MARCH, 1998
VOL. 9, NO. 3
IN THIS ISSUE:
TARGET 2000
TEXAS CITRUS
CITRUS FLUSH
THANKS VERY MUCH!
TEXAS AGRICULTURAL WASTE PESTICIDE COLLECTIONS
TEXAS COUNTRY CLEANUPS
FOOD QUALITY PROTECTION ACT (FQPA)TARGET 2000 -----
The Texas Association of Nurserymen and the Texas Agricultural Extension Service have jointly developed a long-range environmental plan to establish and achieve certain goals by 2000. A cornerstone of Target 2000 is the implementation of several Best Management Practices to limit environmental impact from the production of nursery and floral crops.
There are three information sources recommended to assist growers to implement Best Management Practices:
- Water Quality Action Manual for Greenhouses and Nursery Operations 1992. Horticultural Water Alliance.
- Best Management Practices: Guide for Producing Container Grown Plants. Southern Nursery Association, Inc.
- Water Management Guidelines for the Greenhouse Industry, 1990. TAEX.
Julian W. Sauls
Professor & Extension HorticulturistTEXAS CITRUS -----
The harvest of Texas navels and early oranges is completed, as is the limited amount of midseason oranges. Valencia orange harvest started about two weeks ago, with good size and quality. Supplies should be much higher than in recent years‹but still won't last far into April.
Texas grapefruit harvest is continuing, with about one-third of the crop still on-tree. Consequently, ample supplies of Texas grapefruit should be available into May.
Julian W. Sauls
Professor & Extension HorticulturistCITRUS FLUSH -----
The spring growth flush and bloom are well underway in the Valley, having benefitted greatly from good rains and mild temperatures during February. Several things will occur in the next couple of weeks that will cause home citrus growers concern in the next several weeks.
First, a vast majority of the bloom will fall, literally covering the ground under the tree with a white carpet. Many home growers worry that they are losing the whole crop, but in actuality, only about one to six percent of the total bloom sets in citrus, so there's no cause for concern.
The next thing that happens is that a lot of pea-sized to marble sized little fruit will hit the ground‹leading home growers to swear that their crop is really lost. The tree is simply shedding excess fruit in its attempt to balance crop load with the tree's ability to carry it. Again, nothing to worry about.
Next, when the new leaves are about an inch long, the Asian citrus leafminer will attack. Damaged leaves won't become obvious for several weeks‹which is when the home grower gets concerned. By then, it is too late on the one hand and there is nothing they could have done anyway, as there are no pesticides available to control the leafminer. So we have to let nature take its course and the natural parasites and predators will reduce the severity of the problem‹if pesticides are not wantonly used on the trees.
Is there any reason to apply a pesticidal spray to citrus during March? The answer is NO, as there is rarely any insect, mite or disease that causes citrus damage during this time. Indiscriminate application of pesticides to citrus trees in March will basically do more harm than good, as it will knock out emerging, natural parasites and predators without adequately controlling true citrus pests.
Julian W. Sauls
Professor & Extension Horticulturist
THANKS VERY MUCH! -----Talk about being flabbergasted, it's taken me this long to get over the shock of being selected by the County Agents in South Texas as the recipient for the 1997 Specialist of the year award. I was truly honored and humbled by your selection. I hope that I will be able to continue to serve you and your county's needs in commercial vegetable production and that our's will be a long and productive relationship. Thanks very much!
Lynn Brandenberger
Associate Professor & Extension Vegetable SpecialistTEXAS AGRICULTURAL WASTE PESTICIDE COLLECTIONS: -----
If you have not already received notice of the pesticide collection dates and locations for this spring, you have now. Collection dates and locations are:
April 22 - Pleasanton, TX. Dept. of Trans. maintenance facility, 2154 2nd street
April 24 - Marlin, TX. Dept. of Trans. maintenance facility, Hwy. 7 East
April 28 - Tyler, Consolidated Nurseries, Inc., 11990 Farm Rd. 3311
May 1 - Childress, E&E Enterprises processing facility, FM 164 NorthAll of these collections will be conducted from 8 AM till 3 PM. The usual restrictions apply to these collections: only farm chemicals, no 2,4,5 T, no pentachlorophenol, no compressed gas cylinders, no pesticide admixtures of fertilizers which are non-hazardous, and no explosives.
Stormy Sparks
Associate Professor & Extension EntomologistTEXAS COUNTRY CLEANUPS: -----
Texas Country Cleanups will be conducted in conjunction with the Texas Ag. Waste Pesticide Collections (same sites, same days, same times). This will include collection of TRIPLE RINSED empty plastic pesticide containers, lead-acid batteries, used oil and oil filters, and possibly tires with rim diameter of 25 inches or less (tire collection status will be determined in mid-March).
Stormy Sparks
Associate Professor & Extension EntomologistFOOD QUALITY PROTECTION ACT (FQPA): -----
I recently attended a workshop in St. Louis addressing implementation of FQPA. To be honest, I came away more confused than when I arrived. A year and a half after passage of the law, EPA (and everyone else) has no idea how to address major aspects of the evaluation of pesticides. Despite this, the process is proceeding with the organophosphates and a few others being the first group evaluated. Some type of decision on these products is expected by Sept. 1999 and may occur much sooner. A few of the major stumbling blocks are aggregate risk (all uses of a product), cummulative risk (all uses of products with similar modes of action), drinking water and residental exposure, and when to apply the 10X safety factor for sensitive populations (infants and children). How all of these will effect the 'risk cup' for individual products is still to be determined, but the general outlook at the workshop was that with the current direction of FQPA, things do not look good for organophosphates or the producers that rely on these products for management of pests. EPA actually has several options in addition to making strict registration renewal/rejection decisions, but how this will play out is still unknown. Bottom line, FQPA implementation is proceeding (with or without hard data) and is likely to have a large impact on agricultural production practices. If you need more information on this topic, let me know. We may want to set up a short update training on FQPA or include it in a District training.
Stormy Sparks
Associate Professor & Extension Entomologist
JULIAN W. SAULS, Ph.D.
Professor & Extension Horticulturist
2401 East Highway 83
Weslaco TX 78596
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THE INFORMATION GIVEN HEREIN IS FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. REFERENCE TO COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS OR TRADE NAMES IS MADE WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT NO DISCRIMINATION IS INTENDED AND NO ENDORSEMENT BY THE COOPERATIVE EXTENSION SERVICE IS IMPLIED.
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