted cucumber beetle eggs were nts nd springtils. Pollintion In 2012, the florl strips hd no effect on the visit frequency or durtion when ech tx ws compred between tretments. For visit frequency, bumble bees were more frequent visitors thn honey bees nd sqush bees to pumpkins djcent to the control strips (Figure 3). At pumpkins djcent to the lyssum strips, honey bees hd higher visit frequency thn sqush bees, but bumble bees still showed higher frequency thn both honey bees nd sqush bees (Figure 3). For durtion of visits, honey bees spent more time in flowers thn bumble bees nd sqush bees in pumpkin plots plnted djcent to both florl strip tretments (Figure 3). In 2012, there were numericlly more pollen grins found in femle flowers in pumpkin plots djcent to the grssy control strip (22407), thn the lyssum strip (17855). However, this ws not sttisticlly significnt (Figure 4).