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Dallas Texas

First time grower,does anyone know any reference to a schedule of spraying and what basic products to use?I have read about Merit,Eagle,Bonide and many others and my small brain is swimming,noticed some ants and grub worms today,but would like to spray or apply,just some general recommendations for prevention would be appreciated.Thanks

7/15/2007 10:57:00 PM

Ctpumpkin@optonline.net

As far as I know, the only thing unique to Texas is the heat so your pests will appear earlier than for us here in the Northeast.

Here is one of several decent online pest forecast reports:

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/pp/cucurbit/

Start times depend on your desired harvest date & average last frost but....here's my best guess for pesticide inputs.

If you want to start in the ground April 15th -

April 1 - Imidacloprid (Merit, Admire, etc) drench.
April 15 - Plants out
May 15 - Contact fungicide such as Chlorothalonil or Mancozeb
May 22 - Contact insecticide such as Talstar or Scimitar
June 1 - Eagle 20EW systemic fungicide for Powdery Mildew (check that forecast!)
June 10 - repeat fungicide
June 15 - Repeat Imidacloprid drench
Keep making fungicide treatments at 10 day intervals using a product appropriate for the local forecast. Keep scouting for anything & everything.

Your best bet would be to consult the nearest Ag-School's extension service for accurate dates & pest lists. I'm really just guessing based on local experience. Your real world pest pressure is probably much different than ours.

7/16/2007 1:30:36 AM

Dallas Texas

Thanks for your reply,I will check with the Co.Ext office today.

7/16/2007 11:01:40 AM