Industrial Uses
Symposium A Success
WASHINGTON, D.C. The
only thing mote challenging than
getting to the top is staying there.
The U.S. Feed Grains Council's
office in Tokyo, Japan, is re
minded of this reality every day.
Japan is the top importer of U.S.
com, but with competition from
other exporters such as China and
Argentina, the U.S. Feed Grains
Council (USFGS) needs to contin
ue to promote the valuable and
varied uses of U.S. com to main
tain its high market share.
A recent symposium on indus
trial applications of U.S. value-en
hanced com did just that.
The Tokyo VEG/Supply and
Demand Symposium, held in
conjunction with Japan Starch &
Sweeteners Industiy Association,
attracted participants from all over
the agricultural and industrial uses
community in Japan. Two hund
red seventy people from starch,
trading and feed companies, plus
government regulators, university
researchers, consumer groups, and
members of the media filled the
two-day symposium to capacity.
Greg Smith, com producer
from Nebraska, gave a U.S. pro
ducer perspective on value-en
hanced com while other industry
experts presented their finding on
genetically modified organisms,
starch wet-milling practices, bio
degradable plastics, and grain
shipping and exporting.
“The symposium went very
well,” said Dennis Kitch, director
USFGC/Japan. “This was a great
opportunity for the Council to
give the Japanese industry a clear
understanding of its value-en
hanced grain program.”
Many participants expressed
their gratitude to the Council for
organizing the symposium. “The
response from the participants was
outstanding," Kitch said. "One of
the most common statements I
Late Blight Has
Greenhouse Tomato
Growers On Alert
WOOSTER, Ohio Late
blight outbreaks in several tomato
greenhouses have Ohio tomato
growers on the alert.
Ohio State’s Sally Miller, plant
pathologist at the Ohio Agricultur
al Research and Development
Center in Wooster, said the late
blight disease appeared suddenly
in a few Ohio greenhouses and ex
tensive damage occured soon af
ter.
“Late blight appears on the
tomato leaves in pale-green, wa
ter-soaked spots, often beginning
at the leaf tips or edges. The circu
lar or irregular leaf lesions are
usually surrounded by a pale yel
lowish-green border that merges
with healthy tissue," Miller said.
“Lesions enlarge rapidly and turn
dark brown to purplish black.”
When humidity is high and the
leaves are wet for an extended per
iod, a cottony, white mold growth
is usually visible on lower leaf
surfaces at the edge of the lesions.
When conditions are diy, infected
leaf tissues quickly dry up and the
white mold growth disappears. In
fected areas on stems appear
brown to black and entire vines
may be killed quickly if moist
conditions persist.
Blight also appears on fruit
heard was, ‘We find the material
useful and timely. Attendance is
no longer a formality but a special
opportunity’."
The symposium was also an op
portunity to discuss the issue of
genetically modified organisms
(GMOs) and their benefits. Diane
Re of Monsanto gave a presenta
tion on the topic and met with
several key government and con
sumer group representatives. An
article printed by the Japan Agri
cultural Newspaper touted GMOs
as being environmentally friendly
because they reduce the need for
pesticides. According to Kitch, the
newspaper is read by more than 90
percent of Japan's agricultural
community.
The true success of the sym
posium was measured in the num
ber of people who asked if the
Council was going to do it again,
soon. According to Kitch, the
symposium raised a lot of ques
tions. “Will Japanese consumers'
calls for GMO informational la
beling result in the United States
taking Japan to the WTO? How
will the United States respond to
the growing competition fronr
other com exporters? What will
China do? These questions will
keep coming up and we will have
to answer them. That may very
well mean having another sym
posium.”
Other speakers at the sym
posium were Catherine Otte,
senior agricultural attache, U.S.
Embassy; Hiroko Sakashita, asso
ciate director, USFGC/Japan; E.
Takashita, USFGC biodegradable
plastics consultant; Jerry Weigel,
Exsecd Genetics; Dr. Kent
Rausch, University of Illinois; Dr.
Milford Hanna, University of Ne
braska; Dr. Jacob Lehrfeld, re
searcher; and Dan Keefe, USFGC
manager of international opera
tions.
as somewhat crinkled, coppety
brown, discolored areas. The fruit
may remain firm as the lesions
progress. Under moist conditions,
a white, fluffy mold may appear.
Symptoms appear on both red and
green fruit
Miller said that all of the cases
of late blight in greenhouse toma
toes observed so far have some
factors in common. “The disease
occurred just as warm days were
turning into cold nights, and the
greenhouses were not heated
properly, often due to mechanical
problems. The plants remained
wet for long periods of time, and
the relative humidity was consist
ently very high.”
Miller also said that the fungus
that causes late blight Phytoph
thora was often present some
where nearby. “It could have
come from tomatoes or possibly
potatoes in home gardens located
in the vicinity of the greenhouse.
Killing frosts had not yet occurred
in these areas.”
New strains of Phy tophthora in
festans have recently appeared in
the United States. Several of them
arc much more aggressive on to
matoes than the previous, widely
prevalent strain. “Most of the new
strains arc not affected by meta
Summit Outlines
Kentucky’s Agricultural Future
LOUISVILLE, Ky. The
1997 Kentucky Agricultural
Leadership Summit, held in con
junction with the North American
International Livestock Exposi
tion (NAILE), provides an arena
for leaders to discuss how Ken
tucky can advance, develop and
energize modem agriculture in to
day’s ever-changing business and
national environment
Kentucky Department of Agri
culture Commissioner Billy Ray
Smith organized the sixth Leader
ship Summit with the goal of us
ing time, effort and imagination to
allow Kentucky agriculture to di
versify, grow and flourish.
“Determine our Destiny,” the
theme for this year’s Leadership
Summit, provided an opportunity
for Kentucky farm association
representatives, farmers, Ken
tucky commodity group leaders,
legislative members, agribusiness
representatives and some mem
bers of the Kentucky General As
sembly to explore Kentucky’s fu
ture agricultural opportunities.
According to Sharon Burton,
Kentucky Agriculture Council
Chair, objectives of the Leader
ship Summit are designed to help
people in agriculture work to
gether to solve problems, share in
formation with people outside of
agriculture so they understand
current agricultural issues, and re
mind people of agricultural ac
complishments.
Kentucky Department of Agri
culture Office for Agricultural
Marketing and Promotion Execu
tive Director Gene Royalty said
the Leadership Summit is held in
conjunction with the NAILE, be
cause those involved in changing
Kentucky's agriculture are also in
terested in the top-quality pure
bred animals represented at the
NAILE.
The Leadership Summit offered
concurrent sessions involving
marketing of crops and livestock,
reaching consumers and interact
ing with other state’s successful
programs.
Representatives from the Ken
tucky Agricultural Resources De-
laxyl, a commonly used fimgicide
sold as Ridotnil or Subdue,” Mill
er said.
Ohio State plant pathologist
Randy Rowe said the potential of
this late blight disease is the main
concern right now. “This disease
has been causing a nationwide
epidemic, and until now, we’ve
seen vety little damage in Ohio.
Now, we have a flurry of it at the
end of the potato and tomato sea
son, and it’s sneaking into tomato
greenhouses.”
Rowe said damage so far is lim
ited only a handful of growers
have been affected by the disease.
“It’s not a dollars and cents issue
right now because damage has
been limited. The main issue of
concern is next year what Ohio
growers may face through out the
next season.”
There are precautions green
house growers can take to prevent
late blight from attacking their
tomatoes. “Maintain greenhouse
temperatures of 68 degrees Fah
renheit or higher. Reduce relative
humidity in the greenhouse and
maintain good air circulation,"
Miller said. “Any practice that re
duces the amount of time that
plants are wet is helpful."
Miller also recommends scout-
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 6, 1997-D7
Kentucky Gov. Paul E. Patton, right, and Kentucky Com
missioner of Agriculture Billy Ray Smith are shown here
during a break in a major agricultural marketing summit in
Louisville. This photo was taken in the South Wing of the
Kentucky Fair & Exposition Center, home to the North
American International Livestock Exposition.
velopment Authority (KARDA)
also attended the Leadership Sum
mit to show their commitment to a
bold new future in Kentucky agri
culture.
Bruce Harper, KARDA chair,
said, “Agriculture is changing
from a production driven to a
market-driven economy. This
changing marketing infrastructure
will add significantly to the com
monwealth (of Kentucky).” Har
per’s view reinforces the overall
Summit theme that it is important
for Kentucky to keep up with tech
nology in order to compete in to
day’s economy.
ing the greenhouse regularly to
look for symptoms of the disease.
If symptoms of late blight do ap
pear, the temperature and mois
ture within the greenhouse should
be adjusted. “A fungicide contain
ing mancozeb (Dithane M-45 or
another formulation) may be ap
plied to the plants if label instruc
tions are followed. Mancozeb is a
protective fungicide and will not
cute infected plants," Miller said.
Mancozeb is labeled for green
house use but there is a five-day
preharvest interval (PHI). In addi
tion, mancozeb is an EBDC com
pound. Some markets may not ac
cept fruit treated with this fungi
cide. There is no other fungicide
effective in controlling this dis
ease that is labeled for use on to
matoes in the greenhouse.
Greenhouse growers should re
move plant parts if a small amount
of the tissue is involved. “Place it
in a plastic bag and either place
the bag outside at night to freeze
Kentucky Gov. Paul E. Patton
attended the opening session of
the Leadership Summit to support
agriculture, because “agriculture
is tremendously important in the
preservation of Kentucky," he
said. Gov. Patton said Kentucky is
still a niral state that promotes rur
al work ethics and farm family
values.
The Leadership Summit con
cluded Nov. 14 with a “Congres
sional Update of Agricultural Is
sues and Tobacco Settlement" as
well as USDA presentation and
remarks from Kentucky Lieuten
ant Governor Stephen L. Henry.
or inside to decompose complete
ly. The late blight fungus cannot
survive on dead tissue," Miller
said.
“If whole plants must be re
moved, cut them at the base and
allow diem to diy completely on
the trellis after removing and des
troying all of the infected fruit. If a
large amount of plant matter must
be disposed of, spread it outside in
a thin layer when freezing
temperatures are expected.”
Miller warned that discarded
plants should not be placed in
piles infected tissue inside the
pile may be warm enough for the
fungus to survive and provide
spores to infect plants again next
spring.
For more information on late
blight in greenhouse tomatoes,
contact Sally Miller or Randy
Rowe, Ohio Agricultural Re
search and Development Center,
(330) 263-3838.