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- From: "William H Shoemaker" <wshoemak AT illinois.edu>
- To: "'Market Farming'" <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
- Subject: Re: [Market-farming] pumpkins
- Date: Thu, 18 Mar 2010 08:38:23 -0500
Our growers are trying a number of things.
There are herbicides that can be fairly effective, but expensive. And their
efficacy and risk is related to soil type and weed species profile. One
herbicide combo that is popular here is Strategy/Sandea, applied as a tank-mix Preemergence.
But because of the cost of Sandea and package size, small growers find it
prohibitive. Some are evaluating cover cropping systems, such as grain rye
planted in the fall. Tillage strips are created early in Spring, before the rye
gets going. The rye is rolled down with a roller/crimper, which flattens the
rye and kills it, leaving a thick mulch layer. Pumpkins can be planted in the
tillage strips and cultivated or a band of herbicide applied over it. The
pumpkins quickly grow out over the rye, which provides pretty good weed
control. The pumpkins develop on the mulch layer and stay clean. They also stay
more healthy because there isn’t any soil splashing up on the fruit. And
customers can walk out and pick up fruit, even after a rain. All that said, it’s difficult to
make one-size-fits-all recommendations for pumpkin weed control. Many factors
must be accommodated and I find growers have divergent preferences in my area. But
I would say size of operation, weed species profile, equipment availability and
soil type are most important factors. And, whether you prefer to use herbicides
or not. One more thing that is becoming important
is plastic mulch. Especially with hybrid varieties, seed cost is becoming very
high. And many of our growers have trouble with ground squirrels. So they are
growing transplants (2 weeks in the greenhouse) and transplanting into plastic
mulch. This leaves row middles, which can be cultivated and hoed, or sprayed
with herbicides. William H. Shoemaker Sr. Research Specialist, Food Crops 630-584-7254, FAX-584-4610 Bill, Do you have any recommendations for weed
problems/ methods for pumpkins? Thanks. Heather -----Original
Message----- In our area weeds are the worst problem
for pumpkin growers. Be careful what you read! Bill William H. Shoemaker Sr. Research Specialist, Food Crops 630-584-7254, FAX-584-4610 I remember reading somewhere that
pumpkins like weeds. Everything in moderation, I guess. _______________________________________________ Market-farming mailing list Market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/market-farming
|
-
[Market-farming] pumpkins,
Hmgrant77, 03/17/2010
- <Possible follow-up(s)>
-
[Market-farming] pumpkins,
Carol Moss, 03/18/2010
-
Re: [Market-farming] pumpkins,
William H Shoemaker, 03/18/2010
-
Re: [Market-farming] pumpkins,
hmgrant77, 03/18/2010
-
Re: [Market-farming] pumpkins,
William H Shoemaker, 03/18/2010
- Re: [Market-farming] pumpkins, Road's End Farm, 03/18/2010
-
Re: [Market-farming] pumpkins,
William H Shoemaker, 03/18/2010
-
Re: [Market-farming] pumpkins,
hmgrant77, 03/18/2010
-
Re: [Market-farming] pumpkins,
William H Shoemaker, 03/18/2010
- Re: [Market-farming] pumpkins, sunnfarm, 03/18/2010
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