No description available.

No description available.

Leaf drop of lettuce, caused by the fungus Sclerotinia sclerotionunb is a sporadic but potentially destructive disease in Arizona During the 1988-89 lettuce season in western Arizona, different fungicides and formulations of materials were evaluated in the field for disease control. All tested compounds provided significant disease suppression and increased yields, provided that a sufficient rate of fungicide was applied. Ronilan and Rovral, the two fungicides currently registered for use on lettuce for Sclerotinia leaf drop, were the most effective fungicides in this test, performing significantly better than the two experimental materials. The SODF formulation of Ronilan provided significantly better disease control than the SOW formulation of the same compound.

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Preliminary nitrogen (N) management experiments with spinach, leaf lettuce, romaine collard and mustard were conducted on a Casa Grande s.l. soil at the Maricopa Agricultural Center in the winter and spring of 1990-91. The purpose of this N rate experiment was to develop initial Best Management strategies for N fertilizer use for emerging high value crops grown in Arizona using subsurface drip irrigation. Three rates of urea, ammonium nitrate were applied to each cultivar to provide deficient (N1), adequate (N2) and supraoptimal real (N3) levels of N. All cultivars responded dramatically to the application of N. Fresh weight yields in the N1 and N2 treatments averaged 45 and 53% of the N3 treatment The average N3 yields recorded in these trials were 23.1, 12.8 and 21.8 tons of marketable produce per acre for greens, spinach and leaf lettuce/romaine crops, respectively. Preliminary plant tissue test results indicated that for all five crops, whole plant total N (TN) levels and midrib + petiole NO₃-N and leaf blade TN concentrations in the youngest mature leaf were responsive to differences in soil N supply and show promise as diagnostic N tissue test procedures. The midrib + petiole NO₃-N test appeared to be the best indicator of plant N status throughout the growing season for all five crops studied.

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No description available.

Bottom rot of lettuce, caused by the soil -borne fungus Rhizoctonia solani, can cause economic losses on early season lettuce harvested in November. First evidence of the disease is the appearance of brown, sunken, necrotic areas on the midribs of leaves touching the soil. Under favorable environmental conditions, the pathogen grows from leaf to leaf inside the head. If the fungus invades the leaves of the marketable head it and all similarly infected heads are left in the field resulting in economic losses. Field trials were established to evaluate the potential level of disease control obtainable by applying Ronilan or Rovral to lettuce beds immediately after thinning. No significant reduction in loss of marketable heads was observed in these trials, although there was a trend toward lower levels of bottom rot when either fungicide was in place.

A field study was conducted at Yuma in 1991 to examine the relative effectiveness of several formulations of Bacillus thuringiensis on beet armyworm and cabbage looper on seedling and pre-cupping lettuce. Several applications were made before and after thinning. Results of the study suggest that most formulations are capable of controlling small larvae. However, because of the inherent variation in beet armyworm dispersion, it was difficult to statistically attribute differences in pest levels due to insecticide efficacy.

No description available.