Crop Management
Lured by Good Market, Mexican Growers Battle Harsh Conditions
Mexico shows its least attractive face to Americans entering from above its northern border. Not only do we carry in our memories the televised images of illegal immigrants sneaking through the deserts of the Southwest,... more »
Guthion Use Set To End Sept. 30, 2012
The decision by EPA in mid-November to phase out all remaining uses of azinphos methyl (Guthion) by Sept. 30, 2012, will hit various sectors of the fruit industry differently. Three Michigan State University entomologists, speaking... more »
The Tall Spindle System: Apple Orchard Design For The Future
After years of experimentation, Terence Robinson believes he knows what a modern apple tree should look like. It’s taller than people once thought it would be, 10 feet tall, but the trunk is really small... more »
Cloned Food Products? We Just Call Them Apples
As the new year began, FDA proclaimed that products such as meat and milk from cloned animals are safe for human consumption. A person with a science-based education might wonder why anyone would think such... more »
New Disease – Colony Collapse Disorder – Strikes Honeybees
Researchers are scrambling to find answers to what’s causing “colony collapse disorder,” a recently named disease that has struck commercial beekeeping operations across the country. The alarming die-off of honeybees has beekeepers fighting for commercial... more »
IFTA helped growers bring fruit trees down to size
On March 5, the International Fruit Tree Association observed its 50th birthday – marking a half-century of fruit growers working together to bring trees down to manageable size. Logically, such an organization should have been... more »
Primocane Raspberries Fit Just Fine on Maryland Farm
If managing raspberries were easy, would they still sell for $4.50 a pint? Nathan Milburn hopes so. In 2001, Milburn Orchards ventured into raspberries for the first time. The Elkton, Md., family was expanding the... more »
Growers Turning To Federal H-2A Labor Program Despite Its Flaws
An increasing number of growers are turning to the federal foreign labor program to find workers. They’re not signing up because it’s a great program, however. They’re signing up because they’re desperate, said Craig Regelbrugge,... more »
Time Cover Story Kicks Off E-Mail Conversation
Time magazine boasts a circulation of more than 2.6 million, with another quarter million in newsstand sales, plus circulation worldwide in several languages. But in many ways, it’s a local magazine. Its editorial material often... more »
Brown Rot Shrivels Prune Production in California
Brown rot is one of the most economically and ecologically important diseases affecting California's $100 million prune industry, say plant pathologists with The American Phytopathological Society (APS).According to Themis Michailides, plant pathologist with the Department... more »