Cooperators: Narceo Bajet, USDA-ARS, Wapato Lauri Guerra, WSDA, Prosser Hui Hou, WSU, Prosser Fran Pierce, Director, CPAS, WSU-Prosser Tom Unruh, USDA-ARS, Wapato Various growers Budget History: Item Year 1: $26,616 Year 2: $31,655 Year 3: $36,973 Salaries 14,084 14,648 17,946 Benefits 4,084 5,292 7,282 Wages 1,960 4,000 0 Benefits 313 640 0 Equipment 0 0 0 Supplies 6,106 6,800 11,200 Travel to...

Standard practice for grape disease management in Marlborough 10 years ago was to spray for diseases using calendar based spray programmes. Communication of grape disease management research has led to a change of practice for many grape growers. The key tool developed by the research programme was targeted spraying for diseases. This involved field monitoring for diseases and the use of decisi...

We used the California Pesticide Use Reports to study use of fungicides, bactericides, fumigants, and selected insecticides, primarily for vegetable, fruit, and nut production in California from 1993 to 2000. There were no obvious trends in decreased use of most compounds used to treat plant disease. However, growers have rapidly adopted recently introduced "conventional" compounds. There is ve...

Recent issues of ARE Update featured articles evaluating the failures of two California marketing cooperatives, Tri Valley Growers (TVG) and Rice Growers Association (RGA). Along with Blue Anchor’s dissolution and Calavo’s conversion, these combined events have created doubts about the future of cooperatives in California agriculture. Restructured forms of cooperatives are emerging. For example...

Introduction Organic farming systems are challenged by many of the same crop protection issues as conventional farming systems. Approaches to crop protection in organic agriculture differ widely among growers globally and regionally. At one end of the spectrum, organic growers use substitution-based approaches in large-scale operations to capture premium prices in a niche market. At the other e...

More than 36000 individuals living in rural Malawi were skin tested with antigens derived from 12 different species of environmental mycobacteria. Most were simultaneously tested with RT23 tuberculin, and all were followed up for both tuberculosis and leprosy incidence. Skin test results indicated widespread sensitivity to the environmental antigens, in particular to Mycobacterium scrofulaceum,...

Plastic reflective mulches significantly reduced populations of corn leafhopper, Dalbulus maidis (DeLong & Wolcott), adults and the incidence of corn stunt disease caused by Spiroplasma kunkelii (CSS) in late planted sweet corn (Zea mays L.). The reflective mulches were more effective than were either foliar or soil applied insecticides in managing both the leafhopper and the pathogen it transm...

Avocado thrips arrived in California in 1996. Since then, we have made substantial progress in our understanding of this pest. We now know the area of origin of the avocado thrips and have compiled an inventory of other potential pest thrips species on avocados in Mexico and Central America. Trials have helped us to identify several selective insecticides for use in treating avocado thrips in o...

I. Problem To maintain a competitive edge, the Ozark Table Grape Growers Association, Inc. (OTGGAI) is attempting to develop a strong alternative value added product in a new juice blend. This is necessary to utilize the less desirable grapes which fail to meet the fresh inspection/shipping standards. The Association has completed only its third year of operation and is composed of approximatel...