Penn State Team Wins Awards For Plum Pox Disease Response
UNIVERSITY PARK
(Centre Co.) A Penn State
extension and research pro
gram developed in response
to an outbreak of plum pox
a viral disease of peaches
and other stone fruits has
been recognized with Awards
of Excellence from both the
Northeast Extension Direc
tors and the Northeast Ex
periment Station Directors.
“The plum pox initiative is
a great example of extension
and research partnering with
government agencies and
producers to address a criti
cal, potentially devastating
problem,” said Theodore
Alter, director of Penn State
Cooperative Extension and
associate dean in the College
of Agricultural Sciences.
Alter noted that the North
east Extension Directors
nominated 17 programs in 13
states for recognition, and
only two received that
group’s Award of Excellence.
In 1999, the plum pox
virus, also known as sharka,
was discovered for the first
time in North America in
Adams County, the top fruit
producing county in Pennsyl
vania. Spread by aphids, the
virus causes round spots on
fruit, leaves, stems and seeds.
The disease does not kill trees
and is harmless to humans,
but it makes fruit unmarket
able and drastically reduces
Bhk€M
Blake can help with all your vegetable seed
needs. He has almost 20 years of experience in
the vegetable seed industry. He is constantly
evaluating new varieties to increase your yields
and boost your profits. You can trust Blake to help
you plan variety programs that meet your needs.
Call him today! Put his knowledge to work for you.
Siegers
EED CO.
Member of Seed One Alliance™
yields. Left unchecked it
could devastate Pennsylva
nia’s S2S-million-a-year
stone fruit industry.
Infected trees must be de
stroyed to prevent the disease
from spreading. As part of
the plum pox eradication
effort, more than one-third of
Adams County’s peach and
nectarine acreage was taken
out of production, and a
quarantine was imposed on
the movement of susceptible
trees and propagation mate
rial within or from the af
fected area.
Shortly after the disease
was identified in Pennsylva
nia, Penn State Cooperative
Extension educators and Col
lege of Agricultural Sciences
researchers joined forces with
the state and federal depart
ments of agriculture,
growers’ associations, legisla
tors and community leaders
to develop a rapid-response
research and educational
program.
In December 1999, Penn
State teamed with the federal
and state agriculture depart
ments to organize a plum pox
symposium, which brought in
European scientists to share
their knowledge and experi
ence in fighting the virus.
Over the next year, Penn
State held a series of educa
tional meetings and seminars
for growers, extension agents,
Mp«
Hybrid Pam
5-7 lbs. f
m^k
researchers and the public,
focusing on plum pox identi
fication and management.
Penn State Cooperative
Extension Master Gardeners
helped survey and educate
homeowners and backyard
fruit growers in the quaran
tine area, and Penn State per
sonnel were guests on
numerous radio and televi
sion programs covering the
plum pox situation. Educa
tional materials also were de
veloped, including a video, a
World Wide Web site (http://
sharka.cas.psu.edu) and an
eight-page, full-color pam
phlet.
All these efforts, combined
with the work of Penn State
agricultural economists in as
sessing the economic impact
of the outbreak, helped lead
Blake Myers
(877) 879-1407
Model FI7B available in sizes from 9’3”to 15’0”. Model
FISB Flexwings available in sizes from 16’6” to 24’0”.
Standard features include 1-1/2” square high carbon cold
rolled steel axles, triple-sealed Protect-O-Shield
regreasable ball bearings, reversible clevis, and heavy
duty scrapers. Optional Shock Absorber Gang Risers
are available for rocky conditions.
Wholesale Distributor
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 10,2001, Grower and Marketer-
to a state- and federally sup
ported indemnification pro
gram to help offset growers’
costs for destruction of trees
and lost production. The pro
gram also provided informa
tion that led Canadian
officials to the discovery of
plum pox on the Niagara
Peninsula.
“This program has done a
great deal to blunt the impact
of a very damaging disease,”
said Paul Backman, director
of the Pennsylvania Agricul
tural Experiment Station and
associate dean for research in
Penn State’s College of Agri
cultural Sciences. “As a
result of this collaborative
effort, there are strong pros
pects of eliminating the plum
pox virus from the United
States.”
Members of the project
nmco
HAMILTON EQUIPMENT, Inc.
567 South Reading Road, Ephrata, Pa 17522
717-733-7951
www.haminc.com
AUTHORIZED AMCO DEALERS
tYLVANIA
Annville - BHM Farm Equipment
Carlisle - R&W Equipment Co
Glen Rock - Wertz Farm & Power Eq.
Leola - M.M. Weaver & Son
Richland - Lebanon Valley Implement
team, listed alphabetically,
are plant pathologist Herbert
Cole, professor of agricul
tural sciences; Thomas Gar
retson, fruit integrated pest
management extension agent
in Adams County; Frederick
Gildow, professor of plant
pathology; John Halbrendt,
associate professor of plant
pathology; Jayson Harper,
associate professor of agricul
tural economics; Larry Hull,
professor of entomology and
scientist-in-charge of Penn
State’s Fruit Research and
Extension Center in Bigler
ville; Lynn Kime, ag eco
nomic development
extension agent in Adams
County; William Kleiner,
county extension director
and fruit extension agent in
Adams County; Greg
Krawczyk, entomology re
search associate; and James
Travis, professor of plant pa
thology extension.
CSAs,
(Continued from Page 12)
Pa 19147-1503, (866) 745-
6587 or (215) 733-9599. For
more information on Phila
delphia farmers’ markets,
contact Donna W. Pitz, ag
market developer, Farmers’
Market Trust, 1201 Chestnut
St., Philadelphia, PA 19107,
(215) 568-0830, ext. 25.
DOUBLE OFFSET
TANDEM HARROWS
717-867-2211
717-243-2686
717-235-0111
.717-656-2321
.717-866-7518
221