A2O-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 5,1994
Class 2 Hand Harvest (6-14 acres)
Blglerville. center, harvested 369 tons of tomatoes for Fur
man Foods on 13.5 acres for a 27.4 tons per acre average
yield. From left, James Kohl; Macßeth; and Dwight Hess,
Furman field representative.
Biotech Delivers Better
(Continued from Page At)
by DNA Plant Technology Corp.
Romig’s company. Extended
Product Life, Inc., is working on a
strawberry variety that will, after
freezing, retain 80 percent of the
integrity texture and taste of
a fresh berry.
In the end, however, companies
must face the realities of cost and
development in producing variet
ies. They must fully research con
sumer acceptance of using
biotechnology to improve variet
ies or to introduce varieties with
improved shelf life and disease and
insect resistance while thinking
about the realities of consumer
acceptance and economics.
“It’s not simply the task of
developing that new variety,” he
said. “Scientists must be con
cerned about these interactions and
how they’re going to affect the
eventual outcome of the harvested
crop.”
According to Romig, more con
sumers than ever before are spend
ing food dollars on produce. In
1970, per capita consumption of
produce was about 110 pounds; in
1993, that had risen to 130 pounds.
Produce is “undervalued” by
10-15 percent, he said.
Consumers have increased their
consumption of broccoli and toma
toes, in addition to all fruits and
vegetables, through the years.
Altogether, Romig said biotech
nology holds a “lot of promises”
for growers, including improved
insect and disease resistance and
herbicide and drought stress
tolerance.
‘ ‘Traditional methods of genetic
modifying, conventional plant
breeding, has done us a great ser
vice it’s been fantastic,” he
Dr. William Romlg,
Extended Product Life, Inc.,
spoke to about 150 vegetable
growers about the realities of
developing new varieties of
said. “It’s increased productivity
it’s certainly increased the
availability of food, reduction in
It’s amazing what turns up when you compare the “roots
and-shoots" action of Roundup* herbicide with a contact
spray like Gramoxonet
Unlike the tops-directed action of Gramoxone, Roundup gets
down to the root of your weed problems. In doing so, it delivers
Class 1 Machine Harvest (60+ acres): Cliff Charles, Lan
caster, center, harvested 2,648 tons of usable fruit for Fur
man Foods from 80 acres for a 33.1 ton per acre average
yield. From left, James Kohl, Charles, and Dwight Hess, Fur
man field representative.
real cost, we’ve lengthened the
growing season, we’ve increased
diversity (and) the foods in the
supermarket..
“Science needs to drive our
industry more and more,’ ’ said Dr.
Mark Bennett, associate professor,
ROUNDUP DUIVUS
COMPUTE CONTROL OF
TOUGH GRASSES AND MOADLIAVIS.
Industry future
vegetable crops, Ohio State Uni
versity, who spoke about the future
of the processing tomato industry
in the East at the conference.
Bennett said that even though
California holds 90 percent of the
market for processed tomatoes,
with Pennsylvania a distant 3 per
cent, there is room for regional
complete control of over 100 annual and perennial weeds, inclu
ding fall panicum, johnsongrass, lambsquarter and marestail.
WITH ROUNDUP,
YOU DO IT RIGHT INI FIRST TIME.
Since Roundup gets all the way down to the roots, you won’t
run the risk of costly re-growth problems. Simply put, Roundup
works the first time ~ every time. And that can mean substan
tial savings compared to follow-up rescue treatments.
age yield. From left, Jama*'
Bill German, Furman flelct
growers to capitalize on a market
that “has a large population base
in a short driving distance.”
In 1992, according to figures he
presented, Bennett said that Cali
fomia processed more than 10 mil
lion tons of tomatoes alone. To
remain competitive, Pennsylvania
growers have to achieve between a
ohl;'
epres