Ground Cherry Harvesting Frame Video: 
See how efficiently this harvesting frame made by Willsboro Research Farm Manager Michael H. Davis, Ph.D., works to collect the ground cherry fruit that falls from the plants when ripe (click on the headline link above). This work was completed as part of a 2019 NNYADP horticultural research project that also evaluated the opportunity to grow goldenberry under NNY conditions. To read the results of both trials, click here.

NNYADP Vegetable Research: Low Tunnels or Row Covers for Cucumber Beetle Management?

Willsboro, N.Y.; August 19, 2020.  Based on the results of recent striped cucumber beetle management research, Cornell vegetable specialists recommend removing low tunnels once cucumber plants begin producing fruit, even when growing varieties that do not require pollination. The use of row covers for managing the challenging pest that attacks cucumbers, squashes, watermelon, pumpkins, and other crops is still under consideration. The farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program funded this project in the Advancing Vegetable Production in NNY research series. Reports are posted at www.nnyagdev.org.

Striped cucumber beetles are particularly difficult to manage on certified organic farms, as allowable biopesticide sprays are not very effective in managing the pest. Therefore, growers are interested in other management options, such as netting.

In the research trial hosted by the Willsboro Research Farm in New York’s Essex County in 2019, more marketable cucumbers were harvested from plots without low tunnel protection even though more beetles were present on average in the uncovered plots.

Likewise, “we harvested twice as many marketable cucumbers in the uncovered plots as the row covered plots, and five times as many cucumbers in the untreated plots as the insect exclusion netting plots,” said project co-leader Elisabeth Hodgdon, a vegetable specialist with the Eastern New York Commercial Horticulture Program.

“The conditions under the low tunnels in 2019 seemed to cause stress to the cucumber plants, producing dense vines with few fruit,” Hodgdon explained. “The conditions under the two row covers in the trial – a lower cost spunbond row cover and a higher cost insect exclusion netting – included lower light levels, higher humidity, and higher temperatures on sunny days.”

The research team also recorded high numbers of male flowers on the cucumbers grown under the row covers, a sign of plant stress in varieties that do not require pollination to set fruit.

The beetle pressure was not high enough in 2019, with low populations until early August, to sufficiently compare the two row covers for protection from the pest.

Project co-leader and Cornell Vegetable Program specialist Judson Reid notes the value of the regional research to local consumers, stating, “fresh market vegetable production and consumer interest continue to increase across the northern part of New York State with new food hub and produce auction development, farmers markets, roadside stands, and food co-ops all selling locally-grown products. The Northern New York Agricultural Development Program support for vegetable research is underwriting better crop production understanding and marketing opportunities for traditionally-popular and new northern NY-adapted vegetable crops.”

The complete report on Advancing Vegetable Production in NNY in 2019, plus information on NNYADP-funded research on high tunnel and field-grown vegetable and berry production, is posted on the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program website at www.nnyagdev.org. Growers may also contact their local Cornell Cooperative Extension office for more information.

Funding for the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program is supported by the New York State Legislature and administered by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets.

Click here to see the August 2020 report by Mountain Lake PBS Producer Thom Hallock with Willsboro Research Farm Manager Michael H. Davis, Ph.D., talking about how well the NNYADP-funded “New Fruits for NNY” trials with aronia berry and honeyberry are progressing.

Click here to see the August 2018 report by Mountain Lake PBS Producer Thom Hallock on the NNYADP-funded “superfruits” research trials (click on the June 24, 2018 date in the story posting) at the Willsboro Research Farm.  Hallock talks with NNYADP “New Fruits for NNY” project leaders Willsboro Research Farm Manager Michael H. Davis, Ph.D., and botanist Michael B. Burgess, Ph.D., of SUNY Plattsburgh.

Below, Northern New York farmer Dani Baker of Cross Island Farms on Wellesley Island is one of several NNY growers participating with the NNYADP “super fruits” on-farm production trials.

Canton, N.Y.; July 23, 2020. The Northern New York Agricultural Development Program has posted the results of the first surveillance for Johne’s disease in sheep on farms in northern New York at www.nnyagdev.org. The 2019 project report and a fact sheet prepared by Jessica Scillieri Smith, DVM, a New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets veterinarian, and Cornell Cooperative Extension Livestock Educator Betsy Hodge include tips for reducing the risk of this bacterial infection in sheep.

Johne’s disease impacts sheep, goats, and cows. It is a frequently misdiagnosed gastrointestinal disease in sheep; clinical signs of the disease can sometimes take years to appear. The disease can be asymptomatic, making it difficult to diagnose without widespread testing in sheep flocks. Testing can also result in false negative results.

“While there is significant research on Johne’s disease in dairy cattle, research into the prevalence and significance of this bacterial disease in smaller ruminants has been lacking. Funding from the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program has established a baseline survey of Johne’s disease in regional sheep flocks, and provided education to the participating farms,” said Dr. Scillieri Smith.

Thirty-eight farms representing a total of 2,421 sheep on farms in northern New York (NNY) participated in the baseline survey in 2019.

Three hundred and nineteen two-year-old or older ewes from 13 flocks across Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties and from eight flocks across Clinton, Essex and Franklin counties were selected for health surveillance sampling and Johne’s disease testing.

Testing results showed Johne’s disease present in some NNY sheep flocks, however, the level of infection appeared low. It was present in more than 50 percent of the 21 tested flocks.

Smith and Hodge suggest the following tips to help protect sheep flocks from Johne’s disease:

• only buy sheep form flocks documented as known-negative for Johne’s disease,
• test animals of unknown status before bringing them into your flock,
• quarantine and test animals after purchase to address the risk of false negative test results,
• limit exposure of lambs to any known-positive adults in your flock,
• make sure food and water sources are difficult for animals to contaminate with manure which can carry Johne’s-causing bacteria, and
• talk with your farm veterinarian to develop a “best practices” plan with support from the New York State Sheep and Goat Health Assurance Program.

Lambs raised on pasture with their mothers can be at risk of infection from the bacteria in manure in pastures. Johne’s disease impacts farm economics in terms of animal mortality, decreased live lamb births, decreased fertility, fiber loss, and increased veterinary costs and labor.

Farms surveyed in the six-county NNY region reported a total of 5,356 sheep in the 2017 Census of Agriculture. Sheep are raised for meat, fiber, dairy, and breeding stock.

The researchers have recently been funded to assess the status of Johne’s disease in goat populations that may have a higher risk of the disease.

For more information, contact Betsy Hodge, Cornell Cooperative Extension of St. Lawrence County, 315-379-9192, bmf9@cornell.edu.

Funding for the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program is supported by the New York  State Legislature and administered by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets. Learn more at www.nnyagdev.org.

CLICK HERE to see the American Agriculturist story on this project