The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and Mexico’s national plant protection organization (SENASICA) announce that the United States has begun exporting potatoes beyond the 26-kilometer border zone that previously marked the limit of their export. The two countries reached an agreement late last year to expand that market access for U.S. potatoes, something that the United States has sought for more than 25 years.
“Through this accomplishment, we are delivering better markets for U.S. farmers, supporting economic growth, and providing access to our southern neighbors to the high-quality and safe products our farmers work hard every day to grow and sustain. USDA will continue to fight for new and expanded markets for American products as we help the nation build back better,” said U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
The U.S. potato industry estimates that this access for U.S. fresh potatoes to all of Mexico will provide a market potential of $250 million per year, in five years. This is an increase of $190 million from the current export value of $60 million.
Many California farms are run by families who have cultivated the land for several generations. It’s not just land, it’s not just an investment — it is part of what defines them and their mission to feed the world. Watch this brief interview with Charlotte Mitchell from the California Farmland Trust as she shares how to protect their legacy of farming for generations to come.
Please thank this video’s sponsor Suterra for their industry support.
Many California farms are run by families who have cultivated the land for several generations. It’s not just land, it’s not just an investment — it is part of what defines them and their mission to feed the world. Watch this brief interview with Charlotte Mitchell from the California Farmland Trust as she shares how to protect their legacy of farming for generations to come.
Please thank this video’s sponsor Suterra for their industry support.
The pandemic proved challenging to all in various ways, and farmworkers had unique needs that had to be met in order to keep agriculture going and food from California on dinner tables all over the world. The California Farmworker Foundation was among the great organizations that rose to the occasion to meet their needs. Pandemic aside, farmworkers are essential, they have families and needs, they have a voice, and the California Farmworker Foundation has been established and continues to grow for these reasons. Watch this brief interview to learn more.
Please thank this video’s sponsor Suterra for their industry support.
The pandemic proved challenging to all in various ways, and farmworkers had unique needs that had to be met in order to keep agriculture going and food from California on dinner tables all over the world. The California Farmworker Foundation was among the great organizations that rose to the occasion to meet their needs. Pandemic aside, farmworkers are essential, they have families and needs, they have a voice, and the California Farmworker Foundation has been established and continues to grow for these reasons. Watch this brief interview to learn more.
Please thank this video’s sponsor Suterra for their industry support.
Among some of the top issues impacting the California fresh fruit industry, and all of the state’s agricultural industries for that matter, are record inflating production costs. This was addressed at the recent annual conference of the California Fresh Fruit Association (CFFA). Watch this brief interview with CFFA President Ian LeMay as he addresses this.
Please thank this video’s sponsor Suterra for their industry support.
UC Cooperative Experts shared their latest research findings in olive disease management at the recent Olive Oil Day held by the Olive Oil Commission of California (OOCC) in Stockton.
Jim Adaskaveg, Professor in the Department of Plant Pathology at UC Riverside joined the meeting by video to present his work on epidemiology and management of olive knot and the evaluation of new fungicides for control of olive leaf spot and Peacock Spot. Dr. Adaskaveg has been working with the OOCC for years and has during this time identified a number of promising products for the control of olive knot. The objective is to have a number of products with different active ingredients/ modes of action so that pathogens are unlikely to develop resistance.
Since these products are not registered on olives, an important part of his work now is on the regulatory side, seeing these products through the EPA process called IR-4. Unfortunately, one of the promising fungicides for Peacock Spot, Ziram (active ingredient ziram), was suddenly cancelled on all crops in February 2022.
There are additional products in process, including Syllit (a.i. dodine); a decision is expected in October of this year. There is also a product that was previously rejected, Topsin-M (a.i. thiophanate-methyl), that is now back in consideration. In all there are five new fungicide registrations expected.
For control of olive knot, a number of products have proven effective in the research. Some of these are GRAS (generally recognized as safe) food additives and some are antibiotics (kasugamycin and oxytetrcycline). In order to increase efficacy and reduce the danger of resistence, the most promising approach apprears to be a mixture of chemicals with different modes of action. The food additives do not require complex approvals but the antibiotics are in IR-4. There have been multiple setbacks, but a decision is now expected in December this year for kasugamycin and in March of 2023 for oxytetracycline.
Mohammed Nouri, UCCE Orchard Systems Advisor presented an investigation of decline symptoms of super-high-density oil olives in the San Joaquin Valley. There are multiple causes of tree decline in CA, including Verticillium wilt, Botryosphaeria, Pleurostoma, Eutypa lata and freezing temperatures; accurately diagnosing these in the field can be very difficult. Consult your local UCCE office or mnouri@ucanr.edufor guidance regarding sampling.
Dr. Nouri also spoke about the ongoing challenge of Neofabraea. This disease particularly affects the Arbosana cultivar, causing leaf and twig lesions. The infection primarily occurs in wounds caused by mechanical harvest damage but can also appear as spotting on fruit. Research has shown some control with a few fungicides that are in IR-4 for Peacock spot as well. A final optimistic result from a survey of anthracnose in CA found that this disease is not found in commercial CA orchards. It is unlikely to become a significant problem because of low humidity, dry summers, resistant cultivars and a tendency to harvest early.
Find the full research presentation on the epidemiology and management of olive knot and the evaluation of new fungicides for control of olive leaf spot and Peacock Spot here. — By the Olive Oil Commission of California
After a year’s hiatus, the Olive Oil Commission of California (OOCC) held its annual Olive Oil Day on March 3, 2022, at the Robert Cabral Agricultural Center in Stockton. The purpose of the Olive Oil Day is to update OOCC members and others in the industry about Commission-funded various research projects and other activities. In keeping with the OOCC’s objective of focusing research projects on areas that will improve returns to olive farmers, the majority of the presentations dealt with olive growing and pest management.
Among the many informative presentations shared at the meeting, Giulia Marino, UC Cooperative Extension specialist in orchard systems, gave a report on the “Water management strategies for hedgerow olive orchards in California“. This is a 4-year project that will look at how better irrigation can maximize yields, achieve quality objectives and increase resilience to water restrictions.
One aspect of this work has focused on better understanding the water needs of CA oil olives. All the basic water research on olives in CA was done on table olives so establishing these basic water needs for CA oil olives is essential.
The project is using two orchards, one in Corning and one in Stockton. The treatments are a control (the grower’s usual irrigation) and three deficit irrigation regimes beginning at pit hardening (80% ET, 25% ET (x2; one will be modified this year). The trees are being extensively monitored: stem water potential, vegetative growth, fruit size and oil yield and quality, and return bloom.
Work for the future includes measuring ET and crop coefficient, characterizing phenological stages of the olive, adding a 4th plant-based irrigation treatment and starting to develop an outreach program for better water management.
A field day to learn more about this research project has been scheduled for June 1 in Stockton—save the date!
Pumpkins (Cucurbita pepo) are a common vegetable crop sold at local pumpkin patches and farmers markets, in addition to commercial production. In 2019, the value of harvested pumpkin was worth $180 million.
In addition to the value of harvested pumpkins for commercial use (canned pumpkin, produce departments, etc.) pumpkins are also a staple crop in agritourism operations. In Kansas alone, there were 409 farms registered in the state in 2020. Agritourism enterprises have shown to benefit communities by connecting consumers with agriculture and help preserve farmland in rural and peri-urban areas.
Vegetable crop production typically involves smaller acreages than agronomic production. However, farmers often rely on intensive cultivation of soil to prepare the seedbed for planting. Tilling also helps manage weeds.
Agritourism enterprises have shown to benefit communities by connecting consumers with agriculture and help preserve farmland in rural and peri-urban communities. Shown here, a pumpkin patch where people can pick their own pumpkin as part of fall activities. Credit: Canva Pro
Over time, extensive tillage can have negative effects on soil structure and microbial properties. Researchers in Kansas recently published a paper studying conservation practices for pumpkin production. The research was published in Soil Science Society of America Journal, a publication of the Soil Science Society of America.
According to researcher Peter Tomlinson, “no-till production methods have been widely adopted by agronomic (field corn, soybean, wheat, etc.) growers throughout the United States. However, no-till practices for vegetable production in the Central United States are relatively rare. Mid-Atlantic States such as Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Maryland have adopted no-till practices for pumpkin and other large-seeded vegetable crops.”
The study compared growing pumpkins in a biannual tilled control system with annual tilled systems that used cover crops. “This project is designed to compare systems, rather than individual effects of cover crops or tillage,” says Tomlinson. The authors reported the effects of a three-year project on dynamic soil properties.
The annual systems used cover crops planted into the soil. They were terminated before planting the pumpkins. The team researched cereal rye and oat alone, as well as cereal rye with other cover crops mixed in. They performed the study over three growing seasons at two sites – Eastern and South-Central Kansas. Both sites have humid climates with warm summers, and loam-type soils.
A field planted with pumpkins grown in a cover crop system with cereal rye. Cover crops have proven environmental benefits, though many vegetable growers in the Midwest have been slower to adopt this conservation practice. A recent study showed soil health benefits with no reduction in yield. Credit: DeAnn R. Presley
At each of the study sites, soil health was assessed at two key times; plots were sampled 2-3 weeks after pumpkin planting, and immediately after pumpkin harvest.
The main soil physical property that was affected by management systems used in this study was an improvement with the use of conservation systems in total soil aggregation and the presence of very large aggregates. Soil aggregates are small particles of soil held together with a glue-like substance. This is usually due to microbial activity. Soil aggregates help in the stability of the soil making it less prone to wind and water erosion.
“Adding cover crops and reducing tillage in a pumpkin production system can cause a measurable change in soil aggregation in a short period of time, two years in this study,” says Tomlinson.
“There were few instances where the species or mixture of species influenced the results,” he continues. “Rather, the presence of cover crops in the conservation systems appears to have a more dominant role. The significance of this work is that it demonstrated there can be measurable changes in some dynamic soil properties in the short term (two years). This is within a system that involves a reduction in tillage operations and the addition of cover crops.”
“We conclude that the use of less tillage and a cover crop in a conservation system is generally beneficial as compared to a conventional system. This study illustrates the potential for improving some soil health parameters in as little as two years,” says Tomlinson. Future research will focus on how the implementation of conservation system across a range of agricultural systems and time scales effect dynamic soil properties.”
Funding for this research was provided by NRCS Conservation Innovation Grant.
Cathryn Davis measuring infiltration rates in an oat cover crop during her MS research published in this paper (photo by DeAnn R. Presley)
Dara joins NWREC from the University of California Cooperative Extension in San Louis Obispo. With more than 25 years of experience in research and extension, he brings expertise in IPM, microbial control, biostimulants, and biological soil amendments. Recognized for his development of innovative solutions in sustainable crop production and protection, he is passionate about connecting with both the agricultural community and the general public in raising awareness about food production and promoting equitable food access.
“We are excited to have Surendra join the team and take on the leadership role at one of the most agriculturally diverse experiment stations in the state,” said Alan Sams, Dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences and Director of the Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station. “His expertise in innovative agricultural production and his passion for connecting with people from all backgrounds is critical to a region that relies on agricultural production for its economic and social vitality.”
Nearly 40% of the $5.7 billion farmgate value of Oregon agriculture is produced within a 50-mile radius of NWREC. The researchers and extension faculty at the station focus their work and programming on some of Oregon’s most important local agricultural crops, including: greenhouses and nurseries, hazelnuts, berries, vegetables and specialty seed production, Christmas trees, orchard crops, and field and grass crops. In addition, four other programs cut across these crop systems—small farms production, organic production, pesticide research, and agrivoltaics.
“Research stations play a critical role in the local economy and how we contribute to the success of sustainable agriculture,” Dara explained. “The densely diverse agricultural production and proximity to an urban center make this station such a unique place to contribute to science and community. So much about this position, the station, and the College align with my values and goals. I am eager to get started and take this opportunity to make a meaningful difference.”
Dara is filling the position left open by Mike Bondi, who recently retired after a distinguished career serving Oregon State University since 1978, including the past 10 years as the director of NWREC.
In addition to his scientific and community contributions, Dara is also a talented poet, writer, lyricists in his native language Telugu and stand-up comedian. He founded Laugh To Live in 2008 and gives talks about finding happiness.
Dara began his new role as director of NWREC on January 18, 2022.
UC Cooperative Experts shared their latest research findings in olive disease management at the recent Olive 
Pumpkins (Cucurbita pepo) are a common vegetable crop sold at local pumpkin patches and farmers markets, in addition to commercial production. In 2019, the value of harvested pumpkin was worth $180 million.
