VEGETABLE
Production & Marketing
NEWS
January 2001
Volume 11, Number 1

Edited by
Frank J. Dainello, Ph.D.
Professor and Extension Horticulturist - Vegetables
Texas Agricultural Extension Service
The Texas A&M University System
College Station, Texas 77843
(979) 845-5341

Appearing within . . .

Announcements

Central Texas Vegetable Conference
January 18, 2001 - 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Deleon, Texas Community Center
For information, contact Bob Whitney, CEA-Ag
Comanche County, (915) 356-2539.

East Texas Fruit and Vegetable Conference
February 20, 2001
Rose Garden Center, Tyler, Texas
Contact Brian Triplett (903) 535-0885 for more information.

East Texas Conference Promises Variety for Both Fruit and Vegetable Producers

ocal fruit and vegetable producers will have the chance to learn about everything from the profit potential of baby vegetables to ensuring a dependable supply of harvest workers at the upcoming East Texas Fruit and Vegetable Conference, set for February 20, 2001 at the Rose Garden Center, Tyler, Texas.

First up on the program will be Dr. Al Wagner, Extension Program Leader for Horticulture, TAEX-College Station. Wagner's topic is title "Minimizing Microbial Risk from Fresh Fruits and Vegetables."

Wagner will be followed by Dr. George Philley, Extension plant pathologist, and Dr. James Robinson, Extension entomologist, who will talk about the new generation of pest-control products. "The 1995 Food Protection Act has put pressure on companies to produce new pesticides that are less persistent in the environment," said Dr. Robinson. Among the new pesticides are hormones which interrupt or interfere with the development of the insect while in the larval stage. Confirm and Mimic are two examples. Another class of new pesticides work by bacterial action. Spinosad, as an example, is a product that targets the insect's nervous system, while being practically non-toxic to birds and mammals.

Fruit and vegetable producers face unique labor issues, particularly during harvest season. Jack Pfister, of the Alien Labor Division of the Texas Workforce Commission, Austin, will tell producers how they can utilize a new law to ensure they have a consistent supply of workers. Under a recently-enacted bill, when they can show there is a low supply of indigenous labor, the government will act as an intermediary to supply alien workers with temporary visas and transportation to the worksite. Though there is some paper work involved, and mandatory standards for worker housing and care, most producers who have had experience with the program say it is well worth the trouble. "They get a reliable workforce supply, one that can't be hired away during harvest season," Pfister said.

After lunch, there will be concurrent break-out sessions, one for fruit growers, the other for vegetable producers.

In the fruit session, Dr. Philley will bring growers up to date on the plum pox virus situation. Dr. Jim Kamas, Extension horticulturist based at Fredericksburg, will discuss the growth regulator Dormex, and managing fruit vigor under varying climatic conditions.

In the vegetable break-out session, Dr. Blair Buckley, a professor of horticulture from Louisiana State University, will talk about growing and harvesting southern peas. Marty Baker, Extension horticulturist, TAMU-Overton, will talk about the most recent developments in tomato production.

Baker will be followed by Dr. Frank Dainello, Extension horticulturist, TAMU-College Station, who will talk about the potential for growing and marketing niche vegetables in East Texas. Though many niche-market vegetables are of the baby variety -- baby corn, baby carrots, baby spinach, baby tomatoes -- "the business isn't for babies," Dainello said. "It's not for the faint of heart, but there are profits to be made for some producers, and East Texas operations are well suited to production of limited amounts of niche crops," Dainello said. Dainello will several niche crops, and talk about the difficulties and opportunities involved in their production.

Registration will start at 8:00 a.m., with the program starting at 9:00 a.m. The $10 registration fee includes the noon meal.

Continuing Education Units will be offered, with the number earned varying slightly, depending on whether producers attend the vegetable or fruit producer break-out sessions. Vegetable break-out session attendees will receive 1.75 CEUs, and fruit attendees will earn 2.25 CEUs.

Vendor spaces are available for $75 inside the building. Contact Brian Triplett (903) 535-0885 for more information.

Keys to Success for Germination of Triploid Watermelon Seeds

By Bob Maloney, Novartis

ood germination depends on control of moisture, temperature and seed placement.

At Johnson Melon Corp. (JMC), "Sunshine Lg-3" is used as a planting medium, but any good commercial brand normally used for transplants will work.

Is Food Safe Just Because It's Organic?

This article by John Tierney, of The New York Times--THE BIG CITY, appeared in the "Arkansas Pesticide News," November 2000, Volume 26.

n a column last week criticizing the press for alarmist coverage of pesticides, I referred to a danger of organic food. Environmentalists and organic farmers have now criticized that allusion as alarmist. As a devout opponent of bogus food scares, I owe the critics a hearing.

I wrote that scientists believe that there is a greater risk of bacterial contamination in organic produce because it is grown with manure. I based this on a couple of simple facts: organic farmers commonly use fertilizer made from animal waste instead of synthetic chemicals, and there can be dangerous bacteria in animal waste. Organic farmers compost the manure to kill the bacteria, but the procedure is not always followed properly, especially by uncertified farmers. With scientists concerned about a virulent new form of E. coli, federal officials are drawing up new standards for organic food.

Clearly, then, there is some risk. But how great is it? Organic farmers and environmentalists complained, correctly, that there is no body of scientific evidence quantifying the relative risks. ABC's "20-20" this year reported finding higher concentrations of bacteria on organic produce than on conventional produce, but that was apparently the first such comparison, and it was not a formal scientific study.

"There has been remarkably little research done on this topic, and that bothers me," said Dean Cliver, a professor of food safety at the University of California at Davis. "We know that animals are shedding bacteria that can make people sick if the manure hasn't been treated properly. Personally, if I knew something was grown with conventional chemical fertilizers, I would feel it was extra safe. But we don't have any data to show that organic food is more or less safe."

Dennis T. Avery, director of global food issues for the Hudson Institute, a conservative research group, looked at outbreaks of foodborne illness traced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 1996 and concluded that organic produce caused a disproportionate amount of illness considering its small share of the market. But that was his conclusion, not the C.D.C.'s, which says that it has not studied the question.

"We really don't have much information at all," said Dr. Robert Tauxe, chief of the Centers' Foodborne and Diarrheal Diseases branch. One complicating factor, he noted, is that some conventional farmers also use manure in fertilizer. Conventional farmers are presumably less likely to use animal waste, since they're the ones who buy chemical fertilizer, but precise statistics seem hard to come by. "The big question is how to properly compost manure, which scientists are still working on," Dr. Tauxe said. "But our concern applies to both organic and conventional farms."

Given all the uncertainties, what should a consumer conclude? I asked one of the critics of last week's column, Ken Cook, the president of the Environmental Working Group, which supports consumption of organic food. "In the absence of data, I would assume that organic is just as safe from bacterial contamination as conventional produce is," Mr. Cook said. "But we need to do some research to make sure that this is the case."

It's sensible not to jump to conclusions, but why not apply this standard to the evidence on pesticides, too? Environmentalists routinely advise people to buy organic food and issue estimates on how many Americans are being poisoned by tiny amounts of pesticides. Yet the only victims that can be reliably identified are rodents that were fed enormous doses.

Scientists use rodent experiments to rank the potential danger of chemicals, but they don't pretend to know exactly how many humans, if any, are actually hurt by small amounts of pesticides. Noting the tiny levels of most synthetic chemicals in the food supply, a panel of the National Research Council, an arm of the National Academy of Sciences, concluded in 1996 that for humans the chemicals are "unlikely to pose an appreciable cancer risk."

Meanwhile, there's no doubt about the dangers of bacteria. When the C.D.C. estimated the annual toll from bacterial foodborne illness -- 1,500 dead, 4 million sick -- it relied not on extrapolations from rodents but on interviews, hospital records and death certificates. Scientists can name Americans poisoned by organic lettuce. They may not have the data to know if the organic variety is riskier than conventional lettuce, but they know it's foolish to assume that natural is better. E. coli are natural, too.

Biological Fungicide Protects Potatoes

This article appeared in "Potato Country," May/June 2000.

otato growers have a new tool to help them deal with a broad spectrum of potato diseases DENY(R) Biological Fungicide has been shown to reduce the incidence of several diseases in potato production. Data generated during the 1999 potato production season in Washington State are positive.

DENY is a biological fungicide containing a live bacterium. Applications of the product are made -- as soil drenches or as in-furrow applications at planting -- to direct-seeded crops. The bacteria in DENY colonize the roots of the plant, and use the exudates from the growing root as their nutrient sources.

Research and test results show that DENY can protect plant roots from a variety of soil-borne disease pathogens, including fusarium, rhizoctonia, pythium, and sclerotinia, the manufacturer says. In potato production, these pathogens are responsible for such diseases as seed piece rot, root rot, and stem canker, as well as foliar diseases.

Potato growers should apply DENY as an in-furrow application at planting over the seed piece. It is recommended that you use DENY in addition to the normal seed-piece treatment program. Using both treatments will increase the spectrum of disease control, and add to your bottom line with improved quality and yield.

DENY is registered as a pesticide with the Environmental Protection Agency for use on all crops. It has potential to reduce the use of some restricted-use pesticides on several crops.

For more information, contact your local supplier, or Market VI, L.L.C., 6613 Haskins, Shawnee, Kansas 66216, telephone (913) 268-7504.

New Bioherbicide Whacks Weeds

This article appeared in "Tomato Magazine," August 2000.

gricultural Research Service scientists have found a new bioherbicide that shows promise as an alternative to methyl bromide for controlling weeds in tomatoes.

The bioherbicide, Myrothecium verrucaria, comes from the sicklepod plant found primarily in the southeastern United States. ARS scientists recently reported that the fungus control kudzu, a problematic weed in the South. Common purslane, horse purslane, ground spurge, and spotted spurge are serious weed pests in commercially grown tomatoes.

Tomato crops have the highest consumption of methyl bromide of all crop uses. Tomato crops account for 23 percent of pre-plant methyl bromide use. About 3,773 tons are applied annually to the crop to control nematodes (tiny worms), insects, and weeds.

Researchers C. Douglas Boyette and Hamed K. Abbas at the ARS Southern Weed Science Research Unit, Stoneville, Mississippi, treated plots with natural infestations of these weeds with Myrothecium before planting Beefsteak tomato seedlings. Myrothecium eliminated these weeds in several field tests.

Myrothecium was applied in place of methyl bromide. After 14 days, no weeds were found, and the tomatoes prospered. This research was part of an agency fast-track study to look for alternatives to methyl bromide, a widely-used fumigant and ozone depletor. Methyl bromide is scheduled to be banned in the U. S. in 2005, and worldwide by 2015. Worldwide, 72,000 tons of methyl bromide are used in preplant and postplant applications and fumigations.

The researchers are also examining several other possible natural alternatives to methyl bromide for controlling weeds, including Fusarium solani and Colletotrichum truncatum.

Boyette was scheduled to present these findings during the Third International Weed Science Conference, June 6-11, in Foz do Iguassu, Brazil.

ARS is the U. S. Department of Agriculture's chief research agency.

Scientific contact: C. Douglas Boyette, ARS Southern Weed Science Research Unit, Stoneville, Mississippi, phone (662) 686-5222, fax (662) 686-5422, e-mail: dboyette@ag.gov

To return to the aggie-horticulture home page, click on aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/

Produced by the Texas Agricultural Extension Service, The Texas A&M University System, College Station, Texas

Web page construction: Jill Stavenhagen