By ANN ALLEN
Indiana Correspondent

ROCHESTER, Ind. — Thanks to an increased interest in vegetable growing throughout Indiana, a panel of Purdue University experts will gather Nov. 24 at the Fulton county Fairgrounds, 1009 West Third Street in Rochester, to discuss proper ways to grow plants and manage pests in commercial vegetables.

“This gives growers a central location in which they can meet with their peers to talk about issues and trends,” said Mark Kepler, the Purdue Cooperative Extension educator who will host the meeting, set to begin at 1 p.m. “We’re seeing a lot of farmers taking very creative approaches to meet the public’s demand for quality products,” he said. “We think this session will benefit all growers.
“We’ve had positive feedback from growers who have attended previous meetings, but there are still many who haven’t sat in on any professional meetings.”

On hand will be Westville-based Liz Maynard to discuss growing melons, Rick Foster, coordinator of Purdue’s extension entomology program to describe different types of insects, and Vincennes-based Dan Egel, whose talk will center on proper ways to manage fungicide resistance.

Egel, a Purdue extension plant pathologist, said, “Fungicides can cause diseases in vegetables that worsen over time as the fungi mutate and do not respond to a certain fungicide application.”
He will stress the importance of changing fungicides if a particular one no longer is effective. “A mode of action code must be on all fungicides,” he said. “This allows the user to know the producer’s chemical makeup and to determine if it will work with another fungicide to eliminate a particular disease.”

Cost for the session is $20, with an additional $10 for those interested in receiving credit towards recertification of a private pesticide applicator license. Registration is due by Nov. 19.
For more information, contact Mark Kepler at 574-223-3397 or via e-mail at mkepler@purdue.edu