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June 2005
Sustainable Agriculture Grants Available to Farmers reports Pennsylvania
Vegetable Growers News (June '05). "The Northeast
Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program
(SARE) has recently released updated application materials
for its Farmer/Grower grant program. These grants support
Northeast farmers who want to explore innovative sustainable
practices on their farms. . . . To apply, you must be a
full- or part-time commercial farmer in Connecticut , Delaware
, Maine , Massachusetts , Maryland , New Hampshire , New
Jersey , New York , Pennsylvania , Rhode Island , Wet Virginia,
Vermont , or Washington , D.C. " Deadline for application
is December 6, 2005 . Applications can be downloaded at
the Northeast SARE site: http://www.uvm.edu/~nesare/FGinfo.html .
Horticulture in the USA ( New Ag International ,
June '05). "More organic farming, less distributors, more
internet transactions, less government incentives, more restrictions
on the use of water and of a number of chemicals, less acreage
of certain crops because of competition from Mexico or China,
etc. Those are just a few examples of a big and changing
horticulture market in the USA . Such changes have direct
consequences on the supply and distribution chain across
the country." These were some of the trends discussed by
Rodd Moesel, President of American Plant Products & Service,
Inc., in his concluding presentation at the New Ag International
Conference in Antalya , Turkey . Read the complete article
at http://www.newaginternational.com/current/regionalreport200506.pdf .
Penn State opens
Latino agriculture center ( Penn State News ).
Responding to the growth of the Hispanic population in
the United States and its growing involvement in agriculture,
Penn State 's College of Agricultural Sciences has established
a Latino Agricultural Resource Center . . . . The center
will coordinate several key activities, including: development
of Spanish language instruction and materials; translation
of educational materials; and design of educational programs
for Penn State Cooperative Extension county-based educators
and their clientele. "The Hispanic workforce has become
vital for the survival of some agricultural sectors, and
managers need to be able to bridge language and cultural
barriers to maintain employee morale and productivity," explains
Daney Jackson, director of Penn State Cooperative Extension.
Read the complete article at http://aginfo.psu.edu/News/february05/latino.html .
West Nile Virus Expected to Pose Strong Threat this
Year reports Lawn&Landscape Online. " This
year, health officials are citing an increase in the more
harmful aspects of the disease and are urging vigilance
in keeping it at bay. . . . With no vaccine, CDC and other
health professionals note that the best protection against
WNV is to avoid mosquitos as much as possible. . . . Apply
insect repellent containing DEET (N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide)
to exposed skin when you go outdoors. Even a short time
being outdoors can be long enough to get a mosquito bite.
Mosquitoes that carry the West Nile Virus are most likely
to bite around dusk and dawn, so wearing repellant during
these times of day is especially important, though the
safest decision is to apply repellant whenever you are
outdoors." Read the complete article at http://www.lawnandlandscape.com/News/news.asp?Id=3418
Temperature and Moisture
Critical for Successful Season recommends Jeff Mizer, extension educator for Penn State
Cooperative Extension, in Vegetable and Small Fruit Gazette (June
'05). " Whenever you see a sick plant, do you usually start
to think about the possible pest or nutrient problems? Often,
the problem is associated with moisture or temperature inconsistencies.
During this past cool spring, for instance, many greenhouse
and high tunnel problems were caused by plants being chilled." Mizer
goes on to discuss moisture, "In late winter and early spring,
growers are tempted to withhold water from their plants.
In the late winter, the purpose is to reduce damping off,
root rot, and fungus gnat problems. In the spring, the purpose
is to delay maturity and prevent botrytis. Regardless, growers
end up with desiccation which is often confused with pest
or nutrient problems." Read the complete article at http://hortweb.cas.psu.edu/extension/vegcrops/vegetable_gazette/2005/
june2005.htm#temperature
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Critical Periods for Irrigation of Vegetables, Small
Fruits and Tree Fruits are identified by Bill
Lamont, Penn State Department of Horticulture, in Vegetable
and Small Fruit Gazette (June '05). "Proper irrigation
is important throughout the entire cropping cycle but there
are certain periods during the growth of a crop that it
is critical to ensure that the crop is supplied with sufficient
water for optimum growth and development. If water is not
supplied in adequate amounts during this period there can
be dramatic reductions in yield and/or quality of the crop." For
strawberries, Lamont identifies the critical times as:
at planting, during runner formation, during flower bud
formation before harvest begins and at renovation. Read
the complete article at http://hortweb.cas.psu.edu/extension/vegcrops/vegetable_gazette/2005/
june2005.htm#irrigation
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