News

State of emergency issued to help Florida farms deal with freezing temperatures

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a state of emergency Feb. 2, for dozens of Florida counties in order to make resources available to farmers dealing with freezing temperatures. Those counties include Brevard, Broward, Charlotte, Citrus, Collier, ... more

PPQ-trained detector dogs track down lanternflies and beetles

They’re coming to get you, spotted lanternflies and Japanese beetles! Detector canines – trained by USDA's Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) program – are ready to sniff out these damaging invasive pests to detect them early and prevent the... more

Little Cherry Disease Day will be held Feb. 16

Washington State University (WSU) Extension will host an intensive dive into the latest research and recommended management for X-disease and little cherry disease. The free 2022 Little Cherry Disease Day will be held Feb. 16 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. ... more

Washington Apple Education Foundation has new executive director

The Washington Apple Education Foundation (WAEF) announces the hiring of Faviola Barbosa as its new executive director. Barbosa began Feb. 1 in this role with the tree fruit industry’s charity. [caption id="" align="alignright" width="151"] Fa... more

‘Orchard of the Future’ effort between the Netherlands, Washington state eyed

In February 2021 partners in Washington state and the Netherlands signed a collaboration agreement focused on the Orchard of the Future. With this agreement the partners, 25 in total, expressed the desire to work towards the goal of developing te... more

Scab-immune apple varieties are worth a try in the backyard

Apples are one of the most popular fruits consumed by people of all ages. They come in a wide variety of colors, sizes, tastes and are used in many products as a primary and secondary ingredient. What makes them even more desirable is that apple t... more

Certis Biologicals’ MeloCo LC fights yield-robbing nematodes

Certis Biologicals announced Jan. 31 the launch of MeloCon LC (Active Ingredient: Purpureocilium lilacinumstrain 251), a water dispersible concentrate containing spores from a naturally-occurring soil fungus which controls a wide variety of har... more