Spinach Production in West Central Michigan Michigan State University Extension Veggie School Thursday, February 26, 2004 Jim Breinling,Michigan State University Extension
Mar 27, 2015
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