Page’s—Ag Progress Section 2, Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 14, 199 f
Penn State Ag
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199 9
POTATO LEAFHOPPER.
RESISTANT ALFALFA ON
DISPLAY AT AG PROGRESS
Marvin Hall
Penn State Extension
Forage Specialist
Potato leafhopper causes the
greatest economic loss in alfalfa
to Pennsylvania. Traditionally
this insect has been controlled
with the use of insecticides; how
ever, alfalfa varieties that are
resistant to potato leafhopper
are available The resistance is
due to glandular hairs on the
stem that exude a substance
that kills leafhoppers and
inhibits the ability of leafhop
pers to reproduce
However, potato leafhopper-
Cut Flower Business
Can Be Profitable
ROCKSPRING
(Centre Co )
Farmers m search of
an alternative crop or
a blooming source of
income can discover
how to start a cut
flower farming opera
tion by visiting Ag
Progress Days, spon
sored by Penn State’s
College of Agricultural
Sciences, Aug. 17-19.
Experts from the col
lege’s department of hor
ticulture and Penn State
Cooperative Extension
will be on hand at the
Cut-Flower Demon
strahon/Ask The Experts
tent on East 7th
Street to answer ques
tions and distribute
literature on cut
flower operations The
event is held at the
university’s Russell E
Larson Agricultural
Research Center at
Rockspring,
State College
“Cut flowers really
have piqued the inter
est of farmers and
other businessmen as
a cash crop that can be
sold at farmer’s mar
kets and other out
lets,” said Robert
Berghage, assistant
professor of horticul
ture. “The cash return
on a small, well-man
aged plot of flowers is
a lot more than you
would get from an acre
of corn ”
near
The stall also will
hold flower arranging
demonstrations using
flowers from the
demonstration plots at
11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
daily in the tent.
Berghage says the
demonstration area
will showcase more
than 90 flower vari
eties, including zin
nias, asters, celosia,
sunflowers, strawflow
ers and other annuals,
as well as several van-
resistant varieties have had
mixed success m the field.
Why?
First, most of the varieties
first sold in Pennsylvania only
had 20 to 40 percent resistance
characteristics. That means that
out of every 100 alfalfa plants m
a field, only 20 to 40 had the
resistant characteristics. Potato
leafhopper resistant variety sold
m 1999 had improved resistant
levels from 40 to 60 percent
Varieties with higher (60 to 80
percent) resistance levels are
supposedly going to be available
m 2001
If you would like to see vari
eties with different levels of
resistance, they will be m plots
eties of woody plants Berghage said
used in the cut-flower Visitors can get fact
market “We also will sheets ad information
display some unique on business opportuni
flower varieties that ties, weed control,
are not widely known budgeting and crop
on the market,” handling.
nflMpi
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and cooling system 8-blade accelerator
near the Penn State Crops and
Soils Tent at Ag Progress Days.
Second, there is much we do
not know about management of
the new varieties. Historically,
we would have done all the
research first and had many
answers on release of varieties
with new traits, but now, in the
rush to get new traits to farmers,
much of this information must
be developed after the release.
Third, the expression of the
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resistance many be affected by
the environment and not always
be present to the same extent. In
1997, it appeared that resistance
was not as effective until the
plants were well established.
Preliminary research findings
have also shown that potato
leafhopper feeding on new seed
ings may cause yield reductions
into the next two years.
Finally, the resistance may be
primarily due to insect breeding
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larticipation
and reproduction and be less
effective against the first infesta
tion of adults that come from the
South. This may mean that the
thresholds for spraying are dif
ferent and the number of spray
ings are reduced for the season
but not eliminated.
Many of the farmers using
resistant varieties have some
level of potato leafhopper infes
tations, but sill achieve a yield
benefit.
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