fruit crops

The Spotted Lantern Fly Is A Big Problem | Earth Wise

October 27, 2021 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

The spotted lanternfly is an invasive pest from Asia that arrived in the United States seven years ago. It is a handsome and colorful insect, but it feeds on the sap of more than 70 plant species, leaving them susceptible to disease and destruction from other natural antagonists. It destroys fruit crops, trees, and plants by hopping from plant to plant, crop to crop, and tree to tree.

Several states have established quarantines aimed at preventing the spread of the insects. Pennsylvania, where they were first detected in the U.S., issued an Order of Quarantine and Treatment that imposes fines and even potential criminal penalties on anyone who intentionally moves a spotted lanternfly, at any stage of its life, from one sort of location to another. The insects hop and fly only short distances, but they can hitch a ride on vehicles, clothing, and other objects that people bring with them. They have now spread to at least nine states, primarily in the Northeast.

Lanternflies arrived in New York City last year and quickly made it to the Most Wanted List for environmentalists. The City’s Parks Department says: “If you see a spotted lanternfly, squish it, dispose of it, and report it to us.” New York’s Department of Agriculture has asked people in the Finger Lakes region, home of numerous vineyards, to collect specimens and provide specifics on where they were found.

Lanternflies are harmless to humans, but they threaten everything from oak, walnut, and poplar trees to grapes, almonds, and fruit orchards. As the species continues to spread across the country, federal and state officials have a unified message: if you come across a spotted lanternfly, kill it.

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Die, Beautiful Spotted Lanternfly, Die

Photo, posted August 30, 2018, courtesy of the USDA via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Essential Oils And Organic Crops | Earth Wise

November 6, 2020 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Essential oils are concentrated liquids extracted from plants. They are called “essential” in the sense that they contain the essence of the fragrance that is characteristic of the plant. Essential does not mean indispensable or usable by the human body. But despite that fact, essential oils have been used in folk medicine throughout history.

In recent times, essential oils have frequently been used in aromatherapy. Generally speaking, medicinal uses of essential oils are controversial, and, in some cases, they have even been demonstrated to be dangerous.

Research has shown that essential oils have potential as natural pesticides. Recently, the USDA has funded research into the use of essential oils to battle pests and diseases of organic crops.

U.S. organic food sales topped $50 billion in 2018 and fruits, vegetables, and other specialty crops combined make up more than a third of organic sales. In order to meet consumer demand, farmers need ways to battle pests and diseases that often accompany organic crop growth.

A four-year project at the University of Hawaii at Manoa is entitled “Plant Safety, Horticultural Benefits, and Disease Efficacy of Essential Oils for Use in Organically Grown Fruit Crops: From the Farm to the Consumer.” The researchers will work with certified organic producers in Hawaii, Florida, South Carolina, Georgia, and California to evaluate the effectiveness of plant essential oils on major fruit pathogens such as avocado scab, anthracnose fungal disease, and powdery mildew on targeted tropical and temperate fruit crops such as avocado, mango, blueberry, and peach.

The goal is increase orchard productivity of the expanding organic fruit industry.

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Essential oils could keep pests, disease from organic crops

Photo, posted January 6, 2015, courtesy of Abi Porter via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

A New Problem For New York Apples | Earth Wise

August 6, 2020 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

New York is the second largest apple-producing state in the country, trailing only Washington state. New York averages nearly 30 million bushels of apples annually from approximately 600 commercial growers. The apple industry supports 10,000 direct agricultural jobs as well as 7,500 indirect jobs involved with fruit handling, distribution, marketing and exporting.

Thus, there is considerable concern about the recent discovery by Cornell plant pathologists of a new fungal pathogen that causes bitter rot disease in apples. They also found a second related fungus that is known to cause rot disease in other fruits but has now been found for the first time in apples. The study was published in early July in the journal Scientific Reports.

Both of these pathogens belong to the genus Colletotichrum, which contains 189 species of fungi that cause devastating rot diseases in multiple fruit crops, including bananas, strawberries, citrus, avocados, papayas, mangoes and apples.

Unless protective measures are taken in a timely manner, apple losses from bitter rot in New York state can average up to 25% per year. Some organic farms have lost essentially all of their crop at times. Bitter rot also can destroy up to 5% of marketable fruit in post-harvest storage.

The Cornell study of samples from eight New York counties found both the Colletotrichum chrysophilum fungus, that had not been found in apples before, and a newly-discovered fungus that they named Colletotrichum noveboracense, after the Latin name for New York State.

The researchers plan to work with other plant pathologists and apple breeders to identify possible genes that confer natural resistance to Colletotrichum fungi that can be bred into apple cultivars.

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Scientists identify new pathogen in NY apples

Photo, posted October 12, 2018, courtesy of Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.