UAEX Fruit and Vegetable Production

🌿 Join us for our next High Tunnel Meetup! 🌿

Interested in high tunnel production or looking for new ideas to improve your operation? Join us Tuesday, August 25, from 5:00–7:00 p.m. at BWG Herbal Tea Farm in Casscoe, Arkansas for an evening of learning.

During this free meetup, you'll:
🌱 Tour the farm and high tunnel
👩‍🌾 Meet an experienced high tunnel grower and hear about her production practices
☀️ Get an up-close look at her solar-powered irrigation system

This event is free and open to anyone interested in high tunnel production. While there is no cost to attend, we would appreciate it if you would register in advance so we can plan for the expected number of participants.

📅 August 25 | 5:00–7:00 p.m.
📍 BWG Herbal Tea Farm – Casscoe, AR

👉 Register here: forms.cloud.microsoft/r/Q8a4K5stR3

We hope to see you there!

When it comes to managing Melonworm, the best treatment is being proactive 🐛🎃

You can learn more in this video about IPM strategies from Dr. Aaron Cato here: https://youtu.be/wm2U5kDSG2I?si=0E4WA1GwEl7_-O4w

Or read our blog from 2025 regarding management strategies: https://www.uaex.uada.edu/farm-ranch/crops-commercial-horticulture/horticulture/ar-fruit-veg-nut-update-blog/posts/melonworm2025.aspx

Do you have any okra planted? How do your varieties compare to these? 🧐

Okra demonstration harvest update from cooperator Donnia Cox. Direct seeded plantings, especially the Jambalaya 2.0, are showing out, while the transplants are lagging slightly. Field position may be creating some of the yield differences due to proximity of sprinklers, but it’s interesting to see! UAEX Fruit and Vegetable Production

Great update! Be sure to read our previous post to learn more about these trapping systems.

🦋🌱 What’s Growing…and Flying…at the White County Extension Office?

If you’ve driven by the White County Extension Office recently, you may have noticed these unusual mesh traps standing around our demonstration gardens. Don’t worry—they’re supposed to be there!

Each week, we monitor insect populations by trapping tomato fruitworm moths and cabbage looper moths. These pests can cause significant damage to tomatoes, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and other garden vegetables.

By checking these traps regularly, we can:
🔍 Monitor when moth populations begin to increase.
🌱 Provide timely management recommendations for home gardeners and commercial growers.
📊 Track pest activity throughout the growing season right here in White County.

These traps are an important part of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s integrated pest management (IPM) program. Monitoring pest populations allows us to recommend controls only when they’re needed, helping gardeners protect their crops while avoiding unnecessary pesticide applications.

If you’re growing a fall vegetable garden this year, now is a great time to keep an eye out for caterpillar pests. Catching them early can make all the difference!

Have questions about insects in your garden? Contact the White County Cooperative Extension Service—we’re here to help with research-based recommendations.

You may have seen this device either mentioned by us or shared by our test plot cooperators, but do you know what it is? 🦋

This is a Hartstack Trap. Developed in 1979, this is a common device used as a trapping system to give an early indication of pest pressure in the area. Tools like this trap are an integral part of insect monitoring as a component of integrated pest management.

To learn more about these traps and how they are used, you can watch our YouTube video or read the accompanying factsheet.

📽️: https://youtu.be/zO6qfFAxUoA?si=3df-3dygbN6cYg11
📄:https://uaex.uada.edu/publications/pdf/FSA7090.pdf

🎃Did you plant pumpkins this year, but are unsure how to manage pests? 🐛

Read the latest blog post from our Hort IPM Specialist, Dr. Aaron Cato. Here, Dr. Cato walks you through common diseases, insects, and different control tactics.

https://www.uaex.uada.edu/farm-ranch/crops-commercial-horticulture/horticulture/ar-fruit-veg-nut-update-blog/posts/2026_pumpkin_pests.aspx

Our IPM specialists have a new update regarding broad mites in blackberries. Visit their Pest Monitoring page to learn more: https://www.uaex.uada.edu/farm-ranch/crops-commercial-horticulture/horticulture/vegetable-insect-pests-monitoring-in-ar.aspx?fbclid=IwVERDUATXDdFwZG9mAWZkaWQWULeaboKS6kqqxWEu3QIYv6RpB2L2qWV4dG4DYWVtAjEwAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkCjY2Mjg1NjgzNzkAAR4zpNOyFJTGM4ZmpPpPXU2oQZ4ou4_ql8LVebH9FY016pGsVz5nFPoIBd8HjQ_aem_pEDX_lLHkhO6JTL4n6zDJw

For our strawberry growers who utilize cover crops, make sure mowing and tilling your cover crop is on your to do list ✅

To ensure your cover crop will be adequately broken down, you need to mow and till AT LEAST 14 days before you plan to lay plastic 🌾Since there is very little rain in the extended forecast, irrigating your soil after incorporation will help the cover crop break down.

A potential timeline could look like:
🌾Soil preparation: August 5th - 10th
🚜Incorporate fertilizers: August 10th - 15th
⬛Lay plastic: August 15th - 20th
🌱Target plant date: September 20th

For more information, visit our Sustainable Strawberry Production webpage, included on our Linktree.

Join Renee Threlfall, UADA's associate professor of enology and viticulture for Sip & Swirl: Wine Sensory 101 on July 27 from 6:30-8:30 PM. You'll learn how to judge a wine by its appearance, aroma and taste, no expertise required!

Doors open at 6:30 PM at Rusty Tractor Vineyards in Little Rock, with the session running from 7-8 PM and a mix-and-mingle Q&A to follow. Tickets are $35 and include a Rusty Tractor wine, light appetizers, and a taste of an Arkansas-grown wine made from the Division of Agriculture-bred Enchantment grapes.

🎟️ Grab your ticket today: https://centralarkansas.ticketsauce.com/e/sip-and-swirl-wine-sensory-101-basics-of-wine-ta-2/tickets