Download - Spinach Production in West Central Michigan
Spinach Production in West Central Michigan
Michigan State University Extension
Veggie School
Thursday, February 26, 2004
Jim Breinling,Michigan State University Extension
Brief Background
• Interest in processed frozen spinach
• Spring of 2003 - 4 growers planted
• Summer of 2003 - 4 plantings in Mason/Oceana counties - approx. 80 acres
• Decision - not to harvest - over winter
• Potential for expansion 2004-2006
Planting of Spinach in Mason County, Oct. 13, 2003
About the same time last Sept.- Oct.
• Found on a web site
National Spinach Conference
November 20 & 21 2003
Fayetteville, Arkansas• Vegetable AoE - Growing the Michigan Vegetable
Industry• $2,000 grant - myself and three other growers
attended
1st Day of Meetings at Washington County Extension Office
What did we learn?• Spinach is good for you
- Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Iron
- Antioxidant activity
- Folic Acid & disease-prevention properties
- Age-related Macular Degeneration
- Bottom-line - eat more spinach! Why? For all the above reasons…. it’s good for you!
Herbicides Issues
Nilda Burgos - Department of Crop, Soil, and Environmental Sciences at University of Arkansas
• Need for additional herbicides critical• 3 registered in Arkansas
- cycloate (Ro-Neet), sethoxydim (Poast), and phenmedipham (Spin-aid)
- metolachlor (Dual) preemergence; Sec. 18, many years
- Exploring herbicide resistance by whole plant selection
Herbicides Issues (con.)
- started fall of 2001 - 4 cultivars
- .5 and 1.0x rates of glyphoste (Roundup) and glufosenate (Liberty) - a few plants survived
- 2003 study spinach tolerance to imazamox (Raptor)
- Raptor labeled cowpea - rotation with spinach
- rates highly injurious when applied preemergence
- lower rates need to be tested
- Spinach cultivars show differential tolerance to foliar application of Raptor
Potential Herbicides - Spinach Texas the Oklahoma
Russell Wallace - CES, Texas A&M • Bixby, Oklahoma 2002-2003• 3 highest yielding preemergence treatments
- Lorox (0.10 lb. a.i/A)
- Ro-Neet (3.0 lb. a.i) & Lorox (0.05 lb. a.i)
- Define (0.15 lb. a.i) & Lorox (0.05 lb. a.i) • Crystal City, Texas
- Ro-Neet, Dual Magnum and Outlook alone had least crop injury
- Best combination included:
Ro-Neet (3.0 or 4.0 lb. a.i) and Outlook (0.25 lb. a.i)
Ro-Neet (3.0 or 4.0 lb. a.i) and Lorox (0.05 or 0.10 lb. a.i)
Outlook (0.25 lb. a.i) and Lorox (0.05 or o.10 lb. a.i)• Results look promising , need more investigation regarding rates and and
combinations
Other topics
• Update on Downy Mildew of Spinach
• Biology and Management Spinach White Rust
• Verticillium Wilt of Spinach
• Foliar Fungicide Alternatives in Spinach
• Screening and Breeding for Resistance to Leafminer in spinach
• Current and Future Insect Management in Spinach and Greens
• Spinach Breeding in the Mid South
Spinach Insect Pests and Controls
• Paul McLeod, Department of Entomology at U. of A.
• Aphids - Green Peach Aphid
- Scout 2 - 3 weeks prior to harvest
- 20 plants - threshold average 5/plant
- Control - imidacloprid
• Grasshoppers
- Spinach spring and fall “green islands”
- Pyrethroid insecticides
- Other controls; location of field, “bug knockers”
What we saw - Fri. Nov. 21, 2003
Trip to University of Arkansas - Vegetable Substation - Kibler, Arkansas
• Spinach Variety Trail - Focus White Rust Resistance
- 39 selections - 5 Tiers
- Flat Leaf F-380, XP-17047
- Semi Savoy - Padre
- Full Savoy - Ozarka II
Spinach variety trial, U. of A. Kibler Substation
Du-All; seed bed preparation; U. of A.
White Rust on spinach - underside of leaf
White Rust on spinach - top of leaf
St. Helens, spinach variety trial, Nov. 21, 2003 8 weeks after planting
Greens harvest at Newton Farms; Kibler, AR
Returned to U. of A. Vegetable Substation
Dual damage on spinach leaf
Raptor resistance plots
Visit to Gist Farms Spiro, Oklahoma
Sat. Nov. 22, 2003
• 7,000 acres - Sharecropping
• 800 acres Spinach and Greens, also grow acreage of Snap Beans
• Harvesting of Greens and Spinach
• Overwinter plantings of spinach
Growers pose during inspection of spinach planter
Close up - one of three planter units
Three ten row beds - note, roller in front
Over winter spinach, Gist Farms, Nov. 22, 2003
Roller used to level spinach beds
So after all that, what did we really learn...
• Need 15-18 # of sulfur /A in the form of ammonium sulfate - reduce need of nitrogen
• Plant on heavier soil types - ph level important 5.8-6.2 min.
• Can increase plant population / acre - more rows to drilling
• Proper seedbed preparation - 4 times w/ Du-all in Oklahoma
• shallow seeding - use of “pop up fertilizer”
So after all that, what did we really learn….. (con.)
• Roll after planting, roll overwinter plantings in spring to level
• Spintor for control of leafminer 2 days prior to harvest
• Use 2-3 varieties - flat leaf types grow faster than some savoy and full savoy
• yield goal - 7 to 8 ton/acre
• Stomp spinach, pack tight 40,000 lb.+ per load
- 70° and lower, Oklahoma up to 3 days
- cut early mornings or evenings
- if over 80° - problems