New UC Web site helps farmers with business and marketing

"University of California Cooperative Extension has launched a new Web site at http://ucce.ucdavis.edu/farmbusinessandmarketplace to help new and established small- to medium-scale farmers of fresh products with the business and marketing aspects of their operations.

The Web site is designed for people who are considering farming, and those who have been in the business for quite a while and wish to refresh or enhance their skills. It was designed with Central Coast farmers in mind, but is applicable in most parts of the state. The site aggregates information from the University of California and other universities and agricultural affiliates from around the nation"
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Source: University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources
http://news.ucanr.org/newsstorymain.cfm?story=1250

Looking for effective advance fertilizers, plant nutrients and soil amendments? Please visit our website at www.ferticell.com or call (602)233-2223.

Spying on Corn Rootworm Predators’ Nightlife

“Agricultural Research Service (ARS) entomologist Jonathan G. Lundgren, while exploring corn fields at night, has found a very different group of predators than the ones that feed during the day. It turns out that these night-time predators have a great appetite for corn rootworms, the most costly pest of corn in the world.
Research on day-active and night-active predatory insects is important for scientists who are developing strategies that maximize the potential of the natural predators in crop pest control.
During his night studies, Lundgren focuses on the top few inches of the soil surface, where rootworm larvae do most of their damage to corn roots. Lundgren works at the ARS North Central Agricultural Research Laboratory in Brookings, S.D.
Lundgren found that one common carabid beetle, Poecilus chalcites, prefers day work, while another common carabid, Cyclotrachelus alternans, works a night shift, from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. Wolf spiders search for rootworms during the night, while some other spiders hunt during the day.”

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Article By Don Comis (ARS)

Source: USDA (ARS) http://www.ars.usda.gov

Looking for effective advance fertilizers, plant nutrients and soil amendments? Please visit our website at www.ferticell.com or call (602)233-2223.

Aerial Imagery System Helps Save Water

"Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists are developing a system that saves water by using aerial imagery and ground-based sensors to determine the irrigation needs of small sections of cultivated fields.

Conventional irrigation practices, even when based on modern management and water application techniques, can be wasteful because they assume crop water needs are the same throughout an entire field, according to Douglas Hunsaker, an agricultural engineer at the ARS Arid-Land Agricultural Research Center in Maricopa, Ariz. It also is extremely difficult to go into a large field and visually observe and quantify different water needs for specific areas.

Farmers are beginning to use remote sensing technology to monitor crop growth, fertilizer needs and field conditions. Hunsaker's goal is to combine one remote sensing aerial image of a field with a system of wireless sensors tied to computer software that will accurately determine the irrigation needs of small areas on a daily basis throughout the season.

Ideally, farmers could identify areas with high or low water needs with data transmitted to their computers and, using either a drip or a sprinkler system, adjust irrigation levels based on the data. The technology could be particularly useful in the parched Southwestern United States, where conserving water is a major priority."

By Dennis O'Brien (ARS)

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Source: USDA (ARS) http://www.ars.usda.gov

Looking for effective fertilizers or plant nutrients?, please visit our website at www.ferticell.com or call (602)233-2223.

Food "Tattoos" an Alternative to Labels for Identifying Fruit

"Those small and sometimes inconvenient sticky labels on produce may eventually be replaced by laser “tattoo” technology now being tested by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and University of Florida (UFL) scientists.

Called laser etching, the new technology puts a tattoo on grapefruit and other produce so it can be identified at the supermarket checkout lines. The technology was invented by former UFL scientist Greg Drouillard, now with Sunkist Growers. Grapefruit has always been labeled with sticky paper labels that mar the fruit and stick to one another in storage. The labels are also easily removed, making it more difficult to track a piece of produce back to the source if the need arises.

Microbiologist Jan Narciso at the ARS Citrus and Subtropical Products Laboratory in Winter Haven, Fla., and UFL researcher Ed Etxeberria investigated laser technology as an alternative to sticky paper labels.

A carbon dioxide laser beam was used to etch information into the first few outer cells of the fruit peel. The mark can’t be peeled off, washed off or changed, offering a way to trace the fruit back to its original source. This permanent etching into the fruit peel does not increase water loss or the entrance of food pathogens or postharvest pathogens if the laser label is covered with wax"

By Sharon Durham, (ARS)

Source: USDA (ARS) http://www.ars.usda.gov

Looking for effective fertilizers or plant nutrients, please visit our website at www.ferticell.com or call (602)233-2223.

Strawberry Gender Decided by Two Genes, Not One

"New research by an Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientist and her cooperators found gender in strawberries is determined by two genes, not one as previously believed.

Strawberry plants possess one of three reproductive functions. Male plants bear flowers that produce pollen but cannot set fruit. Female plants produce fruit if their flowers are pollinated, but cannot produce their own pollen. Hermaphrodites contain both male and female functions that enable them to flower, self-pollinate and bear fruit. Neuters, which look like male strawberry plants, can also exist but do not posses reproductive functions." Stephanie Yao (ARS)

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Source: USDA (ARS) http://www.ars.usda.gov

Looking for effective fertilizers or plant nutrients, please visit our website at www.ferticell.com or call (602)233-2223

ARS Releases New Leaf Lettuce Breeding Lines with Corky Root Resistance

"Three new leaf lettuce breeding lines with resistance to corky root, a serious disease of lettuce, have been released by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS).

Corky root is caused by a bacterium called Sphingomonas suberifaciens. It lives in the soil and attacks the plant's roots, causing them to enlarge and develop yellow to brown lesions and longitudinal cracks, taking on a cork-like appearance.

Once infected, the roots are unable to effectively absorb water and nutrients, resulting in smaller lettuce heads and yield loss. Cultural practices and fumigation techniques used to treat the disease are costly and labor-intensive. Therefore, developing lines with genetic resistance is still the most common and preferred method to combat the disease."Stephanie Yao, Agricultural Research Service (ARS)

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Source: USDA (ARS) http://www.ars.usda.gov

Looking for effective fertilizers or plant nutrients, please visit our website at www.ferticell.com or call (602)233-2223

Researchers Identify Inhibitor that Controls Fungal Pathogen

"A key bacterial compound that inhibits the growth of the plant pathogen Fusarium verticillioides has been identified by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists. The compound could help protect plants, livestock and poultry from fusarium infection.

The compound is produced by Bacillus mojavensis strain RRC101. Finding better controls for F. verticillioides is important because fumonisin mycotoxins—especially fumonisin B1—are toxic to livestock and poultry." Sharon Durham

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Source: Source: USDA (ARS) http://www.ars.usda.gov