September 2005

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How To Control Rose Diseases In A Less Toxic Way By Carol Savonen, Oregon State University Roses in the Pacific Northwest are especially susceptible to several fungal diseases, including black spot, powdery mildew and rust. To avoid or reduce the use of toxic fungicides, lime sulfurs and copper sulfates, the Oregon State University Extension Service Master Gardener program recommends some less toxic methods to help control fungal diseases: • Rake up and destroy all leaves from infected roses. • Prune out infected wood during the winter/early spring dormant season. • Provide good air circulation through judicious pruning of over-crowded branches. • Choose disease-resistant varieties when buying new rose plants. • Apply registered and labeled fungicides, or try a newer homemade "least-toxic" recipe (see below) to combat fungal infections. While the makers of baking soda do not support the recommendation of this least-toxic method, many of the rose growers around the nation are using the following least-toxic recipe for rose disease control: Mix three teaspoons baking soda, 2-1/2 tablespoons horticultural oil and 1/2 teaspoon insecticidal soap into one gallon of water. Store in a large closed jar. Apply with spray bottle to roses after new growth appears in the spring every 10 to 14 days. Don't Stew About Your Veggies, Make Them Into Stew From University of Idaho's HomeWise If you suspect that you'll soon have more pumpkins, squashes and tomatoes than you'll ever have friends to give them to, there's a process as old as the sun that can rescue you from your annual and unseemly harvest-time pleading. Yes, you can dry vegetables just as you can dry fruit. A Pacific Northwest Extension publication called&emdash;what else?&emdash;"Drying Fruits and Vegetables" explains in detail how to select, prepare, pre-treat, dry, package and store everything from apples to zucchini, from grapes to green beans, and from peaches to potatoes. Authors of the 32-page pamphlet outline the advantages of drying: • It allows you to save, for future savoring, the very pick of your garden produce. • It provides you with tempting tidbits for your winter stews, breads and breakfast cereals. • It gives you baggies'-full of munchies for future hiking, camping and ski trips. • And, it's more flexible than canning: You make your own decisions about food-piece sizes, mixtures, pretreatment and packaging. You can dry foods in an electric dehydrator, under the sun, in a solar dryer or even in a regular oven. The publication clearly explains each process and adds a special section on making fruit leathers. It even includes recipes for vegetable soups, stews and quick breads and for dried fruit snacks, rice pudding and berry cobbler. The pamphlet can be downloaded from the publishing catalog of the University of Idaho College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, www.info.ag.uidaho.edu. You can also order a copy from the Web site for $2.50, plus shipping and handling, or by calling (208) 885-7982 or writing: calspubs@uidaho.edu. Run As Fast As You Can In The Wheat Game By Carol Flaherty, MSU University News Inflation-adjusted net income to wheat growers hasn't changed much in 75 years.With the world's population and food needs increasing, it seems that growing wheat should be more profitable than ever. However, inflation-adjusted net income to wheat growers hasn't changed much in 75 years, says a Montana State University economist. Since 1929, there have been only a few years when prices rose considerably higher than costs, says Duane Griffith, MSU Extension economist. Genetic improvements and improved farming practices have let Montana farmers produce more wheat than ever before, and that and government payments have kept farm net incomes steady. "The amount of net farm income wheat growers can attribute to government payments varies tremendously," said Griffith. "In years of poor prices and/or yields, it can make up 100 percent of net farm income. In years with better prices and yields, that amount drops off." The peak profit years since 1929 were during and immediately after World War II. Otherwise Griffith's data show that wheat growers' expenses and crop values track closely together, leaving net farm income largely unchanged. In the wheat game, the nearest thing to a winning streak is usually a couple of consecutive seasons of decent weather and wheat prices. It's more common that when the weather cooperates, a bumper crop pushes wheat prices down. With wheat breeders across the world working to develop higher yielding varieties, supply increases even more. So is breeding for high yield a good economic choice in Montana? Bumper crops of high quality wheat are just what are needed when wheat prices are low, say Montana Agricultural Experiment Station wheat breeders. Otherwise, even a golden harvest won't pay the loan officer, let alone make a profit. "It's a race," says Luther Talbert, a spring wheat breeder at Montana State University. "We sometimes argue whether increased yield is a value-added trait. My argument is that yield and high quality are the only reliable value-added traits. Montana produces a small part of the world wheat supply. Unless breeders worldwide agreed to stop improving yield, any stagnation in the yields of Montana-adapted varieties would just leave Montana farmers with less wheat to sell at lower prices." While Talbert focuses on spring wheat, Phil Bruckner breeds winter wheats, and both breeders have pretty good winning streaks. MSU-developed McNeal spring wheat and Rampart winter wheat are the most widely grown varieties in the state. A primary reason that farmers prefer them is that they have both good end-use quality and good yield potential. Researchers can tease out how much of the yield increases are due to better varieties and how much to improved farming practices by growing old and new varieties using the same agronomic practices, Talbert says. One of his students did just that. Kelly Hanson was a graduate student from Glendive when she did a two-year comparison of old spring wheat varieties like Marquis, which was released in 1911, to newer varieties like McNeal, which was released in 1996. In that trial, McNeal's yield was nearly twice that of Marquis. In fact, her data show a consistent progression of increasing yields through the years. The data, giving yield in grams per plot rather than the customary bushels, shows Marquis yielding 694 grams, Thatcher (popular in the 1940s and '50s) at 986, Fortuna ('60s and '70s) at 998, Newana ('80s and '90s) at 1154, and then McNeal at 1263. The study was conducted near Bozeman on both irrigated and nonirrigated plots. "What this shows us is the maturation of the breeding program," Bruckner says. "We've filled the pipeline and we just have to follow through and be diligent in the process to expect these yield increases to continue." Still, some parts of the breeding system need breakthroughs, says Bruckner. Breeders, in general, are "having difficulty combining high yield potential and cold tolerance with stem solidness," he says. Breakthroughs can come in the most difficult wheat-survival circumstances. For instance, Bruckner says that Yellowstone, MSU's newest winter wheat release that sets a new standard for grain yields in Montana, was one of only seven plants that survived 1996 trials at the Eastern Agricultural Research Center at Sidney. Over the 12 years of Bruckner's time at MSU, average yields of MSU-released winter wheat varieties have increased 15 percent, or about 1.3 percent per year. Meanwhile, world wide yield improvements examined in studies similar to Hanson's suggest that elsewhere wheat yield increases due to breeding are about half a percent per year. Generally, the six classes of wheat bring somewhat different prices when marketed: hard red spring, hard red winter, soft red winter, hard white wheat, soft white wheat and durum. Hard wheats are higher in protein and gluten and are usually used for yeast breads. Soft wheats make tender pastries, cakes, cookies, flatbreads, crackers and muffins. Soft and hard wheats are often blended to make all-purpose flour. The hardest wheat, durum, is primarily used for making pasta. To those classes, Talbert and Bruckner would add certified seed as a value-added crop that provides premiums to growers. However, it's not a market that a majority of growers could enter. Certified seed growers must have a proven record showing that they will maintain the purity of the seed, which, in turn, ensures that the seed has the yield, growth characteristics, and disease and insect resistance of the original seed stock. Montana wheat variety yield increases give Montana farmers more wheat to sell, but the situation remains much as the Red Queen describes to Alice in Wonderland. In Lewis Carroll's classic "Through the Looking Glass," Alice complains that the landscape changes so fast that she has to run just to stay in place. The Red Queen confirms Alice's observation, but adds "If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!" Contact: Luther Talbert (406) 994-5060, Phil Bruckner (406) 994-5127, Duane Griffith 9406) 994-2580 What Does It Mean When Nursery Plants Are Patented Or Trademarked? By Carol Savonen, Oregon State University You might have noticed plants for sale labeled "patented" or "trademarked" at your local nursery or garden center. Why would the nursery industry patent or trademark plant varieties? "Plant patents or trademarks develop an incentive for creative design and innovation by plant breeders and the horticulture industry," explained James Altland, nursery crops specialist at Oregon State University's North Willamette Research and Extension Center in Aurora. The nursery and greenhouse industries have long struggled with the issue of appropriate pricing for their products, said Altland. Patenting or trademarking gives plant varieties more value in the consumer marketplace. Consumers will pay more for a product they perceive as premium. "In the hope of financial payback, plant breeders, ranging from scientists and professional nursery people to the backyard orchardist, try again and again to breed that perfect plant," he said. "I think patents are one of the cornerstones of capitalism. Without patent protection, there would probably be much less innovation in our economy in general, and certainly many fewer new introductions in horticulture. "With plant patenting, if a 'premium product' is created in the customer's eyes, then a grower will be able to set prices more in line with other leisure industries, such as golf, tennis or camping." Patenting a plant is just like patenting any other invention or product. Once a plant variety is patented (or has a patent pending) a royalty is paid to the owning nursery on the basis of each plant sold. Patenting may be an expensive, risky and time-consuming process. The cost to patent one variety may be thousands of dollars. "There's no guarantee that gardeners will love the new patented varieties right away," said Altland. "So costs may never be recouped during the life of the 20-year patent." A patent legally prevents others from reproducing the protected plant variety by cuttings, tissue culture or any other method of asexual propagation without the written authorization or licensing of the patent holder. Possession of improperly propagated plants of patented varieties constitutes infringement, even if an illegal propagation was inadvertent. Though asexual reproduction may be prohibited on a patented cultivar, there is no regulation against using the plant in sexual reproduction. In other words, the seed or pollen from a patented variety may be used without permission of the patent holder. The offspring are free of patent regulations. To determine if a plant is patented, look for a patent number on the tag, or PPAF (plant patent applied for) or PVR (plant variety rights) after the name of the cultivar. Or sometimes there are other indicators that a patent has been applied for, such as "patent pending." If a plant is patented, a license is required from the patent holder in order to make cuttings of that plant, even if it is planted in your own back yard. Unlike with a copyright, there is no concept of "fair use rights" for patents in the United States. You may have seen on a plant tag, the statement, "Asexual reproduction of this plant is prohibited." Licensed propagators of patented plants such as roses are generally required to tag the plant with that warning. Not everyone is happy with the concept of patented plant cultivars. Some plant lovers say that plant patents could lead to the extinction of some plant varieties. Some worry that a company could own a patent to a variety, but never propagate it or grant anyone else license to do so. It is unlawful to reproduce the variety even to save it from extinction without the permission of the patent holder. Trademarking is another way that the nursery industry gets recognition for its varieties, explained Altland. It's faster, easier and cheaper than the patenting process for a nursery company and is renewable every 10 years. A trademark helps consumers associate certain varieties with a company name, much like "Big Mac" is associated with McDonald's. Trademarking helps companies build customer loyalty. A trademark on a plant protects only the plant's name, not the plant cultivar itself, as with a patent. Another person could propagate a trademarked plant, but not call it the same variety name. Examples of trademarked varieties include the popular "Wave" series of petunias. Unlike a patented plant, if you buy a trademarked plant, you can propagate it asexually by taking cuttings. You can even sell the propagated plants for profit, but you can't call those plants by the trademarked name or acquire your own trademark for those same plants. You can, however, use the plant's cultivar name if it has one (shown in single quotes) &endash; assuming that it isn't also patented. Trademarked plants are labeled with one of two symbols. An "R" within a circle by the variety name means that a particular cultivar has been officially registered and trademarked. A "TM" by the plant name means that the trademarked name has been claimed but not officially registered. Test Drip Irrigation On Small Scale, Potato Growers Advised By Marlene Fritz, University of Idaho It may be 10 years or, more likely, 20 years down the road before drip irrigation becomes a conventional practice in Idaho potato fields, but Bryan Hopkins recommends that Idaho growers start evaluating it now for their farms. "It's not something that you would want to convert your farm over to in one year," says the University of Idaho potato cropping systems specialist. "You have to get used to it and you definitely have to manage it differently." But Hopkins is finding that drip irrigation is boosting overall yields&emdash;and yields of No. 1 potatoes&emdash;by 10 percent in his research plots while reducing water use by 10 to 15 percent. "I'm pretty pumped up and I'm getting more excited about this all of the time," he says. In previous trials in 1993 and 1994, UI Extension water management engineer Howard Neibling quantified reductions in both water and nitrogen use of 10 to 20 percent in drip-irrigated fields. "Some people will tell you that there's phenomenal water savings with drip," says Neibling. "I don't think so, but 10 to 20 percent savings are not exactly trivial." What drip irrigation offers in spades is greater uniformity in water application, says Hopkins. "Even the best overhead systems are only 85 percent uniform. Drip is 90 to 95 percent uniform." In addition, drip systems allow growers to respond briskly to their crop's changing water and fertilizer needs, thereby lessening spikes in wetness, dryness and nutrient availability. "It's pretty nice. When the days get hot, I can come out and turn it on without worrying whether the wind is blowing. I can put the water where and when I want it." Drip irrigation also limits germination of weed seeds between rows and potentially cuts losses from diseases like late blight and early blight that flourish on wet leaves. In the future, Hopkins, Neibling and University of Idaho colleagues Jeff Miller and Pam Hutchinson hope to secure federal funding to study the contribution of drip irrigation to integrated pest management. "If we can reduce the risk of infection and the number of sprays, that alone could make drip irrigation worthwhile," Hopkins says. Unfortunately, drip systems can also complicate pest control, particularly of weeds whose herbicide treatments must be followed by overhead sprinkling during the growing season. "Weed pressure is less overall with drip irrigation but your opportunity for control is reduced," he says. In addition, overcoming the mechanical and economic challenges won't be cakewalks. It's likely, for example, that Idaho growers will need to re-install their drip tape over multiple years, rather than simply discarding it at the end of the first growing season, and to keep aging sprinkler systems running as backups for pesticide applications. Hopkins is testing drip tape buried at various depths and currently finds a 1- to 2-inch depth the most practical. The tape is installed over the top of the potatoes right after planting and pulled up just before or during harvest. Tape that floats right below the soil surface can dislodge in a windstorm, tape 6 inches deep can get entangled with tubers and roots and tape 14 inches deep&emdash;while "a really good option" for loam and clay soils&emdash;will direct water below the crop's root zone in extremely sandy soils. Hopkins is also experimenting with optimum spacing of drip tape between rows. But Hopkins hopes he isn't experimenting alone. "I would recommend that growers begin dabbling with this, because I think it's the future," he says. "Take a small portion of a field or maybe the corners and really try to make it work." On the Idaho-Oregon border, potato grower Kris Yano is evaluating drip irrigation on 27 acres. His drip tape is about 4 inches below soil level and he doesn't re-use it. He's pleased with his crop's yield and quality and estimates his water savings at about 25-30 percent. "It's easy to set up," he says, and his biggest challenge has been determining just how much water to put on. But Yano will reserve judgment until he has more economic data. "I don't know if the price is going to justify it yet," he says. The hotter and drier a climate is and the bigger the premium that competing uses put on water, the more the economics improve, Hopkins says. "When I talk to growers, I say, 'Hey, the first year I did it it was a headache-and-a-half. I just wasn't used to doing it. You are trading one set of problems for another.' But I think that potato growers in states with increasingly deficient water supplies are going to adopt drip irrigation, just as they have in California, Arizona and Israel."

Watch Winter Storage Temperatures Of Herbicide By Fabian Menalled, MSU Extension Service Cropland Weed Specialist Farming is a year-round activity and as we finish harvesting this year's crops, we need to start thinking about how to store leftover or advanced purchased herbicides this winter. Proper herbicide storage is essential to protect people, animals and the environment from accidental exposure. Proper storage also protects herbicides from cold temperatures that may degrade them and from temperature extremes that may generate excessive pressure within containers, causing them to break. In this article, I review some easy to follow guidelines to securely store herbicides during this coming winter. Although I concentrate on herbicides, most of the recommendations apply to other pesticides such as insecticides and fungicides. Labels Perhaps the most simple and appropriate recommendation for herbicide storage is to check the label. Herbicide labels have valuable information on storage needs. Carefully read labels and follow the instructions for proper over-winter storage. Site Selection If stored safely, herbicides pose no danger to humans, animals or the environment. Several issues should be considered when selecting a herbicide storage site. First, the storage should be in an area where flooding and fire are unlikely. Second, the site should be located far away from any water body or well so that runoff or leaching cannot contaminate surface or groundwater resources. If it is not possible to locate a storage facility far enough from wells and surface water, it is necessary to implement water-source-protection measures, such as runoff diversions or covered well heads. Finally, the storage area should be located downwind and downhill from sensitive areas such as houses, gardens and playgrounds. Storage Building Herbicides should be stored in a locked, dry and well ventilated building. The storage facility should be fire resistant with a curbed impermeable floor (such as concrete) to eliminate the risk of pesticide leaks or spills from spreading and leaching into the unprotected ground. Signs or labels should be posted on the outside of the building to identify the area as a pesticide storage area. These labels will give firefighters information about pesticides in case of a fire or spill. Insecticides and fungicides could be stored in the same storage facility as herbicides, but they should be kept on separate areas or different shelves to prevent cross-contamination. Large drums or bags should be stored on pallets and off the floor. Dry products should be located above liquids to prevent wetting from spills. Check herbicide containers for cracks, tears or leaks that may occur during cold weather. Also make sure they are sealed tightly. Finally, it is a good idea to maintain, in a separate location, a list of the chemicals and amounts stored. Over-winter herbicide storage As a general rule, dry herbicide formulations and granules are not affected by cold or freezing temperatures. However, they need to be kept dry, because moisture can cause caking and breakdown of the container. Although liquid formulations vary greatly in their response to low temperatures, more often than not when a liquid herbicide freezes, the only risk is separation of the active ingredient from the solvents or emulsifiers, leading to crystallization or coagulation of the active ingredient. Some herbicides require being stored in cold-climate areas to minimize degradation. The main concern when storing herbicides in cold conditions is that if the liquid expands upon freezing, the container holding the pesticide may crack or rupture. The simplest solution to this problem is to avoid excess pesticides that require winter storage. If over-winter storage is necessary, the following information, adapted from the 2005 North Dakota Weed Control Guide, gives the minimum storage temperature to avoid risk of reduced herbicide activity. No storage temperature restriction: Metolachlor products, EPTC, Surpass, Achieve, Maverick. Most dry formulated herbicides in DF or WDG formulations. Do not store below 40 degrees Fahrenheit: Assert, Avenge, Campaign, Command, Discover, Extreme, LI-700, Nortron, Prowl, Pursuit Plus, Sonalan, trifluralin. Do not store below 32 degrees Fahrenheit: Agri-Dex, Basagran, Far-Go EC, Flexstar, Goal, paraquat, Grazone P+D, Hyvar, Kerb, Liberty/ATZ, Lorox DF, Poast, Pramitol, Progress, Puma, Pursuit, Quest, Raptor, Redeem, Reflex, Reglone, Stinger, Thistrol, Ultra Blazer, Velpar. Do not store below 20 degrees F Fahrenheit: Fusilade DX, Plateau, Ro-Neet, Weedar 64. Do not store below 16 degrees Fahrenheit: Camix and Lumax. Do not store below 10 degrees Fahrenheit: Amitrole T, Arsenal, Curtail/M, Crossbow, Dakota, Fusion, glyphosate, Rodeo, Roundup. Do not store below 3 degrees Fahrenheit: Atrazine 4L, Low Vol ester, Bronate Advanced, bromoxynil, bromoxynil + Atrazine, Shotgun. When the winter is over, herbicides should always be checked before they are used. Liquid products that have become separated, crystallized or coagulated should be placed in a warm area (about 70 degrees F) for several days, during which the containers should be inverted or shaken periodically. Usually, the warm temperatures and agitation are enough to redissolve the crystals into the solvent. If the solution does not redissolve, it probably should not be used. Disclosure. Common chemical and trade names are used in this publication for clarity by the reader. Inclusion of a common chemical or trade name does not imply endorsement of that particular product or brand of herbicide and exclusion does not imply non-approval. Contact: Fabian Menalled (406) 994-4783 menalled@montana.edu Prepare Your Lawn For Cold Winter Months With Fertilizer From University of Idaho's HomeWise With the onset of fall, days grow shorter and grass roots grow longer. "A healthy lawn&emdash;and even a not-so-healthy lawn&emdash;of Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass or even tall fescue will begin to send energy reserves to its roots in preparation for the long, cold winter ahead," says Tom Salaiz, University of Idaho turfgrass specialist. "To help your grass with its winter preparations, it's important to apply a fall fertilizer between mid-September and mid-October." How much fertilizer should you put on in the fall? Salaiz says homeowners should feed their lawns more nitrogen in the fall than at any other time of year. He estimates that turfgrasses need about 3 to 4 pounds of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet during the course of the year&emdash;1 to 2 pounds of which should be applied in the fall. "If you apply 2 pounds, don't put them on all at once," he says. "Space 1-pound applications two weeks apart." How many bags of fertilizer you'll need for your fall fertilization depends not only on the weight of the bag but its three-number ratio of components. For example, the numbers 20-5-10 indicate that 20 percent of the bag's weight is comprised of nitrogen, 5 percent of phosphorus and 10 percent of potassium. In 10-pound bags of 20-5-10 fertilizer, then, you'll find 2 pounds of actual nitrogen fertilizer, a half-pound of phosphorus and 1 pound of potassium. If your lawn is 4,000 square feet and you decide to apply nitrogen at the rate of 1 pound per 1,000 square feet, start by doing a little calculating. First, divide 1 pound by 1,000 square feet to get 0.001 pounds per square foot. Then multiply that by 4,000 square feet. "At the risk of giving everyone high school math flashbacks, that comes to 4 pounds of nitrogen fertilizer that you'll need in order to fertilize that 4,000 square-foot lawn," Salaiz says. "Since your 10-pound bag of 20-5-10 fertilizer contains 2 pounds of nitrogen, it fortunately doesn't take a mathematician to figure out that you'll need to drive back to the garden center and buy another bag." That same bag will also contain 10 percent potassium, meeting Salaiz's guidelines of 10-20 percent potassium for fall lawn applications. The phosphorus needs of mature turfgrass are much more variable and depend heavily on the results of soil tests. Iris Yellow Spot Virus Threatens Treasure Valley Onion Fields By Marlene Fritz, University of Idaho A thrips-transmitted disease first identified in onions 16 years ago by University of Idaho plant pathologist Krishna Mohan is exploding this year in Treasure Valley onion fields. "Any plant stress aggravates the problem," says Mohan of iris yellow spot virus, which has infected onion seed crops in the Treasure Valley to varying degrees since 1989 and commercial onion bulb crops since 2001. "Any situation that favors the buildup of onion thrips also increases the symptoms." Lynn Jensen, Oregon State University's Extension educator in Malheur County, says the disease has been "showing up fairly extensively throughout the whole valley" since late July. He believes the crop's health was compromised by early-season rains, which left fields so wet that necessary springtime farming activities compacted the soil. That compaction is now interfering with the onion roots' ability to take up critical moisture, increasing the crop's vulnerability to plant diseases. Populations of the culprit insect are also unusually high, which Jensen suspects is weather-related as well. "We've had more thrips than we've seen in many, many years and they've been almost impossible to control," he says. Iris yellow spot virus&emdash;also found in irises in other countries but not yet in the U.S.&emdash;can render onion seed fields unharvestable. Infected flower stalks die and fall over, leaving "a whole tangled mass," says Mohan. In commercial onions, the disease decreases bulb size and slashes the percentage of the crop that qualifies for the "colossal" grade. "Our onion trade is mostly based on the size of the bulb," says Mohan. "This disease affects the size, and that in turn affects the marketable yield." Jerry Neufeld, UI Extension educator in Canyon County, says iris yellow spot can be "pretty devastating." Neufeld warns area growers of its presence through the Web-based service www.tvpestalert.net or www.pnwpestalert.net . Indeed, iris yellow spot virus and onion thrips were recently ranked the No. 1 and No. 3 research priorities, respectively, for dry bulb storage onions in the West by developers of a pest-management strategic plan for that crop. Since Mohan first reported the disease in the valley's onions in 1989, it has been identified in onion-growing areas throughout the West and, last year, even in Georgia. "Every time I present this at a national onion conference, people say, "Oh, I have seen this,'" says Mohan. "I think it has been here for quite some time." According to Mohan, iris yellow spot virus is characterized by distinctive&emdash;"almost artistic"&emdash;tan or straw-colored diamond-shaped lesions on the flower stalks of biennial onion seed crops and by elongated dry lesions or flecks on the leaves of annual bulb crops. Currently, no chemical treatments are available to curtail the disease, although a number of insecticides are labeled for onion thrips control. Jensen says the insects appear to be developing resistance to the commonly used insecticides and "have been getting harder and harder to control every year." In addition to keeping a lid on thrips populations, the valley's onion growers have been advised to promote crop vigor through good fertilizer and water management, to control volunteer and wild members of the onion family, to destroy cull onions and to plant varieties less susceptible to thrips. At OSU's Malheur Experiment Station each growing season, Mohan and Jensen make systematic observations of onion variety trials, rating varieties for the severity of iris yellow spot virus symptoms. No varieties are currently resistant, but Mohan says these annual disease evaluations "may help us gain some insight into the relative susceptibility of varieties and give us some initial advantage in recommending less susceptible varieties for future planting." Soon, Mohan hopes to conduct far more extensive research into the disease and its transmission. "We have a lot of questions about where the virus is and what is transmitting it," he says. Is it overwintering in the Treasure Valley in wild onions, irises or weeds, for example? Is any other thrips species, besides onion thrips, involved in spreading it? Mohan and Jensen are among a group of Western scientists who are seeking $2.37 million in federal funding for a multi-year, multi-state project led by Colorado State University. Should funding be appropriated, the study will focus on identifying onions with tolerance to thrips or resistance to iris yellow spot virus, quantifying the impacts of straw mulching and novel chemical treatments, and determining the disease's relationship to soil properties, plant stress and management practices. Jensen projects a smaller onion crop and stronger prices than last year, when record yields led to 400-500 acres behind plowed under and "nobody making any money," he says. Treasure Valley growers planted only 20,800 acres of onions this year&emdash;about 2,800 less than in 2004&emdash;and "we definitely do not expect record yields this year." Where Is The "Public" In Public Broadcasting? "Food Forethought" By Susan Allen When my boys were youngsters they loved Sesame Street so our television was routinely tuned to the Public Broadcasting Channel.  I can still recall PBS's unique style of "advertising". The program would end, and a deep male voice would say, "Funding for this programming is brought to you by….. "  Then he would announce (with authority) some wealthy family foundation or large corporation. In those days it was expected that donors would sponsor programs in their area of interest or expertise, for example timber companies would underwrite nature programming. Times have changed. In today's politically charged world sparks flew when a consortium of agricultural commodity groups and corporations united to create quality educational agricultural programming that many environmentalists considered to be a conflict of interest. Sadly there is no longer anything "public" about public broadcasting. In fact, public broadcasting has become the antithesis of Webster's' definition of the word public; 1.to the people at large 2. open to, shared by, the people 3. known to all; not secret. 4. engaged in service to the people. One would have to live in a myopic fog to miss the fact that PBS and American Public Television tend to be politically one-sided. What the mainstream majority fails to understand is the great power that extremists now exert over the media to impede programming that runs contrary to their beliefs. It is unfathomable that we allow this to occur given the fact that at least 15% of PBS 'annual budget is federally funded, meaning you and I are paying for it. Those of us that care a lick about traditional agriculture should be outraged when quality programs like America's Heartland, an exceptional series about American agriculture currently sponsored by The American Farm Bureau Federation and Monsanto with additional production and promotion assistance from American Soybean Association National Corn Growers Association, National Cotton Council, United Soybean Board and U.S Grains Councils, stands to be canceled simply because vocal activist groups cite conflict of interest. Friends of The Earth, Greenpeace, Animal Welfare Institute, Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, PIRG, and Sierra Club are a few of the organizations who have united to send a letter to the heads of American Public Television and a Sacramento PBS station demanding they pull the American Heartland series immediately from distribution because these factions were opposed to one episode on genetically engineered crops. I might add that none of these groups have even viewed any on the America's Heartland episodes, so how can you be so passionately disagreeing to something you have never seen. Environmental extremists tremor at the decade of success that plant biotechnology has experienced, they live in a virtual state of panic worried that more and more of us will become aware of the big numbers behind GM crops. They don't want you to ever know that eight million farmers throughout the world last year planted 200 million acres of biotech crops in 17 countries, and when 2004 came to a close the accumulated global biotech acres world wide reached 951 million. They are labeled "extremists" because they will go to extreme lengths to keep under wraps the thrilling miracle medicines being developed through genetically engineered plants or the developing countries that are using GM technology to feed their hungry. What should shake us down deep in our patriotic core is that this flagrant attempt at censorship might actually result in the cancellation of the whole American Heartland series. The extremist will always favor censorship over opinions they fear, and it is a travesty that we, the silent majority allow it. If you feel outraged over the possible cancellation of the American Heartland series on PBS and American Public Television, it is time to contact your local PBS station and speak up as an "agtivist "on behalf of American Agriculture. New Series Helps You Create A Food Enterprise By Peg Herring, Oregon State University The Food Innovation Center is dishing up a new in-depth education series to help entrepreneurs start and run successful food businesses. "The new series expands our original half-day workshop to a comprehensive three-course series that will provide detailed information and hands-on training to help those who are new to the food industry successfully launch their own food businesses," said Aaron Johnson, an Oregon State University food marketing specialist at the Food Innovation Center. The education series, "Creating A Food Enterprise" (CAFÉ), begins on Thursday, Sept. 15, from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Food Innovation Center in Portland. This first course will be an introduction to the food industry, similar to the center's original workshop, "Northwest Food Business 101." "In the second course, 'Strategic Marketing Decision Making,' we will help participants explore marketing, research the business potential and determine the viability of their ideas before investing limited resources," Johnson explained. The course comprises three evening workshops on Sept. 29, Oct. 6 and Oct. 13. The third course, "Getting it Made," will explore the world of food production and the regulatory process. It also comprises three evening workshops&emdash;Oct. 27, Nov. 3 and Nov. 10. The fee for the introductory first course is $50; the second and third three-part courses are each $400. All three courses will be held Thursday evenings from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Food Innovation Center, 1207 N.W. Naito Parkway in Portland. To register online for the CAFÉ series, go to http://fic.oregonstate.edu, or call the center at 503-872-6680. Space is limited. Online registration is preferred and has already begun. The Food Innovation Center is a collaboration between OSU's Agricultural Experiment Station and the Oregon Department of Agriculture.

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