Year-Round IPM Program Pages
This year-round IPM program covers the major pests of cucurbits in the Sacramento, San Joaquin, Coachella, Palos Verde and Imperial Valleys, as well as Riverside County.
About Planting
- Special issues of concern related to environmental quality: drift.
- Mitigate pesticide effects on air and water quality.
What should you be doing during this time?
Plant seeds or transplants considering:
- Soil temperature, depth, moisture level, and seed rate or transplant density to reduce incidence of seedling root rots (damping-off).
- Precision planting to promote crop uniformity and close-to-seedline cultivation.
Check sticky traps for silverleaf whiteflies, green peach aphid, and melon aphid according to the Cucurbits Pest Management Guidelines.
In the desert production areas of southern California, use row covers over fall planting beds to exclude:
- Leafhoppers
- Squash bugs
- Silverleaf whiteflies
- Virus-transmitting green peach and melon aphid.
Alternatively, consider applying reflective mulch to repel melon aphids and whiteflies. Silver reflecting mulches have been found to be the most effective. In the desert remove when temperatures are excessive.
Clean equipment and tractors between fields to prevent the spread of some soilborne diseases and weed seeds.
After planting but before hand weeding or cultivation, survey and identify germinated weeds.
- Keep records, noting the presence of problematic weeds.
- Manage according to the Cucurbits Pest Management Guidelines
- If herbicides will be used, customize the susceptibility to herbicide table for the weed complex in your field.
If root knot nematodes (M. incognita, M. javanica, M. arenaria) are a problem, and the soil was not fumigated before planting, treat according to the Cucurbits Pest Management Guidelines.