California Fruit and Vegetable

Category: Non-Video

  • 100+ Water Ag Organizations Urge Congress to Address Western Water Challenges

    Over 100 organizations representing water and agricultural interests in the Western U.S. urged Congress today to use any infrastructure package under consideration to help address severe hydrological conditions in the West.

    “As a nation we must continually invest in the Western water infrastructure necessary to meet current and future demands,” the groups stated in a letter sent to key congressional committees and Western senators. “Our existing water infrastructure in the West is aging and in need of rehabilitation and improvement.”

    President Trump has said infrastructure might be one area that both political parties in the 116th Congress can agree upon. The Democratic Party’s to-do list also includes an ambitious infrastructure program. Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OREGON) – one of the recipients of the letter – now chairs the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, where he intends to lead efforts to produce a multi-billion-dollar infrastructure bill to fund transportation and water projects.

    “As water flows down from the Colorado Rockies – not unlike the water wheels of days gone by – it still drives the economies of thousands of communities on its way to the ocean,” said Colorado Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association President Robert Sakata. “As we ask more of this precious resource, we can’t ignore the creaks and groans from outdated infrastructure, as well as the offerings of new technologies to improve water use efficiency.”

     

    “The recent wet weather notwithstanding, we know that persistent drought conditions in the western United States are the new normal,” said Western Growers President and CEO Tom Nassif . “For this reason, our nation must invest, in earnest, in the long-term security of our water supplies in the West.”

    The letter underscores that water conservation, water recycling, watershed management, conveyance, desalination, water transfers, groundwater storage, and surface storage are all needed in a diversified management portfolio.

    “We need you to ensure that Western water users have every tool available to survive and recover from years of drought and to prepare for the hard, dry years the future may hold,” the letter states. “We call upon each of you to push forward on infrastructure and in so doing you must use any infrastructure package to not only address our nation’s chronic needs surrounding roads and bridges, but to also include water infrastructure needs for storage and conveyance.”

  • The Benefits of Environmental Monitoring

    Each year roughly 48 million people get sick, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die from
    foodborne illnesses according to the CDC. As our food supply becomes progressively more
    globalized, the need to strengthen food safety systems in and between countries has become
    much more apparent.

    Legislation like the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)now enables the Food & Drug
    Administration (FDA) to better protect consumers by strengthening food safety systems for
    foodborne illnesses, which are mostly preventable and are a significant public health burden.
    With the creation of FSMA, the FDA has become more proactive towards food safety
    prevention. One solution to the ever-growing issue of foodborne illness is the inclusion of a
    robust Environmental Monitoring Program (EMP).

    Understanding Environmental Monitoring

    According to FDA rule Verification of Implementation and Effectiveness CFR 21 section 117.165
    and the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Final Rule for Preventive Controls for Human
    Food:

    A facility who has identified a potential environmental pathogen or indicator organism
    as a hazard to ready-to-eat (RTE) foods are required to include an EMP in their food
    safety plan. A trained Preventive Controls Qualified Individual (PCQI) needs to review
    EMP test results to ensure that the Food Safety Plan is being followed.

    It is necessary for a FSMA EMP compliant Food Safety Plan to include:

    •  Established, written and scientifically valid procedures
    •  Identified testing microorganisms, adequate locations, and number of collection sites
    •  Identified timing and frequencies for collecting and testing samples
    • Identified Corrective Action Procedures in compliance with CFR 21 section 117.150
    •  Testing performed by an accredited laboratory.

    The Benefits

    The purpose of an EMP is to identify problem areas where potentially harmful microorganisms
    may be harboring, becoming a source of contamination; as well as verifying the effectiveness
    of sanitation programs. Several benefits of an EMP include:

    • Validation and verification of cleaning and sanitation programs. i.e., procedures and
      frequency
    • Provides data of the overall effectiveness of your sanitary program, personnel
      practices, and operations procedures
    • Provides data about indicator organisms, spoilage organisms, and pathogens to
      prevent outbreaks
    • Determines if facility maintenance is required, i.e., filter changes
    • Acts as a baseline microbiological assessment of a facility’s environment
    • Helps users find and eliminate potential contamination sites before it has spread

    Areas of Concern

    There are many routes environmental pathogens and other harmful organisms can be
    introduced directly into your facility. Some of these routes are by raw materials, ingredients,
    supplies, equipment, and vehicles, as well as personnel, visitors and pests. Two harmful
    pathogens to keep track of are Salmonella and Listeria.

    Salmonella

    Salmonella is a widespread and resilient bacteria that is found in the environment. It can
    survive in “dry” manufacturing environments, as well as “wet” manufacturing environments.
    Essentially, it is a versatile bacteria that has the potential to causes harm when you
    aren’t proactive.

    According to the CDC, Salmonella causes around 1 million foodborne illnesses, 19,000
    hospitalizations and 380 deaths in the United States annually.

    Not only can Salmonella result in foodborne illnesses, but it can also result in a costly recall for
    your company. FDA currently considers Salmonella to be the top environmental pathogen of
    concern in low moisture foods. Outbreaks and recallscaused by Salmonella have been linked
    to raw chicken, ground beef, pre-cut melon, and breakfast cereals. There is also a history of
    recalls in tree nuts, nut butter, alfalfa sprouts, cantaloupes, and chicken.
    Our article “Salmonella- The Most Common Bacterial Foodborne Disease”goes into detail
    about Salmonella and effective ways for you to prevent it in your facility.

    Listeria

    Listeria bacteria is prevalent in the environment. It is found in soil, water, and
    decaying vegetation.There are six types of listeria, but only Listeria
    monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes) is considered harmful to humans.

    L. monocytogenes is persistent in and around equipment and the processing
    environments in harborage sites. It can survive and grow at refrigerated
    temperatures, tolerate high salt concentrations such as a brine tank, and
    survive frozen storage for extended periods. Due to these factors, L.
    monocytogenes presents a severe food safety concern.

    According to CDC, L. monocytogenes causes about 1,600 foodborne illnesses and 260
    people deaths in the United States annually. Outbreaks and recalls are regularly linked to
    ready-to-eat RTE sliced meats, frozen vegetables, packages salads, dairy products, and
    cantaloupes.

    How to be Proactive

    To systemically combat these pathogens, a robust Environmental Monitoring Program usually
    utilizes zoning concepts. Zones are a useful tool that can help you in site selection within your
    facility. The EMP zoning concept divides risks into four zones based on the level of risk to
    product contamination with Zone 1 being the highest.

    Zone 1– Direct or indirect Food Contact Surfaces (FCS), i.e. product conveyors, product
    chutes, storage hoppers, slicers, worktables and employee hands.

    Recommended testing for zone 1 are:

    • Aerobic Plate Count (APC)
    • Enterobacteriaceae (TEB)
    • Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) rapid testing

    Pathogens need to be tested in special circumstances such as a response to Positive
    Salmonella product result.

    Zone 2– Non-FCS that are adjacent to or close to zone 1, i.e., equipment supports, frames,
    control panels, weight scales, floor drains and air filters.

    Recommended organisms to be tested:

    • Salmonella spp
    • Listeria spp

    Both of these tests need to be performed weekly.

    Zone 3– Non-FCS within process area but further
    removed from product contact surfaces in open
    product areas, i.e., forklifts, walls, floors, ceilings,
    wash stations and brooms.

    Recommended organisms to be tested:

    • Salmonella spp
    • Listeria spp

    Both of these tests need to be performed weekly.

    Zone 4– Non-FCS outside of the processing areas,
    i.e., locker rooms, cafeteria, hallways, trash areas,
    wash stations outside of production areas and
    loading docks.

    Recommended organisms to be tested:

    •  Salmonella spp
    •  Listeria spp

    Both of these tests need to be performed weekly.

    If you find a positive environmental result in any of the zones, immediately quarantine the
    area and put affected product on hold. Next, thoroughly investigated the area both visually
    and with microbial testing.

    Understanding Vector Swabbing

    The best way to investigate a positive
    environmental result is with vector swabbing.
    Vector swabbing determines the extent of the
    contamination and to establish potential root
    causes of the contamination.

    Diagram is courtesy of the PEM Guidance on Environmental
    Monitoring, Almond Board of California

    Vector swabbing involves sampling of multiple environmental sample sites around the initial positive site in a radial patter. This approach gives you the best possible coverage of
    the environment.

    What to remember when swabbing:

    •  Vector swabbing needs to be sampled before cleaning the initial positive site.
    • Make sure the area is thoroughly cleaned and sanitized, taking great care not to
      spread the contamination to surrounding areas.
    •  Take additional environmental after the cleaning process.
    • You need to obtain three consecutive days of negative results until you can return to
      your regular EMP.

    Sampling

    After you have established your zones and your
    proposed action plan in the event of a positive environmental sample, you now need to
    samples the intended sites. Various methods can be used for collecting environmental
    samples such as sterile swabs and sponges. When collecting these types of samples, the
    surface area sampled can vary depending on the target site. An acceptable sampling area for
    indicator organisms is 40-200 in 2 and for pathogens is 40-400 in 2 .

    If the sampling collection is post sanitizer application, make sure the sterile swab and
    sponge has a neutralizing buffer. The neutralizing buffer counteracts cleaners and sanitizers
    that have been used- we want to find any surviving bacteria if they are present. Environmental
    samples are to be promptly submitted to an accredited Laboratory for testing. Ideally,
    environmental samples should be transported <45 o F and processed within 48 hours.

    Next Steps

    The cost of environmental contamination can be high, so you must ask yourself what risk you
    are willing to take? To save yourself a lot of trouble ensure you have an effective and robust
    Environmental Monitoring Program!

    With one, you can guarantee that you find any potential contamination risk and eliminate it
    before any possible cross-contamination of your product occurs. It is important to remember
    that commitment is needed throughout the facility, from senior management and cascading
    down to the rest of the workforce. Sufficient resources, both in capital and personnel to do an
    adequate job are also needed, and while the thought of creating a new EMP may seem like a
    daunting task, the outcome is not only beneficial for your facility but also to the consumer.

    Safe Food Alliance offers an online course for Environmental Monitoring to help you
    understand what Environmental Monitoring is, what the requirements for FSMA are, and other
    information to help with creating and understanding your Environmental Monitoring
    program.

  • Salmonella – The Most Common Bacterial Foodborne Disease

    Salmonella – we all know it’s bad for us but why? What is it? Where does it come from? Why
    should we care? Does my company have a plan in place if something tests positive?
    With all the news lately about one recall after another, it is easy to be tormented with endless
    questions. I am here to tell you that with a food safety plan and proper testing, Salmonella is a threat that
    you can handle.

    Background of Salmonella

    Salmonella is one of the most difficult foodborne pathogens to eliminate. Not correctly
    dealing with the pathogen is harmful to your company’s reputation and pocketbook.
    According to an annual study done by Food Safety News, foodborne illness in the United
    States has an annual estimated cost of $77.7 to $152 billion, not including reduced customer
    confidence, recall losses, litigation or the cost from public health agencies who respond to the
    outbreak (8).

    Salmonella itself is a motile, facultative anaerobe bacterium which causes salmonellosis. That
    means that Salmonella is a fast-moving bacterium, that can survive with or without oxygen,
    and causes Salmonellosis (Salmonella infection). Salmonellosis is the way to describe being
    symptomatically infected by Salmonella.

    Salmonella was first isolated in 1885 by an assistant to American scientist, Dr. Daniel Salmon.
    Since then, scientists have discovered many different variations (~2,500 serotypes) of
    Salmonella which can cause infection. The bacteria cause illness for 4 to 7 days. In some cases,
    Salmonella can escape from the intestines and enter the bloodstream. Once in the
    bloodstream, it infects other body sites causing severe infections. Children under the age of
    five, elderly, and people with weakened immune systems are most likely to have severe
    infections. Research has shown that Salmonella infections are more likely to occur during the
    summer months. Therefore extra care must be taken from May thru August to prevent
    outbreaks in your facility.

    Illustration from Food Safety News

    By the Numbers
    In 2018 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated:

    • 1,027,567 cases of Salmonella
    • 19,336 resulted in hospitalizations
    • 378 of cases resulted in death
    • Roughly 13% of all foodborne deaths come from Salmonella

    How Do You Become Infected?

    Salmonella is in raw and undercooked eggs, poultry, meat, fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts,
    water, and unpasteurized dairy products. To grow, Salmonella colonizes in the intestines of
    animals and spreads through feces. Humans can also spread the pathogen. Not washing
    hands after a bowel movement followed by direct contact with another person, touching a
    surface, or preparing food leads to transmission. If you think not washing your hands is the
    only cause, you thought wrong. Water infected with the bacteria can provide an optimum
    environment for growth. When contaminated water spreads onto irrigate crops, the final
    product delivers the bacteria into the consumers home.

    Why Test for Salmonella?

    • Public health impact (deaths, hospitalizations)
    • Contamination in water (Adulteration of the food supply chain)
    • Company Reputation (Loss of consumer confidence)
    • Recalls, FDA Investigations (Time and lost money, black mark on company name)
    • Economic loss (Bankruptcy, cost of finding recalled product)
    • Lawsuits, prison sentences (Selling food known/unknown to be positive

    As you can see, Salmonella has a genuine impact on the longevity of a business.

    2018 Salmonella Outbreaks and Cost:

    Map

    How to Prevent Salmonella:

    The easiest way to prevent Salmonella in products is by having good manufacturing
    practices, washing hands, and testing.

    Washing your hands is the easiest way to help prevent the spread of Salmonella. Besides
    washing your hands, testing your product for Salmonella is standard practice for most
    companies. Both Safe Food Alliance Lab locations have years of experience helping
    companies test for Salmonella. With Safe Food Alliance, results are readily available 48 to 72
    hours after receipt. If you would like to send in a sample of your commodity for analysis, click
    here.

    Safe Food Alliance utilizes methods validated by the Association of Official Agricultural
    Chemists (AOAC), a group closely linked to the FDA and the USDA. If you receive a positive
    result, confirmation steps are taken to provide you with even more confidence that the
    samples are accurate. All testing is done according to industry standards.

    Another method for detection of Salmonella is testing via swabbing at the facility. Swabbing
    ensures that proper sanitation processes are being met and helps avoid cross-contamination.
    Environmental swabs also detect the pathogen on the surfaces of machinery, walls, floors, or
    anywhere else in your facility. This type of testing needs to be done regularly and at various
    locations. So don’t let it slip by! To learn more about getting swabs for testing, please contact
    Kyla Ihde at kylai@safefoodalliance.com.

    Safe Food Alliance is currently offering an Environmental Monitoring online class which
    outlines the swabbing process and guidelines. For more information about the online course,
    please visit https://academy.safefoodalliance.com/.

  • When Life Gives you Sour Lemons, Use Genetics to Find Out Why!

    A team of researchers, including two from the University of California, Riverside, has identified the genes responsible for the hallmark sour taste of many citrus fruits. Published Tuesday, Feb. 25 in Nature Communications, the research could help plant breeders develop new, sweeter varieties.

    Modern citrus varieties have been bred over thousands of years to generate a broad palette of sour and sweet-tasting fruits. Analyses of their pulp reveals that a single chemical element—hydrogen—is largely responsible for the difference between sour and sweet-tasting varieties, which usually have similar sugar content. The pulp from sour fruits contains more hydrogen ions, giving it a lower pH and a tangy taste that is recognized by acid-sensitive cells in our taste buds. Conversely, pulp from sweeter varieties contains fewer hydrogen ions and tastes less acidic.

    Ronald Koes and colleagues at the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands set out to untangle how some citrus varieties wind up with more acidic juice than others, a process that until now has remained a mystery. Their interest stemmed from a previous study showing that higher acidity in purple petunia flowers resulted in more petal pigmentation.

    Intrigued by the Faris variety of lemon tree, which produces branches bearing both sweet and sour fruits, and white and purple-tinged flowers, Koes’ team turned to UCR plant scientists Mikeal Roose and Claire Federici. Using the university’s vast Citrus Variety Collection, which preserves over 1,000 living citrus and related fruit varieties, Roose and Federici selected the Faris lemon and 20 other citrus fruits ranging from wincingly sour to sugary sweet for Koes’ team to analyze.

    By studying the expression of genes related to those controlling acidity in petunias, Koes’ team identified two citrus genes, CitPH1 and CitPH5, that are highly expressed in sour varieties and weakly expressed in sweet-tasting varieties. The CitPH1 and CitPH5 genes encode transporter proteins that pump hydrogen ions into the vacuole, a large storage compartment inside juice cells, thus increasing their overall acidity.

    Next, the team turned its attention to genes that control the levels of CitPH1 and CitPH5 in juice cells. While down-regulation of CitPH1 and CitPH5 in sweeter tasting varieties arose multiple times independently in different varieties, the researchers found that mutations in genes for a handful of transcription factors (proteins that help turn specific genes on and off) were responsible for reduced expression of CitPH1 and CitPH5, and therefore a sweeter taste.

    Roose, a professor of genetics in UCR’s College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, said the findings could help breeders develop better-tasting citrus fruits. However, he said breeding varieties with severe mutations in the transcription factors such as those studied in the “acidless” citrus would be “overkill,” producing sugary citrus fruits with none of their popular acidic kick. Instead, plant scientists should look to target mutations that have a less dramatic effect on the production and activity of transporter proteins.

    “By understanding the mechanism acidification of fruit cells, we can now look for related genes that might reduce the expression of CitPH1 and CitPH5 just enough to engineer or select for new, sweeter varieties,” Roose said.

    The title of the paper is “Hyperacidification of Citrus fruits by a vacuolar proton-pumping P-ATPase complex.” In addition to Koes, authors at the University of Amsterdam are Pamela Strazzer, Cornelis Spelt, Shuangjiang Li, Mattijs Bliek, and Francesca Quattrocchio. Roose and Federici’s work was supported by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

    About UC Riverside: The University of California, Riverside (www.ucr.edu) is a doctoral research university, a living laboratory for groundbreaking exploration of issues critical to Inland Southern California, the state and communities around the world. Reflecting California’s diverse culture, UCR’s enrollment is now nearly 23,000 students. The campus opened a medical school in 2013 and has reached the heart of the Coachella Valley by way of the UCR Palm Desert Center. The campus has an annual statewide economic impact of more than $1 billion. To learn more, call (951) UCR-NEWS.

  • California Fresh Fruit Association Hosts 83rd Annual Meeting

    (Santa Barbara, CA) – The California Fresh Fruit Association (CFFA) kicked off their new fiscal year
    yesterday during the Annual Membership Meeting at their 83rd Annual Meeting in Santa Barbara,
    California. The event featured the election of the Board of Directors and Chairman, as well as industry and
    committee updates.

    Santa Barbara Meeting

    The Board of Directors is made up of 44 men and women from operations located from as far south as Coachella Valley to as far north as Lake County. Randy Giumarra (Giumarra Vineyards) was elected as Chairman of the Board of Directors for the 2019/20 fiscal year. The organization’s officers are nominated to serve for a one-year period and are selected by a committee of past Board Chairs. The full slate of officers includes:

    CHAIR: Randy Giumarra (Giumarra Vineyards) – Bakersfield-based fresh grape and tree fruit shipper

    FIRST VICE CHAIR: Kevin Herman (The Specialty Crop Company) – Madera-based fresh fig,
    pomegranate, and persimmon shipper

    SECOND VICE CHAIR: Wayde Kirschenman (Kirschenman Enterprises) – Kern County-based diversified
    farming operation

    SECRETARY/TREASURER: Louis Pandol (Pandol Bros., Inc.) – Delano-based fresh grape shipper
    The Association honored Kent Stephens, CFO of Marko Zaninovich, Inc., with the prestigious Mentor’s
    Award, which is bestowed to an individual who has demonstrated exceptional dedication to the fresh grape,
    berry and tree fruit communities through their leadership in the industry. Stephens, through his work in both
    the table grape industry and water advocacy, has made an immensely positive impact on California
    agriculture over his forty year career. The Mentor’s Award was first awarded in 1966 to Mr. Martin
    Zaninovich of Jasmine Vineyards, Inc. An awardee is selected by the Association’s Mentors’ Committee
    and a recipient is selected based on the following criteria: a trusted counselor or guide; a wise, loyal advisor;
    a tutor, coach, teacher; and a person who, through effort, discovery, innovation, dedication, and/or perseverance, has influenced the industry in a positive way.Santa Barbara Meeting

    Prior to the Annual Membership Meeting, the Annual Industry Workshop featured key note speakers Mr.
    Ruben Navarrette and Mr. John Manzella. Both speakers delivered passionate messages about the issues
    of immigration and trade wars, as well as many other issues that are impacting the future of California agriculture and what our industry must do to be prepared.

  • Kern County Spring Citrus Meeting – March 8

    The University of California Kern County Cooperative Extension is holding a spring citrus meeting on Friday, March 8 from 8:30 a.m. to noon at the Kern County Cooperative Extension auditorium. Meeting topics include the latest Asian citrus psyllid treatment strategies, the 2019 Kern County ACP coordinated treatment plan and more. The meeting is open to all citrus growers and affiliates.

    Continuing Education (CE) units or Certified Crop Advisor (CCA) units are not available for this meeting. A full list of speakers and topics is provided below.

    8:30 a.m.
    Registration

    9 a.m.
    Latest Treatment Strategies for Asian Citrus Psyllid
    Dr. Beth Grafton-Cardwell, director, Lindcove Research & Extension Center

    ACP-HLB Update and 2019 Kern Coordinated ACP Treatment Plan
    Judy Zaninovich, Kern County ACP-HLB Grower Liaison

    Are You Applying Imidacloprid Properly?
    Rick Leonard, Bayer

    What Should We Do About California Red Scale?
    Dr. Beth Grafton-Cardwell, director, Lindcove Research & Extension Center

    Spider Mites of Concern in the Lower San Joaquin Valley
    David Haviland, Kern County Cooperative Extension entomologist and Farm Advisor

    Noon
    Adjourn

    Meeting details:
    Friday, March 8
    8:30 a.m. to Noon
    Kern County Cooperative Extension Auditorium
    1031 S. Mount Vernon Ave.
    Bakersfield, CA 93307

    For questions, please contact: 
    Judy Zaninovich
    Kern County ACP-HLB Grower Liaison
    jsleslie@msn.com

  • International Citrus Research Conferences Come to Riverside

    To explore and discover solutions to plant diseases impacting the global citrus industry, the 21st Conference of the International Organization of Citrus Virologists (IOCV) and the 6th International Research Conference on Huanglongbing (IRCHLB)are taking place at the Riverside Convention Center in Riverside from March 10-15, 2019.

    Co-organized by Citrus Research Board, the conferences will bring more than 500 attendees – from leading researchers and regulators to citrus growers – representing over 22 countries to Southern California, the birthplace of California’s iconic citrus trees. This is the first time the IOCV and IRCHLB conferences will be held in conjunction.

    The IOCV conference returns to Riverside for the first time since the inaugural Citrus Virus Diseases conference in 1957, which was organized on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Citrus Experiment Station at the University of California, Riverside in 1907*.

    The IOCV conference will take place from March 10-12, and features presentations on citrus leprosis, tristeza, yellow vein clearing and the de novo discovery of citrus viruses, as well as citrus viroids and diagnostics. In addition, for the first time in the history of IOCV, the conference will include sessions on non-graft-transmissible diseases of citrus.

    Taking place March 12-15, the IRCHLB will feature research presentations and interactive sessions on the global status of Huanglongbing (HLB), a summary of current HLB research efforts and the vision for long-term sustainable HLB management practices. HLB has killed hundreds of thousands of citrus trees in Florida and other countries, and is one of the biggest threats facing California’s commercial citrus industry.

    “California’s citrus community is honored to be hosting the Joint Conference of the IOCV and IRCHLB and hosting citrus researchers from around the world. We’re looking forward to learning about breakthroughs from our fellow scientists and collaborating with them to find sustainable solutions to the disease threats facing the citrus industry,”said UC Riverside Professor Georgios Vidalakis, chair of the Joint Conference. “On behalf of the conference, we are grateful for the support of Citrus Research Board – one of the leading citrus research organizations – and the staff that took the lead on organizing and hosting the conference.”

    About the Joint 2019 IOCV-IRCHLB Conferences 

    The 21st Conference of the International Organization of Citrus Virologists and the 6th International Research Conference on Huanglongbing is organized by the Citrus Research Board; the University of California, Riverside; and the United States Department of Agriculture’sAgricultural Research Service in collaboration with numerous citrus industry, state and federal government, and university partners. Learn more at www.iocvirchlb.com. 

    About Citrus Research Board

    Citrus Research Board administers the California Citrus Research Program, the grower-funded and grower-directed program established in 1968 enabling the state’s citrus producers to sponsor and support needed research. More information about the Citrus Research Board may be found at www.citrusresearch.org.

  • Breeding a Better Strawberry:Scientists Uncover Genetic Roadmap of Cultivated Strawberry

    Consumers want strawberries to be red, sweet, ripe and juicy, like those fresh picked from a garden. Suppliers want them to be easy to handle and ship, without getting squished. Commercial strawberry growers need their crops to be high-yielding and disease-resistant.

    An international team of scientists led by the University of California, Davis, and Michigan State University has taken a step that might allow breeders to grow a strawberry to satisfy all those needs. They’ve sequenced and analyzed the genome of the cultivated strawberry, which will provide a genetic roadmap to help more precisely select desired traits. The study was published today (Feb. 25) in the journal Nature Genetics.

    “Without the genome we were flying blind,” said Steven Knapp, professor of plant sciences and director of the UC Davis Strawberry Breeding Program. “It was like having a library of books, but all the books’ pages were blank.”

    Protecting strawberries from disease

    The U.S. is the world’s largest producer of strawberries, and almost 90 percent of them are grown in the cool, coastal climates of California. Growers are constantly struggling to fight off diseases like Fusarium wilt, Verticillium wilt and Macrophomina without having to use fumigants. The assembled genome will allow scientists to pinpoint specific genes that can protect the plant against diseases. Strawberries can also have diseases that may involve several different genes, similar to complex diseases in humans. Sequencing the genome will help unravel that complexity.

    “The genome sequence is powerful because it provides scientists with barcodes for nearly all the genes in strawberry. We can use that information to identify genes that play an important role in traits of agricultural importance,” said Knapp.

    Similarly, scientists may also be able to find genes in the strawberry that lead to increased flavor or aroma for the consumer, while maintaining the firmness and shelf life for producers.

    strawberriesOrigins of the strawberry

    Patrick Edger, co-corresponding author with Michigan State University, and his team also deciphered the complex evolutionary history of the cultivated strawberry. While humans are diploid species, meaning each cell contains two complete sets of chromosomes, one from each parent, the cultivated strawberry is an octoploid. Each cell in a strawberry plant contains eight complete sets of chromosomes, so untangling its evolution is a feat.

    “Strawberry has a rich history that spans the globe, ultimately culminating in the fruit we enjoy today,” said Edger.

    Other UC Davis authors in the study include postdoctoral scholars Thomas Poorten and Michael Hardigan. The study was funded by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, the National Science Foundation, and the California Strawberry Commission.

    — By Amy Quinton in Food & Agriculture

  • Expert Panels Added to California Olive Oil Day Program

    It’s not too late to register for the Olive Oil Commission of California’s second annual​ ​California Olive Oil Day to be held March 5, 2019 at the Robert J. Cabral Ag Center in Stockton. The event is free and open to all interested industry members.

    The day-long ​program​ will include a morning session from 8:30 a.m. to noon and an afternoon session from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. with lunch in between.

    The morning session will include presentations on OOCC-funded research projects including work done by the UC Davis Olive Center on the OOCC’s mandatory government sampling and testing program along with updates from other University researchers on olive oil pests and diseases. Additionally, the program will include a presentation by a panel of representatives from the UC Davis Olive Center, the California Olive Oil Council, the American Olive Oil Producers Association and the OOCC. Each will provide an overview of the unique activities they conduct to support the olive oil industry.

    Lunch will be served at noon with the afternoon session beginning at 1:00 p.m. This portion of the program features material from the OOCC Olive Oil Quality Workshop developed to educate producers and all sectors of the olive oil supply chain on the best practices to enhance quality and extend shelf life. A panel of olive oil experts has also been added to this presentation and will include: David Garci-Aguirre from Corto Olive Oil; Marcelo Berlanda from California Olive Ranch; Natalia Ruiz from Modern Olives; and Samantha Dorsey from McEvoy Ranch. Panel members will answer questions and present their views on a host of factors affecting the quality of olive oil. Alexandra Kicenik Devarenne, olive oil consultant, will present the quality workshop and moderate the panel discussion.

    Attendees are welcome to come for either or both the morning and afternoon sessions as well as to join us for lunch. For more information on California Olive Oil Day click ​here​. To RSVP for this free event, please contact Tyler Rood at ​tyler@agamsi.com​ by February 28.

  • Automated System Would Deliver Chemicals to Help Ward off Citrus Greening

    GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Imagine using a robotic arm to grip and puncture the trunk of a citrus tree to deliver chemicals into the vascular parts of the plant, reducing its susceptibility to the citrus greening disease.

    Ozgur Batuman, an assistant professor of plant pathology at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, leads a team of researchers trying to make the automated delivery system a reality to help growers deal with the disease. Greening has led to huge losses for Florida’s multibillion dollar-a-year citrus industry.

    “The automated delivery system can be installed on any farm equipment and be operated by anyone who is driving – physically or remotely,” Batuman said. The person will be trained to use a joystick to control the arm that delivers the chemicals, he said.

    To conduct the research, scientists will use a $3.4 million grant from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, an arm of the USDA.

    The system would extend from a tractor or ATV to grab the tree trunk. Because the grip has many small needles, it can create numerous tiny openings in the tree, said Batuman, a faculty member at the UF/IFAS Southwest Florida Research and Education Center in Immokalee, Florida.

     

    Psyllids Thumb

    Bactericides can enter the tree through those small openings, he said. These areas on the trunk with openings will be covered with a reservoir, such as a funnel or plastic balloon, that will hold the liquid containing the bactericide, Batuman said. The liquid then slowly enters through the holes of the trunk.

    This contrasts with traditional tree trunk injections, in which a grower would use large, single-needle syringes to inject liquid materials in one spot, Batuman said.

    Most bactericide treatments are not very effective at staving off citrus greening because they were not directly delivered into the citrus vascular system, where greening — and its associated bacterium, Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas) lives, he said. The therapeutic chemicals can kill or suppress the growth of CLas and can be used in greening-affected plants, Batuman said. The system can also help newly planted trees fight greening by controlling the Asian citrus psyllid, which can transmit greening into citrus plants, he said.

    Researchers see the automated delivery system as part of an integrated pest management program to help stem the psyllid.

    “We are developing a delivery method that will send chemicals with therapeutic potential into phloem, where bacteria live,” Batuman said.

    This four-year project will also study citrus vascular systems with a multidisciplinary research team. Members of the team are
    , an associate professor of plant pathology; Amit Levy, an assistant professor of plant pathology; Ute Albrecht, an assistant professor of horticultural sciences; Fernando Alferez, an assistant professor of horticultural sciences; Yiannis Ampatzidis, an assistant professor of agricultural and biological engineering and Tara Wade, an assistant professor of food and resource economics – all with UF/IFAS. Also on the team are Louise Ferguson, an Extension specialist with the University of California-Davis and Veronica Ancona, an assistant professor of plant pathology at the Texas A&M University-Kingsville Citrus Center.

    By: Brad Buck, 352-294-3303, bradbuck@ufl.edu