Grower designs database for insect control
On a grower tour during the recent SAF Pest Management Conference, Clackamas Greenhouses production manager Jon Venzke demonstrated the Bug City database he developed for insect control and monitoring. After inputting data for greenhouse ranges, crops and chemicals, users can add data on sticky trap counts, chemical applications and scouting notes. The program allows growers to compare which controls have been applied and the results based on trapped populations. Pest counts for insects can be recorded at any time. The notes section can include photos to help diagnose pest and cultural problems.

Calibrachoa taking hit from insect, disease
Calibrachoa is coming under attack from tobacco aphid, Myzus nicotianae, Cornell Univ. entomologist Dan Gilrein said at SAF Pest Management Conference. Some growers reported the tobacco aphid is more difficult to control than other aphids. In preliminary studies by Gilrein, 2 spray applications of Aria, Marathon and Scimitar were effective against tobacco aphid. Orthene, which is not labeled for this crop, was effective with just 1 treatment. Calibrachoa is also susceptible to tobacco mosaic virus. Fischer USA recently asked growers to discard cuttings of Callie Orange calibrachoa from its propagation facility in Ethiopia. Stock plants there were infected with tobacco mosaic virus. Callie Orange cuttings from its Portugal and China facilities were determined to be virus free.

BFG Supply acquires Kalamazoo co-op supply division
BFG Supply, headquartered in Burton, Ohio, acquired the hort. supply division of Kalamazoo Valley Plant Growers Co-op in Kalamazoo, Mich. Only the supply division is involved in the transaction; the co-op's main business of growing and marketing plants will continue as usual. Co-op staff members Lori DeWitt and Matt Grieser will become employees of BFG, which will continue to operate out of its Portage, Mich., facility until June, when it will relocate to the Kalamazoo facility it acquired from the co-op. The Kalamazoo location will become BFG's Central Region supply hub.

Woman follows passion toward agriculture
Everyone involved in ag. should read Nancy Brill's "My Turn" article in the March 5 issue of Newsweek. Brill discusses why she pursued a career in ag. Even though she was encouraged by her family to forsake farming for "a job where I would work with my head and not my hands," Brill followed her passion. Brill, who conducts plant pathology research on vegetables at Rutgers Univ., feels a kinship to farmers worldwide who are growing crops to feed people. Brill is well aware that she'll never get rich from ag., but that's far from her goal of striving "to improve agricultural practices for farmers and the natural world."

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