Yoder issues chrysanthemum white rust bulletin
Yoder Brothers released a chrysanthemum white rust bulletin in response to the increased number of CWR cases in the U.S. this year, particularly in the Northeast and California, on cut and garden mums. Caused by the fungus Puccinia horiana Henn., the disease is prevalent in Europe and South America, but it is not established in the U.S. If an outbreak of white rust is found at a U.S. production site, a quarantine is established and strict federal and state protocols are mandated. Although the number of U.S. growers impacted is small, the economic loss has been significant. To prevent an outbreak of the disease growers should: buy cuttings from a reputable commercial supplier; not handle imported mum cuttings in or near production facilities; maintain a low greenhouse humidity and keep foliage dry; monitor crops regularly; and schedule preventive fungicide applications.
Immigration reform failures will cost crops, farms
Congress' failure to ensure that there are enough migrant workers in the nation's labor force could eventually cost hundreds of millions of dollars in lost crops and hundreds of thousands of acres in lost farmland, analysts say. "Our country is reaping what Congress has sown," said Craig Regelbrugge, v.p. of ANLA and co-chairman of the Ag. Coalition for Immigration Reform. The federal government's failure to deal with immigration reform "constitutes nothing short of a national emergency," Regelbrugge said during an agribusiness conference at Cornell Univ. last month. Nationwide, there are about 1.6 million full-time farm workers, Regelbrugge said. About 80% of those workers are foreign born -- and nearly 7 out of 10 are working illegally, he said. Despite repeated attempts, Congress and the Bush administration have been unable to come up with a long-term strategy on immigration reform and the current temporary worker program is "hobbled by bureaucracy, excessive and burdensome paperwork and restrictive wages," Regelbrugge said.
N.J. seeks chemical assist in gypsy moth battle
N.J. Farm Bureau is encouraging the state Dept. of Environmental Protection to allow the use of the pesticide Dimilin, a synthetic growth regulator, to control the state's intense gypsy moth infestation. The state is planning its control program for early spring. N.J. Dept. of Ag. estimates that 320,000 acres of forests in the state were defoliated by gypsy moth caterpillars in 2007. Only 62,500 acres of forest were sprayed by NJDA in 2006, and the biological insecticide Bacillus thuringiensis has proven ineffective.
Florida citrus quarantine called 'retaliation'
The California citrus industry filed a lawsuit after Florida officials began quarantining truckloads of oranges. The quarantine was put in place to guard against Septoria citrii, a common fungus found on citrus in California that farmers say is so insignificant they had nearly forgotten about it. California growers are convinced the quarantine is retaliation for federal rules banning Florida orange exports to California, Texas and other citrus-growing states to prevent the spread of the more infectious citrus canker disease, USA Today reported. Florida officials say that's not so. S. citrii first appears as small, pitted lesions and ultimately can cause premature fruit drop. Under the quarantine, every container of California citrus must be inspected for fungus spots, treated with a fungicide and stamped with a certificate authorized by the state.
CENTS educational sessions target Hispanic workers
Several educational sessions will be conducted in Spanish during the 79th Ohio State Univ. Extension Nursery Short Course, held in conjunction with Central Environmental Nursery Trade Show (CENTS), Jan. 21-23. The nursery short course will offer more than 120 educational sessions for nursery, landscape, garden center, tree-care and turf professionals. Some of the Spanish-language topics: "Teaching basic English to Hispanic workers," "Identification and control of plant diseases" and "Identification of life cycles of ornamental plant insects."
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Worth a visit
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Register now! Visit www.midam.org for details. Mid-Am, the Midwest's premier trade show, features hundreds of exhibits, 130+ hours of education, plus much more!
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