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AUGUST 25, 2008
AT A GLANCE: (Click here to go directly to each item, or scroll down to see the entire issue.)
New Tomato Virus Concerns California Growers
Healthy Honey Bees is Goal of Multi-Institutional Research Team
More Strawberries, More Antioxidant Absorption
Mycogen Seeds Offers Four New Sunflower Hybrids for 2009
PureSense Offers Workshops to Aid Growers in Water Shortage
U.S. Potato Industry Launches New Consumer Campaign
New Focus On Business
GM Super Carrot Bred for Consumers
A New Biopesticide for the Organic Food Boom
Scientists Tie Chickpea Disease to Fungal Culprit
Big Picture
A new and unidentified virus has appeared in a number of processing tomato fields in Northern California. This new virus looks a lot like tobacco streak virus, which is fairly common in the delta. But when University of California plant pathologists ran DNA tests for tobacco streak on tissue samples from these mysteriously diseased plants they came back negative. Tests for other familiar tomato viruses have also come back negative. More information.
A combination of pathogens, pesticides and parasites may underlie such a massive disappearance of honeybees that agricultural production may be threatened, says a Purdue University researcher. Greg Hunt, a Purdue apicultural researcher and geneticist, is collaborating with 19 scientists from around the country to launch an in-depth study of bees' behavior, lives, illnesses and deaths to define the syndrome known as colony collapse disorder. More information.
Agricultural Research Service scientists have assessed the human body's capacity for absorbing certain antioxidant compounds in strawberries, and have found that the absorption of one key beneficial plant chemical was not "maxed out" as volunteers ate more of this popular fruit. Foods high in antioxidants may be excellent sources of healthful compounds, and researchers are striving to learn more about their ability to be absorbed and utilized within the human body. More information.
Mycogen Seeds has added four new sunflower hybrids to its portfolio for 2009, including one with Clearfield resistance. The new Mycogen brand hybrids are proven to perform, providing more oil and higher premiums. More information.
PureSense, a water monitoring and management service for the agriculture industry, will hold a series of free workshops to help farmers maximize irrigation management amid California's water shortage. More information
The U.S. Potato Board launched a national print advertising campaign as part of its continued effort to educate consumers about the nutritional benefits of potatoes. "Peel Back the Truth" inquisitively tackles potato nutrition myths and quickly reveals, with the swoop of a potato peeler, the healthy truth inside a fresh potato. More information.
In the latest Focus On Business article, author Theordore Carl Soderberg offers six tips to earning a successful life in his article, Get What You Want In 30 Minutes. Full story.
Researchers at the Baylor College of Medicine in Texas have genetically engineered a carrot to provide more calcium, according to a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The "super carrot," however is part of a new trend toward products that claim to provide a direct benefit to consumers. More information.
With the boom in consumption of organic foods creating a pressing need for natural insecticides and herbicides that can be used on crops certified as "organic," biopesticide pioneer Pam G. Marrone, Ph.D., is reporting development of a new "green" pesticide obtained from an extract of the giant knotweed in a report scheduled for presentation here at the 236th national meeting of the American Chemical Society. More information.
The fungus Sclerotinia trifoliorum plagues legume crops worldwide. But chickpeas seem to have escaped its wrath, with the exception of Australia's crop. Now, that's no longer the case, report Agricultural Research Service and collaborative university scientists. More information.
According to government data, wholesale inflation in July jumped 1.2%. Wholesale prices the past year rose the fastest in the past 27 years. However, there is some relief in site. The strengthening dollar and retreating commodity prices should curb inflation by this fall. Food prices rose by 0.3% in July after a 1.5% surge in June. Beef prices jumped by 7.4%, the biggest increase in nearly four years. Milk prices shot up by 5%, the biggest gain in a year.
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AgProfessional Weekly - Copyright 2008 Vance Media Corporation. This material is based on factual information believed to be accurate, but not guaranteed.
Action taken as a result of this information is solely the responsibility of the user.
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