Vegetable Growers News

How do you replace methyl bromide?

Methyl bromide has worked wonders for Florida strawberry growers over the years, eliminating a broad spectrum of pests in a fairly straightforward manner. Stricter environmental controls and an international agreement have slowly phased out use of the fumigant, however, forcing growers to find alternatives. That's easier said than done, but Joe Noling, a professor and nematology specialist with the University of Florida, is working with the Florida Strawberry Growers Association (FSGA) to find a way. Noling, who's been at it for more than a decade, said the primary goal of his research is to "transition Florida strawberry growers to alternatives by developing guidelines and recommendations for their use (that) minimize performance inconsistency, production losses and grower uncertainty." In February, Noling showed members of the North American Strawberry Growers Association a 3-acre research plot near Plant City, Fla., where methyl bromide-alternative research is being conducted. The…  » Read more

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Hiring farm workers more complicated than ever

To Craig Regelbrugge, conditions for U.S. agricultural employers are about as bad as they've ever been. An estimated three-fourths of ag workers in the country today are not authorized to be here, said the co-chairman of the Agriculture Coalition for Immigration Reform (ACIR) - and lawmakers and regulatory agencies are practically tripping over each other in an attempt to get rid of illegal workers and/or punish the people who employ them. But according to Regelbrugge and others, ag employers - including vegetable growers - don't have many options. Most U.S. citizens don't want to do farm work, forcing many farmers either to hire workers they suspect might be illegal (even if their paperwork checks out) or to use the "safety net" of the H-2A program - even though that safety net is so small and tattered it can barely catch anything. So, how did things…  » Read more

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Researcher receives grant to study late blight

Howard Judelson, a professor of plant pathology at the University of California-Riverside (UCR), has received a $9 million, five-year grant from USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) to research late blight and ensure a sustainable and long-term control of this devastating disease. Late blight, caused by a fungus-like microbe, is a plant disease that mainly attacks potatoes and tomatoes. Given that world potato production is about 320 million tons per year (20 million tons per year in the United States) and world tomato production is about 120 million tons per year (13 million tons per year in the United States), late blight is a major problem. With total costs of the disease estimated at more than $7 billion per year, it can drive farmers out of business and increase food prices. In the United States, late blight is seen predominantly on potatoes in…  » Read more

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Texas safety site caters to nation’s food producers

The annual watermelon harvest that began in late April was the start of Texas fruit and vegetable yields, from the tropical southern regions to the fertile northwest plains. While fresh produce pours into the market bins, experts are stirring some new safety information into the mix via a new website touting "Safe from our farm to your table," and aimed at those who produce the nation's food supply. "Using good practices to produce food from planting to harvest - and in handling and processing - is more and more important," said Juan Anciso, Texas AgriLife Extension Service horticulturist. "There was not a lot of information available to the producers per se. We were spurred on by that, but we didn't want it to be a producers-only site." Anciso and colleague Joe Masabni launched the site, agrilifefoodsafety.tamu.edu, as a "one-stop shop" where farmers or anyone interested…  » Read more

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American ag needs a sustainable workforce

I have been following several online discussions about agriculture, food production and other issues recently. One of the most used words I see is "sustainability." The interesting thing about this term is that it seems to have a different meaning depending on which group is using it. In fact, everyone seems to be able to use it to satisfy their own definition. These drawn out and passionate discussions on sustainability in our industry are often interesting, can be intellectually stimulating - but all too often miss the most important points. We are part of a world whose population continues to grow rapidly, with the fastest growth in places where a growing percentage of people do not have enough to eat. This results in civil unrest and/or migration to places where there is the opportunity to earn one's daily bread, literally. Throughout human history, people have…  » Read more

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National leafy greens agreement moves forward

A proposed National Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement (NLGMA) has advanced another step. In April, USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) announced it was seeking public comment on the creation of a voluntary marketing agreement for the leafy greens industry. The proposed agreement has caused some controversy within the industry. Shortly after USDA made its announcement, the Produce Marketing Association released a statement in support. "PMA believes the structure set forth by the voluntary marketing agreement will help the industry's leafy green producers continue to reduce the risk of foodborne illness. The produce industry has already seen the success of the California and Arizona leafy greens marketing agreements," according to PMA's statement. The Ohio Produce Growers & Marketers Association (OPGMA), however, has been opposed to NLGMA since it was first proposed. Even though the agreement is voluntary, if customers were to require Ohio growers to adhere to…  » Read more

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Nematode, soil health challenges can’t wait

My work with Michigan soils and nematodes started 21 years ago with a three-year sweet cherry tree decline project with plant pathologist Alan Jones and nematologist George Bird. We established that soil pH was the driving factor of the syndrome. Since 1994, my program's focus has been on understanding nematode/plant/soil/nutrient interactions at the organism and ecosystem levels. Despite the best of efforts, we have witnessed the challenges associated with managing plant-parasitic nematodes (PPN, or herbivores) in vegetable and other cropping systems nationwide. In this article, I will discuss the conceptual challenges to realizing the strategy of managing nematodes and soil health. Biological and scientific issues will be addressed in a second part in the future. PPN continue to be a problem because of: a) the multitude of FQPA and environmentally driven restrictions, b) their broad host range, rendering rotations ineffective, c) the lack of an…  » Read more

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