Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/50987
University. OBJECTIVE: Develop an economically viable and environmentally sustainable IPM program for managing spotted wing drosophila and deliver information to growers, farm consultants, and homeowners. Sweet cherries: A total systems approach to developing a sustainable production, processing, and marketing system for stem-free sweet cherries, $3.9 million. Led by Matt Whiting at Washington State University. OBJECTIVES: Develop efficient fruiting wall orchard systems for cherries, determine the genetic basis for cherry abscis- sion, improve labor efficiency and safety with mechanical harvest tech- nologies, extend the shelflife and consumer appeal of cherries, develop markets for stem-free cherries, and demonstrate the economic benefits of adopting new technologies. Grape and wine quality: Improved grape and wine quality in a chal- lenging environment: An eastern U.S. model for sustainability and eco- nomic vitality, $3.4 million. Led by Tony Wolf, Virginia Polytechnic Institute. OBJECTIVE: Create, refine, and encourage industry adoption of uniquely eastern United States grape and wine production practices to achieve a robust and sustainable eastern U.S. wine industry. Sensors: Precision canopy and water management of specialty crops through sensor-based decision making, $2.5 million. Led by Shrinivasa Upadhyaya at the University of California, Davis. OBJECTIVE: Develop sen- sors that can be fitted to mobile platforms in order to help specialty crop growers in their decision making, resulting in better crop quality, efficiency, and profitability and a smaller environmental footprint. Biological control: Enhancing biological control in Western orchards, $2.2 million. Led by Vince Jones at Washington State University. OBJECTIVES: Evaluate the effects of new pesticides on natural enemies; develop phenology models for key natural enemies; develop traps to monitor natural enemies; monitor predation of codling moth by generalist predators; analyze the effect of biological control on the costs of integrated pest management programs; and find ways to encourage quicker adoption of new technologies. RosBREED:Enabling marker-assisted breeding in Rosaceae crops,$2.1 million. Led by Cameron Peace. OBJECTIVE: Correlate quality traits in fruits, such as apples, pears, and berries, with DNA-based genetic markers in order to improve the speed and accuracy of breeding. Grapevine leafroll: An invasive mealybug pest and an emerging viral disease: A dangerous mix for West Coast vineyards, $2.0 million.Led by Kent Daane, University of California, Berkeley. OBJECTIVES: Study the identification, distribution, symptoms, and epidemiology of grape leafroll disease and the seasonal relationship between the disease and mealybug vectors. Fireblight: Integrated genomics and management systems for control of fireblight, $2.0 million. Led by Schuyler Korban, University of Illinois. OBJECTIVES: Develop new controls for fireblight by capitalizing on knowledge of the biology of the pathogen, host, antagonists, and inhibitors, and on advances in nanotechnology for delivery of controls. The long-term goal is to incorporate genetic resistance into apple. Postharvest disorders:A diagnostic toolbox for integrated management of posthar- vest disorders of apples,$1.5 million.Led by Dave Rudell, ARS, Wenatchee, Washington. OBJECTIVES: Develop tools, based on biomarkers, to predict, diagnose, and distinguish postharvest disorders, thereby allowing storage managers to target treatments and make storage and marketing decisions to improve quality assurance through the supply chain. Native pollinators: Determining the roles and limiting factors facing native polli- nators in Pennsylvania apple production, $1.4 million. Led by Dave Biddinger, Penn- sylvania State University. OBJECTIVES: Determine which native bees are important pollinators in and around Pennsylvania orchards, develop guidelines for conserving and using nonhoneybees in orchards, and create public awareness of their importance in agriculture. Thinning: Innovative technologies for fruit thinning, $1.0 million. Led by Paul Heinemann at Penn State. OBJECTIVES: Study mechanical blossom and fruit thinning as a low-cost alternative to chemical or hand thinning. Faster fruit breeding:FasTrack—a revolutionary approach to long-generation cycle specialty crop breeding, $637,330. Led by Ralph Scorza with the ARS in Kearneysville, West Virginia. OBJECTIVES: Use transgenic trees that flower early and continually to evaluate new plum varieties in a shorter time frame than with traditional breeding techniques. Plum curculio: Manipulating host- and mate-finding behavior of the plum curculio: Development of a multilife stage management strategy, $559,531. Leader: Tracy Leskey, Agricultural Research Service, Kearneysville. OBJECTIVES: Explore the use of behavioral stimuli to attract adult insects to specific locations in the orchard where they can be treated, with the goal of reducing insecticide use and costs. Decision Support System:Development of a national Web-based decision support system for apple IPM, $50,000. Led by Harvey Reissig at Cornell University, New York. OBJECTIVES: Develop a national tree fruit integrated pest management Web site to facili- tate transition to IPM programs using newer, reduced-risk pesticides. The Web site will include information on management of postharvest diseases and storage disorders. Sprayer technology:Development of a smart targeted spray application technology roadmap for specialty crops,$46,146. Led by Gwen Hoheisel, WSU. OBJECTIVES: Increase the economic, environmental, and social sustainability of orchards and vineyards by improving spray application technologies and encouraging growers to adopt them. Block grants: Other grants for tree fruit and grape research have been made through the Specialty Crop Block Grant program administered through the states. $169 million since 2008 and will provide another $55 million in grants in 2012. For details on specific projects, see the article "Specialty crop block grants back fruit research" and "USDA grants $3.1 million for Washington specialty crops" on the Good Fruit GrowerWeb site at www.goodfruit.com. • with to get this to move. I think it will go down as one of our greater successes." Hayden said the results so far have exceeded his expectations. "We're way ahead of where I thought we would be at this point in time," he said. "It's put so many more dollars into this industry we would not have had. We've been able to leverage our investment. This is money we would have had to pull out of our pockets. I think the industry's really going to benefit from it." New approach The most significant impact of the SCRI is a new approach to how research is tackled, McFerson said. Spe- cialty crop interests are working together to find practical solutions to their common problems instead of the com- modities working independently as they did in the past. "Prior to SCRI, we had a fragmented research and extension community. I think we've really changed the culture so we're looking at a systems approach," McFerson said. "We realized we could not solve all apple problems working with scientists in Washington." The Research Commission, which funds research proj- A mechanical harvester is part of a major research project relating to production and marketing of stem-free sweet cherries. "The upshot is, there are big-time politics yet to be played ects on a more modest scale, is also supporting more col- laborative projects. "We don't have enough people and resources," he said. "We've got to stop whining about that and talk about how we can utilize who we've got and enhance their capabilities." Some projects funded soon after the program began three years ago out." —Chris Schlect will be wrapping up soon, and should generate new tools for fruit grow- ers to use. But as the projects begin to bear fruit, Congress's Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction is mulling over major budget cuts that could impact the next Farm Bill. "If the Select Committee is going to be trying to come up with a huge amount of savings in the overall federal budget, some of those things will come out of agriculture," said Christian Schlect, president of the North- west Horticultural Council. Leaders of the Senate and House Agriculture Committees were expected to try to rewrite some provisions of the next Farm Bill before Thanksgiving so the Select Committee could include them in its recommendations. "Where research will fall out is one of the big questions," he said. "My thinking is the SCRI program will be saved, but whether or not the total amount of money will be preserved is a different question. The upshot is, there are big-time politics yet to be played out," Schlect said. On the positive side, Senator Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, a strong proponent of research funding for specialty crops, chairs the Senate Agriculture Committee. Also, Senator Patty Murray of Washington State is co-chair of the deficit reduction committee. In November, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the tight federal budget would mean less Farm Bill funding than in the past. It's been pro- posed that mandatory programs be cut by $23 million. Vilsack said direct payments to farmers are likely to be eliminated. "We have to simplify existing programs, we need to reduce redundant provisions, and we need to put a premium on creating innovative solutions to address our current and future problems." It would be a shame, McFerson said, if the SCRI turns out to be limited to the current five-year window. Though the funding provided through the initiative was significant, many worthwhile projects had to be turned down. McFerson estimates that double or triple the amount could have been spent on worthwhile projects if the money had been available. "We're very much hoping we can keep the SCRI intact." • www.goodfruit.com GOOD FRUIT GROWER DECEMBER 2011 15