Managing vegetable pests and diseases can be a challenge, especially when patterns and outbreaks vary from year to year. The Vegetable Disease and Insect Forecasting Network (VDIFN) helps take the guesswork out of management by providing data-driven risk forecasts for your farm. This guide walks you through key concepts behind pest and disease models, VDIFN basics and navigation, step‑by‑step examples for insect pest and disease forecasting, and resources for integrated pest and disease management.
This article walks through the different parts of and considerations around calibrating and using a backpack sprayer in diversified vegetable systems.
Most farmers are familiar with the benefits of cover crops: they reduce erosion, improve soil health, and help suppress weeds. Cover crops are often incorporated into fields as part of crop rotations, but they can also be planted in the aisles between cash crop beds, providing cover during a time of year when the soil is typically bare. These “living aisles” add additional advantages, such as reducing mud during rainy periods, allowing farmers to access beds when the ground is wet, and keeping harvest bins cleaner. Depending on the species used, living aisles may also be allowed to grow into beds after harvest to provide winter cover.
Most farmers are familiar with the benefits of cover crops: they reduce erosion, improve soil health, and help suppress weeds. Cover crops are often incorporated into fields as part of crop rotations, but they can also be planted in the aisles between cash crop beds, providing cover during a time of year when the soil is typically bare. These “living aisles” add additional advantages, such as reducing mud during rainy periods, allowing farmers to access beds when the ground is wet, and keeping harvest bins cleaner. Depending on the species used, living aisles may also be allowed to grow into beds after harvest to provide winter cover.
Most farmers are familiar with the benefits of cover crops: they reduce erosion, improve soil health, and help suppress weeds. Cover crops are often incorporated into fields as part of crop rotations, but they can also be planted in the aisles between cash crop beds, providing cover during a time of year when the soil is typically bare. These “living aisles” add additional advantages, such as reducing mud during rainy periods, allowing farmers to access beds when the ground is wet, and keeping harvest bins cleaner. Depending on the species used, living aisles may also be allowed to grow into beds after harvest to provide winter cover.
This article walks through the different parts of and considerations around calibrating and using a backpack sprayer in diversified vegetable systems.
This article walks through the timing, tools, and methods for seeding cover crops in diversified vegetable crop systems.
For those with the space and energy to experiment, mechanizing a cut-and-carry mulch system is an excellent way to reduce labor while increasing the resiliency of soil on diversified vegetable farms.
This guide offers the latest recommendations for disease, insect, and weed management in Wisconsin’s most common commercial vegetable crops. Also included are lime and fertilizer recommendations as well as insect identification information and keys.
Do you want to get a head start on managing next year’s insect pests? Focus on managing your crop residue. Removing or tilling in crop residue this fall could make a big impact towards pest management. Read for pest-specific strategies on residue management as well as other cultural control options.
Wisconsin is one of the top states for commercial vegetable production. With the diversity of crops available in a vegetable rotation, the puzzle pieces of locating each crop within the farm can be difficult to fit together each year. One of the factors to consider when planning your crop year is preventing pest problems.
