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Agri-Bytes
November 2009
In This Edition:
- Spotted wing fruit fly expands range in Western fruit crops
- ‘Fruit-bots’ look to invade an orchard near you in the future
- A $2.8 million USDA grant helps sweeten sweet potato research
- Don’t delay! Nominate someone for a ‘Potato Man’ award today
Spotted wing fruit fly expands range in Western fruit crops
By Vicky Boyd, Editor
In the matter of a few months, a one-state battle over a new fruit fly has turned into a multi-state, multi-agency effort to fight the pest, which damages ripening fruit.
And the battle has just begun, researchers say.
The spotted wing drosophila has been found in California, Oregon, Washington, Florida and Canada. Unlike most other fruit flies that lay their eggs and feed on rotting fruit, this one prefers fruit just beginning to soften and ripen.
As a result, it’s caused thousands of dollars of damage to strawberries, caneberries and cherries. In addition, it has been found in pears, peaches, plums, winegrapes and table grapes.
Photo by Vaughn Walton
The pest is native to Japan, which leads researchers to believe it should be able to overwinter in many areas where it’s been found in the United States, says Vaughn Walton, an Oregon State University assistant professor of horticultural entomology.
Just how well it can survive and at what time of year it becomes active will be the subject of laboratory experiments this winter.
The two-month study will look at fruit fly survival at five different temperatures: 1 degree Celsius, 3 degrees, 5 degrees, 7 degrees and 9 degrees. This translates roughly to a range of 34 to 48 degrees Fahrenheit.
In the middle of the trial, Walton says researchers will drop the temperature for the flies held at 1 C to minus 5 C, or 23 F, for one week. This will simulate typical winter cold snaps in eastern Oregon and eastern Washington state, Walton says.
“This will give us an idea which areas will be at high risk from these flies in the early season,” he says.
Other researchers will be screening insecticides this winter to come up with a short list of products that will be used in field trials next spring in California as well as Oregon.
As with other mobile pests, growers will need to take an area-wide approach to control the spotted wing drosophila, Walton says.
Education of homeowners also will be crucial, since the fly doesn’t differentiate between residential and commercial crops, he says.
The researchers, which are working together, have developed a five-year research plan.
“We’ve already said this is an established pest in California for two years. And now it’s here, so it seems this pest won’t be going away anytime soon,” Walton says.
They already have applied for funding from multiple sources, including the Specialty Crop Research Initiative through the U.S. Department of Agriculture. So far, several state commodity groups, including the Oregon Blueberry Commission and the Oregon Strawberry Commission, have said they’ll help underwrite the research, Walton says.
For more information, including identification keys, visit Oregon State University’s new spotted wing drosophila fruit fly Web site.
For information on control, including field sanitation and insecticides, visit University of California Cooperative Extension, Monterey County.
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‘Fruit-bots’ look to invade an orchard near you in the future
By Vicky Boyd, Editor
Auto-steering using satellite-guided global positioning technology is nothing new. What is new is an auto-steering technology that uses lasers to guide machinery through orchards.
A group of researchers that includes Washington State University has embarked on a four-year project to develop an Autonomous Prime Mover to help orchard producers.
Lasers would “see” trees and guide the machinery in between the trees or rows, says WSU Extension educator Gwen Hoheisel, who’s based in Wenatchee. The technology also could help growers reduce labor costs and increase worker efficiency.
Some have dubbed the machines “fruit-bots,” since they’re essentially robots for the fruit industry.
Currently, the laser technology is being used on platforms that are used to thin or prune trees or pick fruit in orchards.
But the technology can be developed to be portable, so it can be attached to several different pieces of farm machinery, she says.
Other areas of research the group is targeting include automated tree caliper measurement, automated pest traps and mechanical pruning for the juice-grape industry.
Using lasers has advantages over GPS in orchards because you don’t have to worry about trees or dense canopies blocking satellite signals, Hoheisel says.
In addition, laser technology can be less expensive than the highly accurate RTK GPS systems, Hoheisel says.
“So this has the potential to be rather inexpensive,” she says.
Hoheisel says GPS will always have a place in agriculture, and the researchers are not to looking to replace it, just complement it.
In addition to WSU, the research group includes Carnegie Mellon University, Penn State University, Purdue, Oregon State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service, Vision Robotics, IONco, Toro, Trimble and Sensible Machines.
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A $2.8 million USDA grant helps sweeten sweet potato research
By The Grower staff
A $2.8 million U.S. Department of Agriculture grant is sweetening research efforts into a tuberous crop at many southern universities.
The sweet potato has long been coveted in the South as a pie ingredient and a dish you candy at Thanksgiving.
More recently, consumers nationwide are taking notice of its high levels of beta-carotene and other plant-based phytonutrients, says Benny Graves, executive secretary of the Mississippi Sweet Potato Council.
As a result, researchers at Mississippi State University’s Pontotoc Ridge-Flatwoods Branch Experiment Station have expanded their research projects to include a model-based decision support system, post-harvest storage and end rot control, according to a news release.
The decision model development is part of a multi-state effort funded by the USDA grant. Also involved are Louisiana State University, North Carolina State University and University of California Extension specialists.
“The study is basically about how different practices and environmental conditions influence the yield and quality of the crop,” Ramon Arancibia, a professor at the experiment station in Pontotoc, said in the release. “We are going to analyze how certain factors and conditions contribute to or affect storage root initiation and growth of sweet potatoes.”
Part of the research will involve developing a computer model that will allow growers to input their growing conditions, pests and pesticide programs to predict the crop outcome. By playing “what ifs,” growers can make better crop-management decisions, according to the release.
The post-harvest research will focus on reducing disease and improving quality during storage.
“The after-harvest curing process is important because it can heal injuries the sweet potatoes get during harvesting, but there are certain conditions needed to make this a more effective process,” Arancibia said in the release. “The sweet potato is a tropical vegetable and needs warm conditions to thrive. Some of the harvest and post-harvest temperatures in Mississippi can be on the cold side, so we are looking at increasing temperatures in storage facilities to accelerate the healing process and reduce disease incidence.”
Don’t delay! Nominate someone for a ‘Potato Man’ award today
By The Grower staff
There’s still time left to nominate a potato industry leader for the Potato Man of the Year or the Potato Man for All Seasons award.
The awards are presented by The Grower and its sister publication, The Packer, in conjunction with the National Potato Council.
The Potato Man of the Year honors someone who has gone above and beyond the call of duty during 2009. Prior recipients include Al Wada, Chuck Gunnerson and Nick Somers.
They could be a fellow grower, an industry leader or a university or Extension researcher.
The Potato Man for All Seasons recognizes someone who has devoted his or her lifetime to bettering the potato industry. It is akin to a lifetime achievement award. Past recipients include Dave Smith, Roger Knutsen and Lynn Olsen.
To download a nomination form, click here. Simply fill it out and fax it to The Grower at (209) 571-0419.
The deadline is Dec. 1.
The award will be presented at the NPC’s annual banquet at the Loews Royal Pacific Resort at Universal Orlando in Orlando on Jan. 3.
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