- Author: Mike Hsu
Salinas Valley lettuce growers lost about $150 million in 2022 due to diseases
A stormy winter could portend another devastating year for the lettuce industry in the Salinas Valley, which saw approximately $150 million in lost gross revenue in 2022 due to INSV (impatiens necrotic spot virus) and associated diseases. Recent drenching rains might mean more weeds – overwintering “reservoirs” for the tiny insect, the Western flower thrips, that carries INSV.
Or the extreme precipitation could benefit growers, as thrips in the soil – during their intermediate stage of development – might be drowned in the waterlogged...
- Author: Emily C. Dooley, UC Davis
Project designed to prevent red blotch and other grapevine diseases
A new, $5.25 million greenhouse is being built on the University of California, Davis, campus to safeguard an important grapevine collection from red blotch disease and other pathogens.
The 14,400-square-foot greenhouse will have a vestibuled entry, be insect-proof and provide another level of disease protection. It is being spearheaded by Foundation Plant Services, or FPS, which provides the U.S. grape industry with high-quality, virus-tested grapevine plant material.
The program serves as the primary source for grapevine plant material...
- Author: Roberta Barton
Discolored leaves. Decaying roots. Dead wood. Mother Nature offers a fascinating and colorful backdrop of clues to track microscopic killers. Much like any medical mystery, experts are called in to diagnose or identify a disease from its symptoms and recommend management strategies to prevent further damage or loss of healthy plants.
In the world of crop science mysteries, plant pathology solves the crime. The usual suspects include bacteria, fungi and viruses.
Humans and animals depend on plants for their food supply and ultimately for their survival. When diseases threaten crops, a high-quality, affordable food supply is placed at risk. For growers, plant diseases can reduce crop yields. For consumers, reduced...
- Author: Marissa (Palin) Stein
On October 7, 2013, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service issued a Public Health Alert that linked Foster Farms chicken produced in three California facilities to illnesses caused by salmonella. Since then, according to the CDC website, Costco's El Camino Real store in South San Francisco has recalled over 23,000 units of rotisserie chicken products, and 25 ill individuals have been identified after eating products purchased at the Costco...
