C*4.mcMter Fanning, Saturday, January 1, 2000 Courier Bees Help Reduce Costly Fungi, Impact On Environment WOOSTER, Ohio - Forget the tractor, the sprayer and the labor. An Ohio State University researcher has found that bees are ready and able to deliver bio controls to strawberry plants. Not only do the courier bees help protect berries from the fungi Botrytis, fruit yields increased too, said Joe Kovach, director of the Integrated Pest Management program at Ohio State University. Kovach will discuss the use of bees for Botrytis fruit rot control at the joint meeting of the North American Farmers’ Direct Marketing Conference and the Ohio Fruit and Vegetable Growers Congress, Feb. 10-12, in Cincinnati. Botrytis is a gray mold or fungus that causes strawberries to rot. Infection occurs in the flowers, but the mold doesn’t multiply until the fruits mature. In wet years, Botrytis can damage close to 100 percent of an untreated crop, while during dry years the damage is mini mal, Kovach said. A fungal bio control, Trichoderma harzianum, controls the fungi. A biocontrol uses a living organ ism, instead of a synthetic chem ical, to control a pest. For exam ple, a beneficial insect would feed on unwanted insects. Current integrated pest man agement recommendations call for one to two biocontrol applica tions at bloom, depending on the strawberry variety, bloom length and weather conditions. But Kovach wanted to mini mize the impact from spraying one step further. “We knew bees were able to DeMuth Silage Spreaders Manufactured with Amish craftmanshlp In Lancaster County Demuth’s unique roll forming process produces wear resistant curved comers Leola, PA Schiller Park, IL Waterloo, Ontario Tel: (717) 656-4295 (847) 671 -3400 (519) 884-2980 Fax: (717) 656-3289 (847) 671 -3404 (519) 884-8824 VISIT US AT WWW.DEMUTH.COM Oun #605-606 s4t 'KecfAtoHC o p<vtm- Sfaut DeMuth AGRI-PRODUCTS transport disease-causing microorganisms as well as dust and pollen to flowers,” said Kovach. “We wanted to see if the bees could deliver a beneficial microorganism for us.” To accomplish this, Kovach put the Trichodema powder at the entrance of the hive. “In essence, the bees go through the equivalent of a foot bath as they enter or exit the hive,” he said. Results from three years of field tests at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, where Kovach previous ly worked, showed that honey bees and bumble bees can suc cessfully carry the Trichoderma to the strawberry flower. In fact, bee-delivered Trichoderma provided the same amount of control as the tradi tionally applied fungicides. But - as a bonus from the bee polli nation - fruit weight increased. Strawberries are primarily pollinated by gravity or wind, Kovach explained. The more seeds developed per berry, the larger the fruit is. The increased pollination by the bees yielded fruit that was 15 percent to 25 percent larger than the control. Trichoderma is registered with the Environmental Protection Agency; however, the bee delivery method is not yet registered. “We still have to complete impact studies on the bees, their honey and the surrounding flora,” Kovach said. “But, I expect this delivery method to be registered by the year 2001.” The potential benefits are tremendous, Kovach said. There is lower impact on the environ- merit because of the delivery method, farmers handle less chemicals, there’s little drift, and it’s cheaper and easier to do. The bees do your spraying for you. The North American Farmers’ Direct Marketing Conference and the Ohio Fruit and Vegetable Growers Congress early registration deadline is Jan. 10. The fee is $B5 for members of the confer ence’s sponsoring organizations and $llO for non-members. Late registration fees jump to $95 and $ll5, respectively. For more information, contact the Ohio Fruit and Vegetable Growers Congress staff at (614) 249- 2424. Lancaster Farming Classified Ads Now searchable on I Internet. ✓ Check Out Our Web Site FARM EQUIPMENT JOHN DEEREDAY'2OOO Solid, stable. Still John Deere. Attend our John Deere Day 2000 and Genuine John Deere Parts and Service Expo as we cany our tradition of trust into the next century. It's your day to see new equipment, as well as all the parts and ‘ service programs we have in store to continue that same enduring value customers have come to expect from our dealership. We look /fa forward to seeing you there. 1 Smith’s Implements, Inc. *** Mercersburg, PA January 10,2000 - 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. 10% Discount on cash parts sales! January 10th thru January 15th OR 5% Discount & 3 months no payments on “Farm Plan” Pa. Cattlemen’s Association To Offer Scholarship MIDDLETOWN (Dauphin Co.) The Pennsylvania Cattle men’s Association (PCA) has an nounced that it will make a $l,OOO scholarship available to a young person planning a career related to the cattle industry. Funding for this scholarship is provided through PC A’s participation in the Ivomec: Generations Of Excel lence™ program. “Nothing is more important than providing a sound education for tomorrow’s producers,” ac cording to Bill McCoy, president of PCA. “Those planning to work in the changing cattle industry into the next century will need to be proficient in animal and crop sci ences. business economics and communications. That’s why PCA is providing a $l,OOO Ivomec Scholarship to help a deserving young cattleman or cattlewoman prepare for the future." The PCA Ivomec Scholarship will be awarded based on the ap plicant’s interest in the industry, leadership, academic achievement and organizational involvement Interested youth who are members of the Pennsylvania Junior Cattle men’s Association or whose par Witness the beginning of the next era ents are PCA members should re quest application forms directly from die PCA office. Completed applications must be postmarked on or before March 12. “We ate pleased to team up with Ivomec to offer this very spe cial scholarship opportunity to a young person in Pennsylvania,” said McCoy. “There’s no question that education, along with practi cal experience, is the key to the fu ture competitiveness of the U.S. cattle industry. Offering this scholarship is just one of the ways in which PCA is helping prepare and develop tomorrow’s leaders.” Introduced in 1996, the Ivomec: Generations Of Excellence pro gram has provided mote than $1 million to help fund youth-focus ed scholarship and leadership init iatives at die same level through organizations that support the cat tle industry. Funding levels are based on the state cattle pro ducers’ purchases of Ivomec® Brand products, which are manu factured by program sponsor MeriaL For more information about die PCA Ivomec Scholarship, contact the PCA office at (717) 986-0333.
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