These rates are often difficult for farm-market vegetable growers with fields less than 1 acre. Vegetable growers must also correct these rates when using plasticulture and applying materials through drip irrigation since the effective treated area is reduced to that of a mulched acre . Compounding these problems are very low application rates that often require measuring volumes of less than one fluid ounce. The purpose of this report is to provide advice about timing and calculating and measuring small amounts of Admire and Provado for cucurbit crops occupying less than 1 acre. Timing The striped cucumber beetle overwinters as an adult both inside and outside of cucurbit fields.
Adults invade fields soon after transplanting, and lay eggs at the base of plants.
The hatching larvae feed on the roots of vine crops, pupate, and then emerge as new adults in about 25-30 days. There are at least 2, and probably more, generations per year in Pennsylvania. That early immigration can be the most serious. We recommend this because the plants at this stage can be decimated by the high cucumber beetle populations during this growth stage, and the roots of these young plants may not be established enough to take up material applied through the irrigation system. We have obtained about 10 days to 2 weeks of control using very low rates applied to the transplants.