California Fruit and Vegetable

Tag: California Fresh Fruit Magazine

  • COMMISSION PROMOTES JUNE CALIFORNIA AVOCADO MONTH

    Summer 2020 marks the ninth year the California Avocado Commission (CAC) has celebrated California Avocado Month, showcasing the availability and versatility of the premium fruit during peak harvest in June. This year, with extended safer-at-home orders in states with the majority of California avocado distribution, the Commission placed renewed emphasis on recipes consumers can prepare at home. “Consumers are continuing to do more cooking at home and they are seeking recipes both for simple comfort foods and for ideas that break the boredom,” noted Jan DeLyser, CAC’s vice president marketing. “During California Avocado Month CAC is promoting recipes on both ends of the spectrum.”

    The Commission partnered with Chef Jordan Kahn of Vespertine in Culver City (who was named “best new chef” in 2017 by Food & Wine Magazine) to create a variety of California avocado-centric recipe concepts. When the in-person California Avocado Month media preview event was cancelled in May, the Commission quickly pivoted and delivered Chef Kahn’s culinary creations and branded California avocado items to the homes of key Los Angeles media and influencers. These personalized deliveries were designed to generate excitement for peak California avocado season and inspire the influencers to share their love for their home-state fruit on their social channels.

    To meet consumers’ penchant for healthy and creative California avocado recipes they can easily prepare at home, the Commission partnered with four award-winning chefs who developed recipes they felt would become the next hottest trend in avocados — in other words, the “next avocado toast.”

    The Commission also partnered with 11 influential California Avocado Blogger Advocates. Throughout the month of June these advocates are publishing unique recipes, blogs posts and photography on their social channels while highlighting techniques that will help consumers prepare fresh California avocado snacks and meals at home.

    CAC’s “Living Well” Brand Advocates will showcase the nutritious benefits of the fruit with recipes consumers can enjoy throughout the day. Registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN) Elizabeth Shaw is sharing California avocado recipes suited for any summer occasion — from backyard picnics to holiday celebrations — on her blog, social channels and ABC’s San Diego Connect. Culinary influencer Patty Mastracco will be a guest on Sacramento’s KTXL FOX40. During the two-part live television segment she will feature grilled California avocados as a great addition to classic summer recipes for the American summer holidays and beyond. RDN Manuel Villacorta crafted a recipe focused on a top health issue facing men today: hearth health. His California Avocado Steak Sandwich Recipe provides consumers with a grilled summer alternative that can be served as a sandwich or salad.

    Rounding out the California Avocado Month promotions are “The best avocados have California in them” advertising campaign, consumer emails, California Avocado Month posts on the Commission’s social media platforms and promotional videos. These assets will appear on streaming video, digital and social channels to reach consumers who continue to shelter at home and encourage them to seek out their favorite fruit during the peak of California avocado season.

  • Covid-19, Climate, Challenge and Change

    The global pandemic has revealed in new ways how essential farmers and farmworkers are to the food supply chain. With this revelation has also come more widespread understanding of the challenges farmers and ranchers face while scrambling to adopt new workplace safety protocols in the fields and on packing lines, respond to dramatically altered markets, and seek relief funding so they can stay in business.

    The realities and vulnerabilities of farmworkers, too, have been laid bare. Their exposure in the workplace and at home to Covid-19 and the barriers to health care and economic relief make us all vulnerable, dependent as we are on their labor and wellbeing.

    “Our main challenge right now is getting enough masks and suits to protect our workers. That’s what keeps me up at night. I’m also worried about harvest in August when we need 200 workers to pick grapes in 10 days—social distancing will be impossible. 

    As a new farmer taking over the business from my dad, I’m in this for the long game. It’s always been hard to make long-term decisions in farming, especially with the uncertainty of climate change. And now it’s challenging to make even short-term decisions about what to plant this year.”

    — Steven Cardoza, Cardoza Ranches (organic raisin grower, Fresno County)

    California agriculture is ramping up for its busiest time of year as hundreds of varieties of vegetable, fruit and nut crops are planted and harvested over the coming summer months. Even as shelter-in-place orders are easing, farmers have other looming challenges ahead in the form of seasonal climate change impacts. Wildfire season is predicted to start early this year in parts of the state because of a dry winter. Parts of the state will face another year of water scarcity given that the snow pack is only about half of normal.

    Despite these many challenges during the peak of the COVID-19 crisis, California farmers found time to apply for Climate Smart Agriculture grants for improving soil health and reducing methane emissions on dairies.

    In April, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) announced that $50.8 million in grant requests had been submitted by 79 dairy producers for projects that reduce methane emissions by improving manure management—about five times more than the money available in the AMMP program.

    By mid-May, CDFA had received nearly 600 applications from farmers and ranchers for the Healthy Soils Program, a three-fold increase from the last round of applications to the program. CDFA recently announced program awards totaling $22 million to 316 farmers and ranchers carrying out healthy soils practices on more than 30,000 acres across the state.

    Clearly these programs are valued by California’s farmers, eager to do their part to curb greenhouse gas emissions, improve the resilience of their farms, and improve their bottom line with these important investments.


    “The milk industry was already being hit hard by an oversupply that drove down prices. It’s even harder now to find buyers even for powdered milk, and both dairy and meat processors are cutting contracts because they don’t have capacity right now.

    The pandemic has made it all the more real about our reliance on local farmers and it makes the case for curbing climate change to protect their livelihoods. We are getting in touch with what is really important, and food and farmers are core to our survival. It’s also clearer how important it is to maintain and shore up local economies and food systems.”

    — Rose Marie Burroughs, Burroughs Family Farms (organic dairy and almond grower, Merced County)

    Ed Seaman, Santa Barbara Blueberry Grower

    However, widespread support for the state’s Climate Smart Agriculture programs go beyond the state’s farms and ranches. This spring, more than 65 non-profits, food businesses and public health organizations sent in letters urging state legislators and Governor Newsom to invest in the climate solutions of our farms and ranches.

    “We expect a huge hit to our tourism business this year and really don’t know how many ‘u-pickers’ will visit our farm because of people just being afraid to go out. I worry about the small farm sector generally and how many will go out of business if the economy doesn’t open back up in time and they don’t get help.

    The pandemic has shown how fragile our food security is. Maybe the fear people are feeling can be leveraged to make widespread change and protect family farms and local food systems. If you want to fight climate change, you need an army of small farmers who focus on keeping carbon in the soil by increasing biodiversity in the soil and above ground.”

    — Ed Seaman, Santa Barbara Blueberries (blueberries, Santa Barbara County)

    California has been a global leader in setting ambitious, science-based climate goals and allocating funds to programs that achieve it, including the Climate Smart Agriculture programs. Continued progress and financial investments in these programs will not only help keep California on track with its climate goals but will also reduce air and water pollution, protect our food supply, and provide an engine for economic development to rebuild rural economies hit hard by the pandemic. – By Renata Brillinger, California Climate & Agriculture Network

  • Dr. Beth Grafton-Cardwell to Retire – Her View on 30 Years of Citrus IPM

    Through the years I have had many collaborators and numerous technical staff studying a wide variety of pests including California red scale, citricola scale, cottony cushion scale citrus cutworm, katydids, earwigs, Fuller rose beetle, citrus peelminer, citrus leafminer, citrus thrips, citrus red mite, snails, ants, aphids and Asian citrus psyllid as well as their natural enemies. In the early years, the main controls for these pests were organophosphate (OP) and carbamate insecticides. The initial research goal was to get these replaced with more selective insecticides that would allow natural enemies to participate in pest management. We successfully documented OP resistance in California red scale and citrus thrips and developed replacement insecticides that created a more balanced situation resulting in a reduction in pesticide use (as few as 4 treatments/year in the San Joaquin Valley). But alas, citrus IPM programs must change because new situations arise. For the citrus industry, the three drivers of change in the second half of my career have been drought exacerbating some pests, export countries demanding in- field treatments for insects as a replacement for Methyl Bromide (MeBr) fumigation, and the arrival of various invasive pests. These situations have provided me ample opportunities to work with regulators and the citrus industry and challenged my creative problem-solving abilities – never a dull moment.

    It is hard to say if the past 8-9 years of higher temperatures and on and off drought conditions are a permanent ‘climate’ change or are part of a cycle. However, they have certainly made California red scale more difficult to control. Growers have shifted from treating for California red scale once every other year to treating 3-4 times per year. Extra heat units have added an extra generation of scale per year and occasionally allowed scale development in winter. My research response has been to study and provide outreach on the use of California red scale pheromone disruption as an assist to reduce insecticide treatments. I am encouraged to hear reports of some acreage going back treatments every few years for California red scale.

    Export issues with S. Korea (Fuller rose beetle and California red scale) and with Australia and New Zealand (bean thrips and mites) began to crop up in the 2010s. In the past, shipments from California would be inspected at destination and, if there were any insects or mites of phytosanitary concern, the fruit would be fumigated with MeBr. With the worldwide reduction in MeBr use, there is now the expectation that California growers apply in-field treatments to eliminate these pests so fumigation at destination is not necessary. Complete disinfestation of an orchard is impossible to achieve so we launched studies on alternative fumigants and cold treatments that could be applied in California or during transport.

    Invasive pests such as glassy-winged sharpshooter, Diaprepes root weevil, citrus leafminer, and Asian citrus psyllid have been arriving regularly into California since about 2000. In each case, I evaluated chemical and biological controls, evaluated the level of damage they could inflict and conducted outreach to prepare the citrus industry. Of course, Asian citrus psyllid has been the most significant invasive pests because of its ability to transmit the bacterium that causes the deadly disease huanglongbing. My role has been to develop control strategies for growers around the state and assist them with their psyllid management programs.

    If I had to list the top three favorite projects of my career, they would be the following:

    1. Working with colleagues to survey 13 crops around the state to see what species of predatory mites are found and developing a ‘Key to the Phytoseiid Predatory Mites of California Crops’ (submitted for publication with UC ANR).

    2. Working with cottony cushion scale and predatory vedalia beetle and figuring out how to protect the vedalia from insect growth regulators by careful timing of the application of those pesticides. This is a great example of making an incompatible insecticide compatible with a sensitive natural enemy.

      3. Directing five technicians to scout 224 commercial citrus orchards around the state and see how grower applied pesticide treatments affect the psyllid populations. The results of this project led to strong recommendations for eradication and areawide psyllid treatment programs.

      For the past 14 years, all of this was accomplished while also acting as Director of the Lindcove Research and Extension Center. That position also had challenges with hiring and directing personnel, building facilities such as a laboratory, a greenhouse and a screenhouse structure, and attracting research and extension programs to the Center. It has been very rewarding to see the Center expand its capacity and reputation.

      Finally, I couldn’t have done any of this without the amazing technical staff and collaborators that have supported my projects for many years. I will miss the challenges of this job, but I expect to dip back in when needed at Lindcove and I look forward to new life challenges as I spend more time with my family and my community. 

  • New Recommendations for Laurel Wilt Disease

    By Ben Faber, UC Cooperative Extension — Laurel Wilt Disease of Avocado and the relatives of avocado in the Laurel Family has devastated the the forests along the east coast from North Carolina down to Florida and along the Caribbean into Texas.  It has caused significant losses to wildlands and to the Florida avocado industry.

    Ambrosia Beetle

    The extent of the native tree loss is shocking and there is very little that can be done to correct the problem, other than to curb the spread of contaminated wood that is spread by humans,  There has been some success in the avocado orchards. While there is no “silver bullet”, there is some progress, e.g. pruning to increase light levels to suppress Ambrosia Beetle activity.  In addition, research has continued for:

    • Vaccinations to protect avocado trees from the LW pathogen
    • Developing a faster LW diagnostic tool
    • Screening scions and rootstocks for tolerance/resistance
    • AB control tactics and suppression
    • Molecular understanding of the pathogen
    • Economics and the LW epidemic

    Read the latest results in these two recent publications:

    Recommendations for the Detection and Mitigation of Laurel Wilt Disease in Avocado and Related Tree Species in the Home Landscape

    Recommendations for Control and Mitigation of Laurel Wilt and Ambrosia Beetle Vectors in Commercial Avocado Groves in Florida1

    Dead avocado trees from Laurel Wilt in Florida

  • Bringing the Next Generation of Avocados to Market

    UC Riverside has entered into a $2.25 million partnership with Spain-based Eurosemillas S.A., a global leader in the commercialization of agriculture innovations, to help the university bring to market the most promising and advanced avocado scions and rootstocks in its collection.

    If successful, these varieties would meet diverse regional growing requirements, exhibit better post-harvest characteristics, increase yields, provide resistance against disease, and expand consumer market diversity.

    “Eurosemillas has successfully commercialized citrus varieties developed at UC Riverside in the past. They have the global network and expertise to do the same with the next generation of avocados,” said Brian Suh, director of technology commercialization in the Office of Technology Partnerships at UC Riverside, who worked with a team on this initiative for the past four years.

    Eurosemillas will obtain access to a small subset of the overall university avocado variety and rootstock collection for evaluation and testing on various continents to see if they perform as well as they do in California. At the same time, they will forge partnerships for commercialization that could lead to global market penetration of some of these selections.

    Niwala Abeysekara uses a leaf sensor on avocado plants in the Manosalva lab at UC Riverside. (UCR/Stan Lim)

    “After 31 years of working with UC on many other crops, we are delighted to partner with UCR again in a new product like avocado,” said Javier Cano Pecci, Chief Executive and Development Officer of Eurosemillas. “The avocado market is growing and is currently dominated by the Hass variety. This is a great opportunity for growers, marketers, retailers, and consumers to have options and diversify to include better avocado varieties and rootstocks adapted to their regions.”

    UC Riverside’s 70-year old avocado breeding programs house one of the most elite germplasm collections of scion and rootstock breeding material in the world. The University of California has partnered with California avocado growers since the inception of the industry a century ago and has had several plant breeders developing new varieties and rootstocks for the industry.

    Bob Bergh headed the variety improvement program for nearly 40 years, which released among other varieties, the ‘Lamb Hass’ and ‘GEM.’  This program is under the leadership of Mary Lu Arpaia, an extension horticulturist. The goal of the variety breeding program is to develop trees with high eating and market quality while increasing yield efficiency.

    Arpaia said for the California industry to remain viable, growers must have new varieties that yield more than Hass, are more tolerant to environmental stress, and can be produced reliably under high-density planting systems.

    “I am delighted by this partnership with Eurosemillas since it will help UC take this vision for the future toward reality,” Arpaia said.

    Mary Lu Arpaia, UC Riverside Extension Horticulturist

    The variety improvement program has four selections being readied for release that can augment the ‘Hass’ variety in terms of seasonality and have potential for expanded environmental adaptation within California.

    The rootstock breeding program was started in the 1940s by George Zentmyer and is currently directed by Patricia Manosalva, an assistant professor of plant pathology at UCR. The UCR Rootstock Breeding Program is one of the few well-recognized rootstock breeding programs worldwide and has been historically funded by the California industry through the California Avocado Commission. The main goal of the rootstock program is to develop and release the next generation of rootstocks that meet the most pressing needs of growers using traditional breeding complemented with genomic-assisted breeding approaches.

    The program is selecting rootstocks that can resist Phytophthora root rot, the most common avocado disease worldwide, as well as salinity, drought, and heat, all of which are expected to become worse as the climate warms. In collaboration with the California Avocado Commission, five UC Riverside advanced rootstocks exhibiting resistance to these major challenges are being evaluated by growers throughout California.

    “This partnership with Eurosemillas will allow us to test our five advanced rootstocks in combination with ‘Hass’ and local scions in other countries to determine their potential outside California,” Manosalva said.

    Peggy Mauk, director of agricultural operations and cooperative extension horticulture specialist, has been active in avocado research and extension for more than two decades. Over the past 25 years, avocado production in California and worldwide has been challenged by declining water quality. Avocado is the most salinity sensitive tree crop and ‘Hass’ is very susceptible to damage caused by salts. She initiated a program to find rootstocks tolerant to saline water.

    “Our UCR team in partnership with Eurosemillas is focused on finding rootstock/scion combinations that increase salinity tolerance,” Mauk said.

    Over the last 30 years, the avocado market has increased 2.5-fold and per capita consumption has quadrupled, generating interest in avocado production in many other countries, Manosalva said. But diseases, climate change, and the worldwide market’s dependence on the Hass variety threaten this burgeoning market.

    “The funding from Eurosemillas will allow UC Riverside to maintain the plant material and support and complement the current California Avocado Commission funding of the avocado scion and rootstock breeding programs, respectively, which have significant value given their uniqueness,” said Kathryn Uhrich, dean of UC Riverside’s College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences. — By Holly Ober, UC Riverside

    For more information on this avocado program contact Joyce Patrona: joyce.patrona@ucr.edu

  • USDA Issues First Coronavirus Food Assistance Program Payments

    U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) has already approved more than $545 million in payments to producers who have applied for the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program. FSA began taking applications May 26, and the agency has received over 86,000 applications for this important relief program.

    “The coronavirus has hurt America’s farmers, ranchers, and producers, and these payments directed by President Trump will help this critical industry weather the current pandemic so they can continue to plant and harvest a safe, nutritious, and affordable crop for the American people,” said Secretary Perdue. “We have tools and resources available to help producers understand the program and enable them to work with Farm Service Agency staff to complete applications as smoothly and efficiently as possible and get payments into the pockets of our patriotic farmers.”

    In the first six days of the application period, FSA has already made payments to more than 35,000 producers. Out of the gate, the top five states for CFAP payments are Illinois, Kansas, Wisconsin, Nebraska, and South Dakota. USDA has released data on application progress and program payments and will release further updates each Monday at 2:00pm ET. The report can be viewed at farmers.gov/cfap.

    FSA will accept applications through August 28, 2020. Through CFAP, USDA is making available $16 billion in financial assistance to producers of agricultural commodities who have suffered a five-percent-or-greater price decline due to COVID-19 and face additional significant marketing costs as a result of lower demand, surplus production, and disruptions to shipping patterns and the orderly marketing of commodities.

    In order to do this, producers will receive 80 percent of their maximum total payment upon approval of the application. The remaining portion of the payment, not to exceed the payment limit, will be paid at a later date nationwide, as funds remain available.

    Getting Help from FSA

    New customers seeking one-on-one support with the CFAP application process can call 877-508-8364 to speak directly with a USDA employee ready to offer general assistance. This is a recommended first step before a producer engages the team at the FSA county office at their local USDA Service Center.

    Producers can download the CFAP application and other eligibility forms from farmers.gov/cfap. Also, on that webpage, producers can find a payment calculator to help producers identify sales and inventory records needed to apply and calculate potential payments. Producers self-certify their records when applying for CFAP and that documentation is not submitted with the application. However, producers may be asked for their documentation to support the certification of eligible commodities, so producers should retain the information used to complete their application.

    Those who use the online calculator tool will be able to print a pre-filled CFAP application, sign it, and submit it to your local FSA office either electronically or via hand delivery through an office drop box. Please contact your local office to determine the preferred delivery method for your local office. Team members at FSA county offices will be able to answer detailed questions and help producers apply quickly and efficiently through phone and online tools. Find contact information for your local office at farmers.gov/cfap.

    Policy Clarifications

    FSA has been working with stakeholder groups to provide further clarification to producers on the CFAP program. For example, the agency has published a matrix of common marketing contracts that impact eligibility for non-specialty crops and has provided a table that crosswalks common livestock terms to CFAP cattle categories. Updated information can be found in the frequently asked questions section of the CFAP website.

    More Information

    To find the latest information on CFAP, visit farmers.gov/CFAP or call 877-508-8364.

    USDA Service Centers are open for business by phone appointment only, and field work will continue with appropriate social distancing. While program delivery staff will continue to come into the office, they will be working with producers by phone and using online tools whenever possible. All Service Center visitors wishing to conduct business with the FSA, Natural Resources Conservation Service, or any other Service Center agency are required to call their Service Center to schedule a phone appointment. More information can be found at farmers.gov/coronavirus.

  • CA Farmers Can Now Apply for Financial Assistance through Coronavirus Food Assistance Program

    Agricultural producers can now apply for USDA’s Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP), which provides direct payments to offset impacts from the coronavirus pandemic. The application and a payment calculator are now available online, and USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) staff members are available via phone, fax and online tools to help producers complete applications. The agency set up a call center in order to simplify how they serve new customers across the nation.

    “We know California producers are facing a tough time now, and we are making every effort to provide much needed support as quickly as possible,” said Connie Conway, state executive director for FSA in California. “FSA is available over the phone and virtually to walk you through the application process, whether it’s the first time you’ve worked with FSA, or if you know us quite well.”

    Applications will be accepted through August 28, 2020. Through CFAP, USDA is making available $16 billion for vital financial assistance to producers of agricultural commodities who have suffered a five-percent-or-greater price decline due to COVID-19 and face additional significant marketing costs as a result of lower demand, surplus production, and disruptions to shipping patterns and the orderly marketing of commodities.

    “We also want to remind producers that the program is structured to ensure the availability of funding for all eligible producers who apply,” Conway said.

    In order to do this, producers will receive 80 percent of their maximum total payment upon approval of the application. The remaining portion of the payment, not to exceed the payment limit, will be paid at a later date nationwide, as funds remain available.

    Producers can download the CFAP application and other eligibility forms from farmers.gov/cfap. Also, on that webpage, producers can find a payment calculator to help identify sales and inventory records needed to apply and calculate potential payments.

    Additionally, producers in search of one-on-one support with the CFAP application process can call 877-508-8364 to speak directly with a USDA employee ready to offer assistance. This is a good first step before a producer engages the team at the FSA county office at their local USDA Service Center.

    Applying for Assistance

    Producers of all eligible commodities will apply through their local FSA office. Those who use the online calculator tool will be able to print off a pre-filled CFAP application, sign, and submit to your local FSA office either electronically or via hand delivery. Please contact your local office to determine the preferred method. Find contact information for your local office at farmers.gov/cfap.

    Documentation to support the producer’s application and certification may be requested after the application is filed. FSA has streamlined the signup process to not require an acreage report at the time of application and a USDA farm number may not be immediately needed.

    Additional Commodities

    USDA is also establishing a process for the public to identify additional commodities for potential inclusion in CFAP. Specifically, USDA is looking for data on agricultural commodities, that are not currently eligible for CFAP, that the public believes to have either:

    1. suffered a five percent-or-greater price decline between mid-January and mid-April as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,
    2. shipped but subsequently spoiled due to loss of marketing channel, or
    3. not left the farm or remained unharvested as mature crops.

    More information about this process is available on farmers.gov/cfap. 

    More Information

    To find the latest information on CFAP, visit farmers.gov/cfap or call 877-508-8364.

    USDA Service Centers are open for business by phone appointment only, and field work will continue with appropriate social distancing. While program delivery staff will continue to come into the office, they will be working with producers by phone and using online tools whenever possible. All Service Center visitors wishing to conduct business with the FSA, Natural Resources Conservation Service, or any other Service Center agency are required to call their Service Center to schedule a phone appointment. More information can be found at farmers.gov/coronavirus.

  • New Resources for Farmers with CA Irrigation Management Information System

    Many farmers are already familiar with California DWR’s CIMIS program, with weather stations that collect data for them all over the state. What they may not know is some newer features to the program that can help them better determine irrigation needs for their crops wherever they may be. Watch this brief interview with Steve Ewert as he explains.

  • Bing Cherries: A Natural Health Remedy that Grows on Trees?

    There are many amazing things in nature, and a USDA scientist in California is exploring evidence that Bing cherries contain some wondrous health possibilities.

    “We’re testing whether the consumption of sweet cherry juice can improve human health across several cognitive and physiological systems in the body,” said Kevin Laugero, a systems physiologist and research nutritionist with the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Western Human Nutrition Research Center in Davis, CA. The study explores evidence that Bing cherries contain bioactive compounds that improve human health. Fresh cherries aren’t available all year, so demonstrating the effects of cherry juice would potentially circumvent limited access to the benefits of this otherwise seasonal fruit.

    The overall goal of Laugero’s study is to test the effects of sweet cherry juice on cardiovascular disease risk factors and cognitive functions in at-risk persons, specifically examining biomarkers that indicate conditions associated with metabolic syndrome.

    “Metabolic syndrome is a term used to describe the presence of a cluster of factors associated with increased risk for developing cardiovascular and other chronic diseases,” Laugero said.

    The American Heart Association defines metabolic syndrome as the presence of three or more of the following conditions: abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, high triglyceride levels, low HDL cholesterol levels, and high fasting glucose levels.

    “Many of the health benefits of consuming cherries may be due to their anti-inflammatory potential,” he said. “Some chronic diseases and conditions, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, arthritis, and Alzheimer’s have been linked to elevated inflammation.”

    According to Laugero, cherries are a good source of anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compounds, including vitamin C, beta-carotene, flavonoids, and anthocyanins—the pigment that gives the cherries their dark-red color. These compounds may reduce inflammation by reducing oxidative stress, lipid oxidation, and other inflammatory regulating molecules.

    Laugero and retired ARS chemist Darshan Kelley have collaborated on other cherry-related research, including the recent publication of review article on the health benefits of cherries.

  • Best Practices Video for Field Crew During Citrus Harvest for Pest/Disease Prevention

    To provide industry members, including field crews, with best practices to prevent the spread of the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) in California’s citrus groves, the Citrus Pest & Disease Prevention Program has developed a mobile-friendly, Spanish-language field crew training video that can be used by field crew supervisors and farm labor contractors prior to harvest.
     
    This video, which stems directly from our in-person train-the-trainer workshops, provides an overview of best practices for field crews to prevent Huanglongbing (HLB) from threatening the California citrus industry’s livelihood and infecting commercial groves.
     

    A direct, downloadable version of this video is available here.

    We all must do our part if we’re going to protect California citrus from this disease – and field crews are at the forefront. For additional resources and videos, please visit CitrusInsider.org/Resources.