UNIVERSITY OF FL ORID A

INSTITUTE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES

UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA

FLORIDA COOPERATIVE

EXTENSION SERVICE

VEGETARIAN A Ve8etable Crops .Extension Publication Vegetable Crops Department • 1253 Fifield Hall • Gainesville.fL 3'2611 • Telephone 39'2-2134

Vegetarian 92-7 July 20, 1992

Contents

I. NOTES OF INTEREST

A. Vegetable Crops Calendar.

B. New Publications.

II. COMMERCIAL VEGETABLES

A. Tomatillo.

ID . PESTICIDE UPDATE

A. Weed Control in the Off Season.

IV. VEGETABLE GARDENING

A. Florida's Largest Vegetables - July 1992 Update.

Note: Anyone is free to use the information in this newsletter. Whenever possible, please give credit to the authors. The purpose of trade names in this publication is solely for the purpose of providing information and does not necessarily constitute a recollllllendation of the product.

The Institute of Food and Agricultura l Sciences is an Equal Employment Opportun ity - Aff irmative Action Employer authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institu tions that function without regard to race, color, sex, age, handicap or national origin .

COOPERATIVE EXTENSION WORK IN AGRICULTURE AND HOME ECONOMICS, STATE OF FLORIDA, IFAS, UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA, 11.c; nFP ART MFNT ()F A(;Al r.t ll TI IAF AN n RnAl'm~ nF f"(ll INTV ('()fvlfvl l l':l':tni.11:::Q<; rnni:>S::RATINr.

I. NOTES OF INTEREST

A. Vegetable Crops Calendar.

August 26-28, 1992. State Master Gardener Continued Training Conference. Reitz Union , University of Florida. (Contact Kathleen Ruppert).

September 9, 1992. Toma to Institute. Ritz-Carlton Hotel. Contact Charle s Vavrina, SWFREC, Immokalee.

B. Publications.

4-H Horticulture slides are now available for loan and return through Ann Hanson 's office in IF AS Educational Media and Services (904) 392-2411. The slides are available by commodity area and are listed as follows: Fruits and Nuts (ST209) -80 slides; Vegetables (ST210) - 128 slides; Flowers and Foliage (ST350) - 117 slides; and Ornamentals (ST349) - 131 slides. They will be sent to you, upon request to Ann Hanson , in semi-rigid transparent vinyl she et s. If questions, other than ordering, please contact Kathleen Ruppert of the Environmental Horticult ure Dept.

(Stephens, Vegetarian 92-07)

II. COMMERCIAL VEGETABLES

A. Tomatillo

A small trial was established in the spring 1992 season at GCREC to determine the feasibility of commercial tomatillo (Physalis ixocarpa ) production following a reque st for information from a local wholesaler. Tomatillo, also know as husk t omato , is a principle ingredient in salsa verde, and is used in numerous other ways in Mexican cuisine.

Since time was short, seed were extracted from fruit purc has ed in a local

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supermarket . Seeds were planted on lO February and the transplants grown by a commercial plant grower. The transp lants were set in the field on 16 March at the end s of beds in a tomato experiment . The beds were on 5 ft centers and in-row spacing was 2.5 ft.

The plants were very vigorous and required frequent tying. Even though the adjacent tomatoes were some weeks ahead, the tomatilloes soon outgrew them. Fruit was harvested on 27 May, 4 and 16 June. The total marketable yield was equivalent to 17,131 lb/acre and there were 12.78 frui t/ lb. At the time the seeds were obtained, I was not aware that hybr id tomatilloes were available . From the variation in plant and fruit types that were produced, it was apparent that seeds were obtained from fruit from hybrid plants. This may have result ed in yield s that were lower than those that could have been obtained from plants of a pure line or hybrid.

How did the yield obtained at GCREC compare with yield s obtained elsewhere? In eight times of transplanting trial s and two fertilizer trials with three hybrids in each trial in Louisiana (1), yields above 15,000 lb/acre occurred in only thre e trial s. The highest yield of 23,000 lb/a cre was produced by 'Rendidor' in a trial that was transplanted on 1 Sept. 1990. It was reported that 'Rendidor " prod uces about 25,000 lb/ac re in Mexico.

What about quality? A sample of fruit was sent to the wholesaler who made the original inquiry. He indicated that fruit size and condition was generally superior to what was received from his usual out-of-state sources.

From this very preliminary trial , it appears that additional tr ials are warranted. Available varieties , spacing, and fertilization are among th e factors tha t should be evaluated.

References:

1. Can, F., M.C. Rush , R.A. Valverde, J.L. Griffin, R.N. Storey , WA Young, W.J. Blackman and P.W. Wilson. 1991-92. Tomatillo: a potential new vegetable crop for Louisiana. Louisiana Agriculture 35(2):21-24.

(Maynard, Vegetarian 92-07)

ID. PESTICIDE UPDATE

A. Weed Control in the off Season.

Weed control in vegetable crops during th e coming seasons can be improved and made a lot easier with some attention to the weed growth in the fields during the off season.

This is the time to concentrate on any hard-to-control weeds, especially perennial weeds such as sedges.

Allowing fields to grow up in weeds during the summer or off season will allow these weeds to seed and proliferate. Increasing the weed seed bank in the soil can cause problem s for many years.

Weed growth in the field can also increase the insects and diseases that feed and breed on these plants and that can move or infect the vegetable crop during the season .

There are several ways to minimize th e weed growth and spread during the off season.

Fallowing. Fallowing is one method ofreducing

the weeds in a field. This is particularly effective for the hard-to-control perennials. Fallowing can be accomplished either mechanically by plowing or disking, by chemically fallowing or by a combination of both.

Cutting annual and biennial weeds under before they seed can reduce the

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population of the se weeds. This will have to be done several times during the off season since seeds in the soil will germinate , reducing the weed seed bank.

Perennial weeds that reproduce from vegetati ve parts (such as rhizomes, stolons, bulbs or tubers) can be spread, however, through mechanical fallow.

Several herbicides are labeled for use in a fallowing system. The burndown and systemic types, such as paraquat and glyphosate, leave no re sidue. In a great majority of situations these can be used very effectively alone as broadcast or spot treatment s, or in combination with mechanical fallowing.

Several residual herbicides are also labeled for certain cropping patterns. Use of these types is res tricted to the labeling and by the crop that will be following their usage.

Cover Crops. A second method of reducing wee d

growth during the off season is by the use of cover crops. Cover cropping can reduce weeds by simply having the cover crop out compete the weeds.

Care should be taken in selecting a cover crop that will not increase insect and disease pre ssu re to the following crops.

The use of sorghum-sudan grass mixes, and certain legum es in selected cases have worked well in holding weed pressures to a minimum. Long-term rotations with pasture grasses have also been successful.

A little thought and work can save money and maintain yields if off season weed control is accomplish ed correctly.

(Stall, Vegetarian 92-07)

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IV. VEGETABLE GARDENING

A. Flor ida's largest vegetables - J uly 1992 update.

Each year I summarize the current list of Florida's largest vegetables in the official record . This spring has been a bumper season for growing big vegetables , with records being set and broken faster than I have been able to document them. In fact, there may be a new one on the way as I write this article, so be sure to check with me before doing any paper work based on the following list.

Florida Record-size Vegetables - July 6, 1992 update J . M. Stephens - Vegetable Crops Specialist, University of Florida 392-7916

Vegetable Size County Grower Date

Beet 5 lb. 0 oz. Duval Brinson 06/ 06/92 Boniato 12 lb. 10 oz. Seminole Phillips 03/ 05/91 Broccoli 1 lb. 14 oz. Alachua Roe 04/ 27/90 Cabbage 19 lb. 7 oz. Suwannee Graham 06/ 29/92 Calabaza 36 lb. 8 oz. Seminole Chitty 08/ 16/91 Cantaloupe 29 lb. 8 oz. Levy Bumgardner 07/ 09/91 Carro t 1 lb. 10 oz. Alachua Lazin 02/ 13/86 Cassava 8 lb. 14 oz. High lands Albonetti 04/ 03/92 Cauliflower 15 lb. 6 oz. Alachua Severino 02/ 19/92 Chicory 1 lb. 3 oz. Alachua Lazin 02/ 13/86 Collard 8 ft. 5 in. Lake Raczkowski 12/ 05/90 Corn, sweet l lb. 6 oz. Suwannee Graham 06/ 28/92 Cucumber 4 lb. 7 oz. Suwannee Graham 06/ 29/92 Cucumber 27 inches Suwannee Graham 06/ 29/92 Eggplant 4 lb. 8 oz. Palm Beach Laluppa 01/ 17/92 Jicama 9 lb. Palm Beach Oppe 01/ 17/92 Kohlrabi 9 lb. 2 oz. Hernando Farrell 07/ 19/90 Okra 17 ft. 6 in. Hernando Crosby 12/ 10/86 Onion 3 lb. 11 oz. Manatee Geraldson 08/ 07/90 Pepper 1 lb. 1 oz. Palm Beach Amcstoy 02/ 02/90 Potato , irish 2 lb. 13 oz. St. Johns Kight 05/ 23/89 Potato, sweet 20 lb. Duval Mullins 01/ 15/87 Pumpkin 242 lb. Suwannee McDonald 07/ 03/90 Radish , S. 3 lb. 12 oz. Palm Beach Vanderlaan 01/ 31/90 Radish , W. 25 lb. Hillsborough Bres low 1977 Radish , Daikon 23 lb. 5 oz. Alachua Neilson 03/ 28/92 Rutabaga 8 lb. 11 oz. Nassau Johnson 06/ 28/92 Squash , hub. 88 lb. 12 oz. Columbia Byers 07/ 26/90 Squash , banana 39 lb. Lake Blehar 09/ 26/91 Squash , seal. 2 lb. 1 oz. Alachua Heidman 05/ 20/90 Squash , spaghetti 25 lb. 14 oz. St. Johns Jones 06/ 19/92 Squash, zucc. 10 lb. 8.16 oz. Gilchrist Agee 06/ 22/92 Taro 8 oz. Palm Beach Oppe 01/ 17/92

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Vegetable Size County Grower

Tomato 3 lb. Marion Spangler Turnip 14 lb. 4 oz. St. Johns Co. Hensel Watermelon 170 lb. Levy Bumgardner Yam (True) 9 lb. 11 oz. Palm Beach Oppe

County summary (37 total current records):

Alachua 6 Seminole 2 Palm Beach 6 Columbia 1 Suwannee 5 Gilchrist 1 St. Johns 3 Highl ands 1 Duval 2 Hillsborough 1 Hernando 2 Manatee 1 Lake 2 Marion 1 Levy 2 Nassau 1

(Stephens, Vegetarian 92-07)

Prepared by Extension Vegetable Crops Specialists

Dr. D.J. Cantliffe Chairman

Dr. S.M. Olson Assoc. Profe ssor

Mr. J.M. Stephens Profe ssor

Dr. G.J. Hochmuth Assoc. Profe ssor

Dr. S.A Sargent Asn¥ ditor Dr. C. S. Vavrina Asst. Profe ssor

Dr. D.N. Maynard Professor

Dr . W.M. Stall Professor

Dr. J .M. White Assoc. Professor

Date

07/ 11/90 03/ 06/90 07/ 09/91 01/ 17/92