ROCHESTER, Ind. — Two new bugs are crisscrossing the country – one from the east, the other from the west. Both are bad.

"Scout for them often," Dr. Rick Foster, Purdue University entomologist, cautioned 30-40 vegetable and fruit growers attending the Feb. 18 Commercial Vegetable Growers Workshop sponsored by Fulton County extension.

One of the pests – the brown marmorated stink bug – is described as "ugly as sin" and can riddle a crop of peppers, tomatoes, grapes, raspberries, apples, pears, soybeans or forage crops, but cannot bite or sting humans. Instead, it winters inside homes, threatening to oust ladybugs as uninvited guests.

So far, 27 Indiana counties have confirmed infestations of the bug that originated in Asia and is now stinking its way across the country from the east. "I wouldn’t be surprised if it is in all 92 counties," Foster said.

Larger than the native stink bug, it goes dormant all winter as soon as it finds a warm nook. "Current insecticides are adequate," he said. "But it’s better to get rid of the bug itself."

This can be accomplished with a shop-vac. If that fails, an insect control company can spray the house’s perimeter. To avoid more snowbird stink bugs, it’s important to remove window air conditioners because the smelly bugs can work their way through cracks to enter the house.

In the field, chemical control is not a viable solution, although most companies are working to perfect one.

Meanwhile, coming in from the west is the spotted wing drosophila (SWD), a vinegar fly of East Asian origin that can damage fruit crops, especially softer-fleshed fruit. Foster showed photos of a woman biting into a large raspberry that looked perfectly sound but, when opened, revealed SWD larvae.

The female SWD lays eggs in ripening fruit, especially raspberries, blackberries and some strawberries and blueberries, nectarines, cranberries, cherries and grapes. Tissues surrounding the egg-laying sites discolor and decay within a few days. Larvae hatch from the eggs, growing up to 1/8-inch as they burrow and feed inside the fruit.

When temperatures are in the 70s, 8-9 generations per year are possible. Because the fly is so tiny, it can’t move from state to state by itself; it is transported by unsuspecting humans.

Hints for controlling the SWD include placing traps at the perimeter of the plantings and harvesting daily. "Don’t toss bad fruit into a compost pile," Foster said.

"Most compost piles aren’t hot enough to kill the eggs and larvae."

Insects aren’t the only problems tomato growers face, Liz Maynard told the group. Maynard, a professor in Purdue’s Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, discussed physiological disorders involving genetics and environment: mineral nutrient supply, temperature, light, humidity, rain and soil moisture. These may trigger catfacing, or misshapen fruit and scars or holes at blossom end.

Large-fruited varieties are more prone to catfacing because of abnormal flower development and cool temperatures.

Tomatoes nor-mally have flowers with five petals. Growers can pinch off any flowers with more petals but will reduce their yield. USDA grade standards for a tomato 2.5 inches in diameter state it is not No. 1 if it has an area greater than a 1/2-inch circle even if the catface is smooth or if it has rough or deep scars, deep or wide channels.

Tomatoes with zippers, or linear scars from stem and down the side of the fruit or with a hole into the fruit lined with scar tissue, are all right if they’re smooth, the zippers have no depth and do not aggregate more than a 3/8-inch circle. Zippers are created by flower parts sticking to young fruit and cool temperatures at fruit set.

Other tomato problems include blossom end rot, yellow shoulder disorder, cracking and rain check. Each requires adequate water and balanced nutrients. Growers with questions can contact any Purdue extension educator or Maynard at her office near Valparaiso.

Many tomato growers are turning to high tunnels – like greenhouses without heat – and Daniel S. Egel noted problems they can encounter. While high tunnels reduce leaf moisture and disease, he said they also increase relative humidity. Tomatoes grown in the field face early blight, septoria leaf blight and bacterial spots and cankers, while those grown in high tunnels are susceptive to mold: leaf, gray and white.

Egel, a Purdue associate professor and extension plant pathologist based in Vincennes, recommends ventilating high tunnels at night, pruning plants to increase ventilation and avoiding crowding.

"My observation is that high tunnels with too many plants have poor ventilation, more disease and poor quality or smaller fruit," he said.