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HORTICULTURE TECHNOLOGY NEWSLETTER

Mid-Atlantic Fruit & Vegetable Convention Dr. Joseph Fiola, University of Maryland Extension, Specialist in Viticulture & Small Fruit

The Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention (MAFVC) is held each year to provide the latest updates and important information to fruit and vegetable growers from Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia and surrounding states. The 2020 conference will be held at the Hershey Lodge and Convention Center in Hershey, PA. on January 28 to January 30, 2020.

This year’s convention will feature several pre-convention workshops, a farm market bus tour, and a trade show with over 160 exhibitors plus three full days of six or more concurrent educational sessions. Sessions on tree fruits, small fruits, wine grapes, organic and general vegetables, pesticide safety, and many other topics are scheduled. The full program is provided at the end of this newsletter.

This year’s keynote speaker is Todd Hunt and his presentation on January 28 will be entitled“ Communication Bleeps and Blunders in Business.” This is an insightful look at improving communication to become more successful…with dozens of everyday examples that will leave you chuckling in recognition.

1) Discover “where your listener is coming from” and how to tailor your communication style

accordingly. 2) Review the eight problem words that could cost you business. 3) Never think about voice mail the same again!

As always, pesticide applicator credits will be available for Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey growers that attend the sessions. The program is jointly sponsored by Maryland State Horticultural Society, University of Maryland Extension, State Horticultural Association of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Vegetable Growers Association, Pennsylvania State University Cooperative Extension, New Jersey State Horticultural Society, Rutgers Cooperative Extension, Virginia Horticultural Society, and Virginia Cooperative Extension. Maryland growers are reminded to pre-register (enclosed registration form or online) through the Maryland State Horticultural Society. Pesticide credits will be available at the meeting. Also, updates on the latest UMD and Extension research for the commercial fruit and vegetable industry are presented in monthly issues of the Vegetable and Fruit Headline News from UME. If you would like to view archives or the latest edition, please go to VEGETABLE & FRUIT HEADLINE NEWS ARCHIVE: https://go.umd.edu/vfhn_archive SPECIAL RESEARCH EDITION (OCT. 24, 2019): https://go.umd.edu/research-edition

This and other information is distributed though my fruit email list. If you are not currently receiving my emails, please email sbarnes6@umd.edu to be added to the list.

I look forward to seeing you in Hershey !

December 2019

Published by the Maryland State Horticultural Society in cooperation with University of Maryland Extension

Todd Hunt , Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention Keynote Speaker

2019 Summer Tour Highlight ................................ 2

2019 Your Due Dollars At Work—Funding Research Proposals for 2019 ....................................... 4

Meet Macarena Farchuh the New Tree Fruit Research & Extension Faculty .................................. 6

An etam Blush Featured on Maryland Public Television (PBS) ..................... 6

The Strawberry Advisory System in the Mid‐Atlan c: A Final Update .................................. 7

I Am a PYO Apple Grower— Does the Produce Safety Rule Affect Me? ............................ 9

Does it Pay to Gra Tomatoes for Increased Yields When There Are No Soil Disease Problems? .... 10

Mario Miranda Sazo to Lead Inter‐ac ve Trainings During the Spanish Session at the MAFVC ............ 12

Paraquat Dichloride Training for Cer fied Applicators .............. 11  

Mid‐Atlan c Fruit and Vegetable Conven on Program Informa on/Registra on ENCLOSED 

The University of Maryland Extension is an Equal Opportunity Employer

with Equal Access Programs.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

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2019 MSHS Summer Tour Tour organized by Chris Walsh, Kathy Hunt & Susan Barnes of the University of Maryland If you missed the 2019 Summer Tour on July 10, you missed a day of fun, education, and camaraderie. Though hot, the erratic summer weather cooperated and the participants enjoyed bright blue skies. We started our day with three lectures held at the Virginia Tech Alson H. Smith Jr. Agricultural and Research Extension Center. Over coffee, bagels, and fruit (thanks to Page Hargett of Farm Credit, again!), we listened to Chris Bergh, Professor of Entomology, give an update on the brown marmorated stink bug (Halyomorpha halys) population and biocontrol. While local populations have declined, other parts of the country still see heavy predation by BMSB in orchards. Dr. Bergh and his team worked with the parasitoid, Trissolcus japonicus in both lab and field trials. T. japonicus lays its eggs in the eggs of the BMSB preventing hatch of the pest. Of particular interest was the field work done in stands of tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima) determining the canopy range of both BMSB and T. japonicus activity.

Keith Yoder, Emeritus Professor of Plant Pathology, brought us up to date on his work looking at the association of Tomato Ringspot Virus (ToRSV) and the incidence of incompatibility between Geneva root stocks and various scion wood. His trials are planted in non-fumigated soils where the dagger nematode (Xiphinema americanum) is known to exist. Populations of ToRSV are believed to survive in weeds such as dandelion (Taraxacum spp.) and are vectored by the dagger nematode into the susceptible rootstock, resulting in damaging necrosis.

We then adjourned to the top of the hill and listened to Tremain Hatch, Viticulture Research Technician, speak on the progress of their grape trials. They have been working with the technique of leaf pulling to enhance the amount of sun exposure to the fruit. This increased sunlight improves red color development, concentrates sugar production, and prevents ripe rots. In another section of vines, plastic was used as a rain shield and yet still allow for sun exposure. Again this is in an effort to minimize ripe rot.

Woodbine Orchards was our next stop. There we were treated to a wagon tour of the orchards hosted by Carol Swanson and Mike Smith, orchard manager. Of particular interest was the incidence of tree failure due to graft incompatibility. Chris Walsh and Bill Mackintosh (Macintosh Fruit Farm) spoke on the general brittleness of Geneva rootstocks and the incidence of loss simply due to wind. This incompatibility of scions to Geneva rootstock was found to vary depending on the variety used. One tree in particular was examined. This was a Crips Pink grafted on to a G41 root stock. From the picture it can be noted only a small portion of living wood remained.

As we toured the acres of fruit crops the subject of deer management was discussed. Currently Woodbine Orchards is using a variety of detergents, soaps and/or Milorganite hung in bags at the head of each row.

THE HORTICULTURE TECHNOLOGY NEWSLETTER

is published yearly by the Maryland State Horticultural Society in cooperation with University of Maryland Extension. Maryland State Horticultural Society (MSHS) Contact: Robert E. Black 15308 Kelbaugh Road Thurmont, MD 21788 Phone: 240-409-7491 E-mail: HBGala@aol.com

MSHA Officers: President: John Fendrick 1st Vice President: Molly Brumbley 2nd Vice President: Brad Miller, Secretary: Bryan Butler Assistant Secretary: Joe Fiola, Ph. D. Treasurer: Robert E. Black Board Members: Stephen Blades, Jay Milburn, Jake Moore, and Washington White

Woodbine Orchards Photo by: Carol Allen

Virginia Tech Alson H. Smith Jr. Agricultural and Research Extension Center Vineyard. Tremain Hatch, Viticulture Research Technician spoke on the progress of their grape trials. Photo by: Carol Allen

Continued on page 3

3 Richard Masser

Their conclusion was that the only effective deer repellent seemed to be proximity to a highway.

Box lunches were served at West Oaks Farm Market in an outdoor pavilion situated at the crest of a rise. Though the day was warm, the positioning of the structure allowed for natural ventilation and beautiful views of the hills and fields. Levi & Joe Snapp spoke a bit about the pavilion being part of a complex of newer structures they have built on this Century Farm. West Oaks Farm has been in the same family for ten generations and dates back to 1752! Though they have an impressive history, this generation has embraced diversity and highlights not only the spacious outdoor pavilion, but also a large indoor wedding/meeting venue and an impressive farm market. The market features a wide range of local products including meats, produce, cider, wine, and alpaca fiber products. They bake on site, as well as have grilling and cooking facilities providing a wide selection of menu options.

Levi & Joe also talked about their success with pick-your-own strawberries and their plans for PYO apples. We had gathered next to a beautiful young orchard that should be ready to harvest in the next growing season or so. There are acres of mature apple trees that are harvested for their two farm markets as well as for wholesale. PYO pumpkins will complete the season for what is evolving as a destination family venue. There are also plans for a six-acre corn maze that Levi estimates will take a customer over an hour to complete. With this farm moving to more PYO produce, the challenges of dealing with in field marketing and cashier placement issues were discussed. The concept of a pre-paid box was favored as it would reduce the need for as many in-field cashiers and better control over product shrinkage.

Some of the group then ventured on to Arterra Wines in Delaplane, VA. A tour of the vineyard with wine tasting after was offered by owner Jason Murray. Arterra (Art of the Land) offers niche market wines, fermented using natural yeast in small batches. No chemicals are used to manipulate the natural flavors of the wines produced. During the tour of the vineyard, Jason described the soils in his two growing areas and how growing for a non-chemical fermentation challenges the grower. For instance, no fungicide sprays are used 4-6 weeks before harvest. Fungicide residue would kill the naturally occurring yeasts.

Crisps Pink shows its general brittleness of Geneva rootstocks photo by: Carol Allen

West Oaks Farm Market Photo by: Carol Allen

2019 MSHS Summer Tour Highlights continued from page 2

Jason Murray, Owner of Arterra Wines described the soils in his two growing areas. Photo by: Carol Allen

PASSAGES

The Tannat was described by connoisseurs to be both a wine that is favored by the growing conditions of the area and one that Arterra does exceptionally well. The attending fruit growers were pleased to see an offering of two fruit wines. This provided a sweet ending to a very informative and enjoyable day.

White

2018 Roussanne 2017 Chardonnay 2018 Rose'

Red

2016 Cabernet Franc 2016 Petit Verdot 2016 Tannat

Some of the wines featured (and tasted) were:

Sweet

Blueberry apple wine Apple wine

Richard Masser passed away on Wednesday, March 27, 2019. He was an owner of Scenic View Orchards in Sabillasville, MD. To view his obituary you can go to www.fredericknewspost.com/obituaries/richard-masser/article_911e17ff-8880-53e3-ac37-4ef0da70e338.html

Timothy “Tim” Weiser passed away on Tuesday, November 5, 2019. Tim was the owner of Weiser’s Greenhouse and Weiser Orchards. To view his obituary you can go to https://www.duganfh.com/obituaries/Timothy--L-Weiser?obId=8753145#/obituaryInfo

Tim Weiser

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ONLINE REGISTRATION FOR MAFVC IS NOW AVAILABLE

Online registration for the

Mid-Atlantic Fruit and

Vegetable Convention

(MAFVC) has been set up.

For those who would like

to use their credit card*

go to

CONVENTION AND

MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL

2020-mafvc.eventbrite.com

WORKSHOP

REGISTRATION

2020-mondayworkshops.

eventbrite.com

Or if you prefer to register

by mail, use inserted

registration form.

If you have any questions

or need help, please

contact Susan Barnes at

301-432-2767 x301 or by

email sbarnes6@umd.edu

*There is an additional processing fee from Eventbrite to pay by credit card

Each year the Maryland State Horticulture Society funds research projects designed to improve the production and profitability of fruit producers, and support family farming in Maryland. Grants are awarded to projects that are relevant to the industry and will benefit Maryland growers. These grants are frequently used as seed money to attract other monies to fund the research projects.

Five projects were funded in 2019: Pomology Faculty Fund

Dr. Chris Walsh, Horticulture Professor, UMD. Establishment of Promocane-Fruiting Raspberry

Plantings at the WyeREC and WMREC Dr. Mengjun Hu

Strawberry variety trial Michael Newell

Small Fruit/Alternative Crops Research and Demonstration Trials Joseph Fiola, Ph.D., Dave Myers, Benjamin Beale, & Mengjun Hu

Managing D. suzukii and fungi using peroxyacetic acid Dr. Torsten Schöeneberg and Dr. Kelly Hamby

Each scientist is happy to discuss their project with any grower. Project reports are presented to the Maryland State Horticultural Society and are available on request. Frequently projects are presented at the Twilight tours put on by the University of Maryland, and/or the winter meetings at WMREC and WyeREC and/or the Mid Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Conference held at Hershey, PA.

Renewing Your MSHS Dues If you are not planning to attend the Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention this year, please consider renewing your Maryland State Horticultural Society (MSHS) membership for 2020. Dues that are collected are used to support educational programs, and much needed research for many of the production problems that commercial growers face.

As funds continued to be cut at our land grant universities, the local horticultural societies have been able to fund research projects. These funds are then used for matching grants. Because they are grower-funded, they are very effective levers for obtaining additional funds. Like it or not, research these days requires outside funding, and we need to step it up if we’re going to get meaningful results

when we need them. Membership dues for 2020 is $50.

There are two ways to renew your membership dues:

By Mail: Fill out line 2 on the Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention Registration form (INSERT) and mail completed form and payment (payable to MSHS )to: MSHS, C/O Susan Barnes, 18330 Keedysville Road, Keedysville, MD 21756

Online (credit card* payment): 2020-mafvc.eventbrite.com

*There is an additional processing fee from Eventbrite to pay by credit card

Your Due Dollars At Work—Funding Research Proposals for 2019 Bryan Butler, MSHS Secretary

Membership

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Dr. Christopher Walsh received the Harry G. Black Dis n‐

guished Service Award at the Mid‐Atlan c Fruit and Veg‐

etable Conven on on Tuesday, January 29, 2019, in Her‐

shey, Pennsylvania.

Wade Butler, President of the Maryland State Hor cul‐

tural Society, presented the award to Chris during the

Fruit and Vegetable Growers Banquet for his many con‐

tribu ons to the industry. Chris is a re red professor

from the Department of Plant Science and Landscape

Architecture, University of Maryland, College Park. And is

a member of the Maryland State Hor cultural Society.

  

MSHS, President Wade Butler (le ) and Robert Black (right) presents Harry G. Black Dis nguished Service Award to Christopher Walsh (Middle)

ARTHUR H. THOMPSON TRAVEL FELLOWSHIP The purpose of the Thompson Travel Fellowship is to expose young people, working in the Maryland fruit industry, to ideas on fruit produc on in other areas of the world. To do this, the Mar‐yland State Hor cultural Society has established a fellowship of up to $1,000. This fellowship can be awarded annually to young peo‐ple working in the fruit industry to promote leadership within the Society.  R    o Be a fruit grower or some‐

one else associated with fruit produc on in Maryland

o Ages from 18 to 30

o Traveling outside the state

of Maryland.  R    The recipient would be expected to make a short presenta on to the membership at the annual mee ng concerning the infor‐ma on learned in the travel.  A    P  The applica on le er should include 

o Name

o Age

o Contact informa on

(mailing address, email, and phone)

o A brief explana on of the

proposed trip.  

Applica ons should be submi ed by January 17, 2020, to be con‐sidered for use during the subse‐quent year. Send applica ons to Bryan But‐ler, University of Maryland Exten‐sion‐Carroll County, 700 Agricul‐ture Center, Westminster, MD 21157 or by email bbut‐lers@umd.edu The Awards and Nomina ng Com‐mi ee will consider the nomina ons and will make its recommenda on to the Execu ve Commi ee, which will make the final decision. The Arthur H. Thompson Fellowship will be presented at the Awards Banquet on January 28, 2020, at Mid‐Atlan c Fruit and Vegetable Conven on in Hershey, PA.

Dr. Christopher Walsh receives the 2019 Harry G. Black Distinguished Service Award

Frank Allnutt received a Distinguished Service Award at the Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention on Tuesday, January 29, 2019, in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Wade Butler, President of the Maryland State Horticultural Society, presented the award to Frank in recognition of a career dedicated in support of the Maryland Fruit Growers. Frank has recently retired from the University of Maryland College of Agriculture and Natural Resources as the Center Director of The Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station at the Western Maryland Research and Education Center, Central Maryland Research and Education Center, and the Lower Eastern Shore Research and Education Center.

Frank Allnutt receives MSHS Distinguished Service Award

The Harry G. Black Dis nguished Service awarded is given, when deemed 

appropriate by the Execu ve Board, to a person who is a member of the Mar-

yland State Hor cultural Society making a significant contribu on in the 

state of Maryland this year and in years past.  The Award and Nomina ons 

Commi ee, consis ng of three members appointed by the President, shall 

recommend to the Execu ve Board such an award. 

Although primarily intended to be given to a fruit grower or those involved in 

fruit produc on, it may be given to a person in an allied industry such as 

processing, a state employee, a county agent, university personnel, or to any 

other person making a special contribu on to the fruit industry.  

 If you have a suggested recipient, please write a brief descrip on and send it 

to Bryan Butler, University of Maryland Extension-Carroll County, 700 Agri-

culture Center, Westminster, MD 21157 or by email bbutlers@umd.edu  

The commi ee will annually review the list of nominees, if any, to determine 

its recommenda on to the Execu ve Board.

Previous recipients are: Lloyd Balderston III, 1976 Dr. Castillo Graham, 1976 Professor A. F. Veirheller, 1976 S. Herman Todd, 1977 William C. Main, 1978 Theodore Stegmaier, 1978 M. N. “Nick” Pope, 1979 Dr. L. O. Weaver, 1980 Dr. Ben L. Rogers, 1981 Dr. Arthur Thompson, 1982 Harry G. Black, 1985 George H. Butler, Jr., 1986 William M. Allenberg, 1996 Evan B. Milburn, 1997 John H. Rinehart, 1999 Dr. Paul W. Steiner, 2000 I. Bruce Barr, 2005 Henry R. Passi, 2008 Allan Baugher, 2011 Robert E. Black, 2014 Bob Rouse, 2016 Lynn Moore, 2018 Dr. Christopher Walsh, 2019

MSHS, President Wade Butler (left) and Robert Black (right) presents Distinguished Service Award to Frank Allnutt (Middle)

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Meet Macarena Farchuh the New Tree Fruit Research & Extension Faculty Macarena Farchuh, Ph.D, Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, University of Maryland

My name is Macarena Farcuh, and I just recently joined (10/2019) the Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture at the University of Maryland as an Assistant professor in Horticulture, with a Research and Extension appointment. I am really excited to have joined the team and I am looking forward to contributing with my background to improving the production, quality and postharvest marketability of the fruits produced by growers in Maryland, in the Mid-Atlantic Region and in the nation! The aim of my program is to decrease fruit loss/waste, meet consumers’ expectations, and enhance fruit consumption. This will contribute to environmental and economic sustainability, as well as to promote health and well-being.

I come to the University of Maryland, from the University of California. Davis, where I received my PhD in Horticulture and Agronomy. During my PhD I used a systems biology approach to dissect plum fruit quality-related pathways, with emphasis in sugar metabolism and hormone

balance throughout ripening on-the-tree and postharvest storage. In my Post-Doctoral position, also at UC Davis, I worked on the identification of breeding targets for texture and flavor improvement in a melon breeding program by combining sensory, physiological and transcriptomic studies. Additionally, during my years at UC Davis I participated in several extension activities as well as in an entrepreneurial program, working collaboratively and innovatively towards the improvement of fruit quality and shelf-life capacity.

I am originally from Chile, where I received my B.S. and M.S degree in Agricultural Sciences from the University of Chile, with focus on Fruit Postharvest Physiology/Biology. Besides, I have four years of experience working at the interface between academia and industry, targeting the improvement of fruit quality/nutritional value and shelf-life capacity from a cross-functional perspective. In these positions I had the opportunity to work with and build strong cooperative relationships with the fruit production sector in Chile, engaging in several extension activities. A fun fact: on Chilean television I hosted the TV show “Caring for our Field”, aiming to help growers improve the production, management, storage and handling practices of fruit horticultural crops.

When I am not in my office or laboratory at the Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture or in the field, I like to enjoy the outdoors. You can find me discovering new hiking trails or heading towards the ocean. I enjoy playing tennis and traveling, and I am a seafood fan!

I am looking forward to meeting and working with all of you!

Macarena Farcuh, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture University of Maryland 2116 Plant Sciences Building College Park, MD 20742 Phone: (301) 405-1323 Email: mfarcuh@umd.edu Twitter: @FarcuhMacarena

Antietam Blush featured on Maryland Public Television (PBS) By Kathy Hunt, AGNR-PSLA, University of Maryland

The original tree (CP101—Antietam Blush) located at the University of Maryland Western Maryland Research & Education in Keedysville, MD. PBS crew interviewing Dr. Chris Walsh Photo by Kathy Hunt

This fall PBS Farm and Harvest program were filming a show on apples. The program focuses on apple production and breeding at the University of Maryland. They filmed at Keedysville where they met with Chris Walsh and talked about his new apple, CP101 (‘Antietam Blush’). Right after that, they visited the lab in the Plant Sciences Building in College Park to learn about apple maturity and fruit quality. We expect this program to air in early 2020. Watch for it!

PBS crew filming at the University of Maryland Plant Sciences lab in College Park, MD with Audra and Chris Photo by Kathy Hunt

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The Strawberry Advisory System in the Mid-Atlantic: a Final Update Mengjun Hu, Ph.D., Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, University of Maryland, College Park, MD

continued on page 8

As many of you are aware, the Strawberry Advisory System (StAS), a disease forecasting system, is now available to support regional strawberry pro-duction. This project, funded through USDA-NIFA and Horticultural Society of Maryland, was initiated by former UMD small fruit pathologist Dr. Cas-sandra Swett. The StAS, originated at University of Florida (led by Dr. Nata-lia Peres), utilizes site-specific weather stations to monitor leaf wetness and temperature to predict infection risks for Botrytis fruit rot (BFR) and an-thracnose fruit rot (AFR) in real-time based on the disease models devel-oped previously (Bulger et al. 1987; Wilson et al. 1990). The beauty of StAS is that users can virtualize the real-time infection risk at AgroClimate (http://cloud.agroclimate.org/tools/sas/dashboard/disease) or through the smartphone app SAS (Fig. 1). Free subscriptions of email and/or text-message are also available to get timely alerts for fungicide applications when there is medium or high risk of AFR or BFR infection.

With the capability of predicting disease infection, it can improve timing of fungicide applications to avoid unnecessary sprays. According to 39 field trials conducted mainly in Florida from 2009 to 2014, no significant differ-ences were found in BFR/AFR incidences, yield and number of marketable fruit between the StAS and calendar-based treatments in each trial. How-ever, the number of fungicide applications was reduced by 50% on aver-age when using the StAS compared with the calendar-based spray sched-ule (Cordova et al. 2017).

Trial data. From 2017 to 2019, field trials have been conducted in Mary-land and Virginia on both matted-row and plasticulture strawberries to validate the efficacy of the StAS in the Mid-Atlantic region. Overall, the performance of the StAS is acceptable. Marketable berries, disease inci-dence in the trials were largely comparable between the StAS and calendar

Fig.1. The Strawberry Advisory System Webpage

Farm Treatment Marketable yield (grams) Incidence (%)

Number of sprays BFR AFR

The Wye Res & Edu Center SAS 106,079 1 0.4 6

GSD 106,040 0.7 <0.1 9

Trials in Maryland Table 1. Efficacy trials (2017-18 season) conducted on plasticulture strawberries.

-based spray schedule (Tables 1-3), despite that the StAS seemed to be associated with slightly higher incidence of AFR or BFR. However, unac-ceptable results were also noted in the trials conducted in VA during 2016-2017 season (Table 4), presumably due to fungicides not sprayed in time. Unlike FL, many fields in the Mid-Atlantic that have received more than an inch of rain are often too soft and wet to spray within 48 hours, a timeframe required by the StAS. In order to address this issue in the following season, fungicide sprays were made just before a likely rain event that may result in more than 1-inch of rain, if the field had not been treated in the last 5 days. As a result, no significant difference in BFR and AFR incidences was observed between the StAS and calendar-based sprays in the 2017-18 season (Table 4).

Table 2. Efficacy trials (2018-19 season) conducted on plasticulture strawberries.

Farm Treatment Marketable yield (grams) Incidence (%)

Number of sprays BFR AFR

The Wye Res & Edu Center SAS 99,609 <0.1 4.5 4

GSD 97,753 <0.2 1.0 6

Strawberry varieties including Rutgers Scarlet, Earliglow, Flavorfest, Allstar, and Chandler were used for the trials. BFR and AFR stand for Botrytis fruit rot and anthracnose fruit rot, respectively. GSD stands for grower standard.

Table 3. Efficacy trials conducted on matted-row strawberries during 2017-18 and 2018-2019 seasons.

Farm Treatment 2017-18 2018-19

Incidence (%) Number of sprays

Incidence (%) Number of sprays

BFR AFR BFR AFR

Larriland StAS 6 0 4 0 0 5 GSD 0.1 0 7 0 0 7

Strawberry variety Flavorfest and Galletta was used for 2017-18 and 2018-19 respectively. No yield difference was found between the two treatments for the sampled plants.

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UME DEMONSTRATION WINES RECEIVE MEDALS FROM AMERICAN WINE SOCIETY

Seven wines from the University of Maryland Extension, Viticulture & Enology Research program were entered in the 2019 National American Wine Society Amateur (non-commercial) Wine Competition that took place on October 29-31, 2019 at Trade Winds Resort, St. Pete’s Beach, FL. Seven received a medal; here are the results

GOLD NV Russian Collusion (Imported CVS) 1-2% Semi-Dry | WREC

SILVER 2015 Meritage Reserve < 1% Dry | WMREC

NV Apple “Ice” Dessert | WMREC

BRONZE NV Chardonnay < 1% Dry | WMREC

2015 Barbera < 1% Dry | WMREC

NV Italian CV Blend < 1% Dry | WMREC/WYE/GRV

2015 Chardonnay “Ice” Dessert | WMREC

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND VINEYARD LOCATIONS:

WMREC: Western Maryland Research & Education Center, Keedysville, MD WREC: Wye Research & Education Center, Queenstown, MD LESREC: Lower Eastern Shore Research & Education Center, Salisbury MD CMREC: Central Maryland Research & Education Center, Upper Marlboro, MD OTHER VINEYARD LOCATIONS:

AREC: Alson H. Smith Jr. Agricultural Research & Education Center, Winchester, VA (Virginia Tech) GRV: Golden Run Vineyard, Hans & Jenny Schmidt, Sudlersville, MD

Farm Field Treatment

2016-17 2017-18

Incidence (%) Number of sprays

Incidence (%) Number of sprays

BFR AFR BFR AFR

Brookdale Site 1 StAS 21 34 5 5.7 2.3 9 GSD 12 22 11 5.4 1.8 10

Brookdale Site 2 StAS 26 24 5 7.1 8.2 10 GSD 10 24 11 8.1 8.6 11

Cullipher Site 3 StAS 8 10 4 4 3 10 GSD 5 6 10 4.7 1.3 11

Hickory Ridge Site 4 StAS 9 27 5 13 7.3 10 GSD 4 23 10 7 5.3 11

Trials in Virginia Table 4. Efficacy trials conducted on plasticulture strawberries during 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasonsa.

a A, B, or C represents different farms. Strawberry varieties including Chandler, Camarosa, and Ruby June were used for the trials. BFR and AFR stand for Botrytis fruit rot and anthracnose fruit rot, respectively.

Row-cover situation. In addition to the difference in soil condition noted above, the efficacy of StAS may be challenged by difference in cultural practices. In areas outside FL and CA, floating row covers are used to protect berries from frost damage during winter and spring, or to accumulate growing degree-days during fall. The StAS uses on-farm weather stations for model input (i.e. temperature and leaf wetness), which are not capable of monitoring environmental variables under row covers. Whether the deployment of the row-cover during fall or early spring would result in disease infection is unknown.

Available StAS weather stations in the Mid-Atlantic. A total of seven stations were installed in Maryland and Virginia. Among them, two are located in Pungo area in VA and five are located in Fredrick, Montgomery, Charles, Carroll, and Queen Anne's Counties of MD. Based on our observations, disease risk categories (i.e. low, medium and high) between weather stations in western MD were largely consistent over the course of two years, which sometimes are different from Southern MD or the Shore. However, difference in disease risk category did occur occasionally between two StAS locations nearby.

Cost and Maintenance. The cost of having a standard StAS weather station (METOS) manufactured by Pessl instruments is about $3,000. An annual fee of $100 is charged to access weather data such as wind, precipitation, temperature, relative humidity etc., depending on the sensors equipped with the station. The station is solar-panel supported and all data is cloud-based and viewable remotely and constantly. The sensors and solar panel on the station are expected to send back to the manufacturer for maintenance every three to five years. The total annual cost, excluding the purchase of the station, is expected to be $200 to $300.

Conclusions. Data from some trials indicated that the StAS may need to be more sensitive especially for highly susceptible cultivars. Recent trials conducted in Iowa also suggested that the StAS might underestimate AFR risk under high disease pressure (Zhang et al. 2019). Overall, we think that the StAS can be a valuable tool to support Mid-Atlantic growers, but fungicides need to be sprayed in time (within 48 hrs. after the warning). Further studies are needed to understand the impact of row-cover on the plant microclimates and disease infection.

Reference:

Bulger, M. A., Ellis, M. A., and Madden, L. V. 1987. Influence of temperature and wetness duration on infection of strawberry flowers by Botrytis cinerea and disease incidence of fruit originating from infected flowers. Phytopathology 77:1225-1230.

Cordova, L. G., Madden, L. V., Amiri, A., Schnabel, G., and Peres, N. A. 2017. Meta-Analysis of a Web-Based Disease Forecast System for Control of Anthracnose and Botrytis Fruit Rots of Strawberry in Southeastern United States. Plant Disease 101:1910-1917.

Wilson, L. L., Madden, L. V., and Ellis, M. A. 1990. Influence of temperature and wetness duration on infection of immature and mature strawberry fruit by Colletotrichum acutatum. Phytopathology 80:111-116.

Zhang, X., Batzer, J. C., Li, X., Peres, N. A., and Gleason, M. L. 2019. Validation of a Florida Strawberry Anthracnose Fruit Rot (AFR) Warning System in Iowa. Plant Disease 103:28-33.

The Strawberry Advisory System in the Mid-Atlantic: a Final Update continued from page 7

9

I Am a PYO Apple Grower—Does the Produce Safety Rule Affect Me?

The Produce Safety Rule (PSR) section of the U.S. Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) is aimed at reducing the risk of human exposure to microbial pathogens when fresh fruits and vegetables are consumed raw. Most all fruits and vegetables that are generally eaten raw are covered. That will include most tree fruit crops (excluding sour cherries and figs). Find the full list of covered produce here: https://producesafetyalliance.cornell.edu/sites/producesafetyalliance.cornell.edu/files/shared/documents/FSMA-Regulatory-Table.pdf

The Produce Safety Rule is a mandatory federal regulation that is implemented based on the amount of pro-duce sold and to whom.

You are exempt if you sold less than an average of $26,999 in covered and non-covered produce over the previous three-year period.

You are required to comply to the rule if you sold over an average of $539,982 in produce sales per year in the last three-year period.

It is the middle area – the qualified exempt status that gets complicated. A QE producer will meet the following criteria:

o your average total food* sales were less than $539,982.

o A lot will depend on what percentage of your food* sales were to “qualified end users”. So who is a qualified end user? 1. Your PYO and farm market customers and 2. restaurants and retail food stores in the same state and less than 275 miles away and they sell directly to the consumer.

o More than half (50.1%) of the value of the total food* sold went to the aforementioned quali-fied end users.

*For this calculation grains, animal feeds, poultry, livestock, etc. are included

If you find that you fall into either the qualified exempt or required compliance categories, what do you do? The first step would be to attend a Produce Safety Alliance training on the PSR. That training will outline the compliance requirements. Though lengthy, the PSR requirements are fairly common sense standards and procedures that you are probably already implementing on your farm and are very similar to GAP (Good Agricultural Practices) certification requirements. These are the dates and locations of the 2019-2020 season.

December 4, 2019 – Princess Anne January 24, 2020 – Howard County February 6, 2020 – Montgomery County March 3, 2020 – Garrett County

Use Eventbrite to enroll: https://www.eventbrite.com/o/university-of-maryland-extension-5296025477

You will need at least one person on your farm who has taken the training. It is very important that the PSA trained person be in a position to update procedures and train workers in the PSR standards.

In Maryland we are privileged to have the Maryland Department of Agriculture overseeing PSR compliance. Inspections of the larger producers have already started and many farms are electing to have an On Farm Readiness Review (OFRR) before an inspection. The OFRR brings three specialists to your farm: someone from MDA, someone from your local extension office, and a food safety educator from the University of Maryland. This team will go over the compliance requirements with you and look specifically at your farm’s unique situation. Even the FDA is looking at this first year as a time of education not retribution. I have attended many OFRR’s this year and the farmer feedback is that they are very helpful and give real, reasonable applica-tion to what can be a very confusing set of laws. The goal is to develop a food safety culture on your farm and with your workers to help keep your customers safe.

Contact Kathy Hunt at 301.405.4372, Carol Allen (callen12@umd.edu) or Angela Ferelli, PhD (angfer@umd.edu) for more information and to arrange a one-on-one consultation to help you get ready for an OFRR.

UME OFFERS PRIVATE PESTICIDE RESERTIFICATION & NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT VOUCHER TRAINING

University of Maryland Extension is offering private pesticide applicator and Nutrient Management certifications and recertification classes for farmers/producers during the fall, winter, and spring season. To find a listing for classes/workshops near you go to:

University of Maryland Extension Events: extension.umd.edu/events

Pesticide Education and Assessment Program http://pesticide.umd.edu/ Private Pesticide Recertification Meetings: https://mda.maryland.gov/plants-pests/Documents/Private-Applicator-Recert-Meetings-2019-2020-Final.pdf

Nutrient Applicator Voucher Courses: http://mda.maryland.gov/resource_conservation/Pages/nutrient_management _training_program.aspx

WESTERN MARYLAND REGIONAL FRUIT MEETING TO BE HELD ON FEB. 13, 2020

The Western Maryland Regional Fruit Meeting has been scheduled to take place on Thursday, February 13, 2020, at the Western Maryland Research and Education Center in Keedysville, MD from 9 AM to 4 PM Registration information will be posted in mid-December on the Grapes and Small Fruit website at extension.umd. edu/smallfruit

Carol Allen, Agent Associate in Food Safety, University of Maryland—AGNR-PSLA

10

Does it Pay to Graft Tomatoes for Increased Yields When There Are No Soil Disease Problems? Jerry Brust, IPM Vegetable Specialist

Figure 1. Excellent fruit set and quality of tomatoes in July

Tomatoes are grafted by joining the top part of one plant (the scion) to the root system of another plant (the rootstock). The resulting plant is usually more vigorous and productive. Many studies have been conducted over the last 10 years that show the benefits of using grafting for soil disease control in tomato production, but there is not much research that examines the influence of rootstocks in no-disease field tomato production systems. In general, vegetable grafting can increase yield by improving crop tolerance to abiotic stresses because of the plant’s ability to increase water and nutrient uptake via a more vigorous rootstock. I looked at what would be the benefit, if any, of grafting four different tomato varieties into a field that had not had any vegetables in it for at least 4 years and had no history of soil disease problems. The varieties were: Red Deuce, Red Mountain, Big Beef and Mt. Fresh+ onto the rootstock of Maxifort. Methods: Grafting treatments consisted of two combinations: a scion/rootstock graft and a non-grafted control using the same variety. Approximately seven weeks after grafting, all grafted and non-grafted seedlings were transplanted into the field on 3rd May, 2019. Before transplanting the field was fertilized and black plastic mulch with drip irrigation was laid forming 8 rows 100 ft long. There were three replications of 10 tomatoes of each variety grafted and 10 plants non-grafted spaced 2 ft apart within a row. Eight harvests took place starting on July 9 and continuing on July 12, 15, 18, 23, 29 and Aug. 1 and 8. Yields were subjected to a 2-factor ANOVA looking at variety (4) by grafted or not (2) and means were separated using Tukey HSD test. ANOVAs with p values equal to or less than 0.05 were considered significant as were mean separation tests. Leaf tissue samples were taken at first flower bud and every two weeks throughout the study. Fruit harvests were conducted two-three times per week and separated into marketable and non-marketable fruit. Non-marketable fruit categories consisted of yellow shoulders, uneven ripening, cat-facing, blossom end rot, fruit cracking and ‘other’. Fruit number and weight were recorded. Results: Overall the total marketable fruit weight for grafted plants (mean of 15.2 lbs/plant) had significantly greater yields compared with non-grafted plants (13.7 lbs/plant). All varieties that were grafted had on average 11% more marketable fruit compared with their non-grafted variety. Early yields (9 and 12 of July) showed no differences between grafted and non-grafted plants for any of the varieties, although the variety Red Mt. significantly out yielded Big Beef and Mt Fresh+ by almost 93%. For the main harvests (15-29 of July) grafted plants were significantly greater in marketable yields (13.3 lbs/plants) compared with non-grafted plants (11.8 lbs/plant). There was a significant difference between three of the varieties (overall mean of 12.9 lbs/plant) vs. Mt. Fresh+ (11.3 lbs/plant). For the later harvests (1 and 8 of August) yields for grafted plants were significantly greater (1.67 lbs/plant) vs non-grafted plants (1.05 lbs/plant). For this harvest period Red Deuce had significantly greater yields (1.86 lbs/plant) than Big Beef (0.95 lbs/plant) or Mt. Fresh+ (1.30lbs/plant). The all-important nutrient potassium (K) was 22.2% greater in grafted plants vs. non-grafted plants in July, but that was about the only difference between grafted and non-grafted plants for nutrient levels. Early harvests had a mean of 5.2% unmarketable fruit while main harvests had a mean of 11.3% unmarketable fruit and the final harvests

had a mean of 22.6% unmarketable fruit. There were no significant differences in unmarketable fruit between grafted and non-grafted plants or among any of the varieties. Conclusions: I was encouraged when I saw that the grafted plants out yielded the non-grafted plants by a small but significantly consistent amount. However, when I applied some basic economics to the results looking at the difference in costs of the grafted vs non-grafted transplants and the return on yield I found I lost $0.21 per grafted plant vs. a non-grafted plant. If you multiplied that by 5,000 plants/A that would be an estimated loss of around $1050/A between using grafted vs. non-grafted plants in this particular trial for this year. More trials will be needed in the coming years to see if this trend holds or if using grafted plants in non-stressed fields can more than pay for itself. Overall a couple of things surprised me. The first was that Mt. Fresh+ did not do as well as the other varieties, this variety has always performed well for me in my studies and for some reason this year it did not. The second thing was the quality of the tomato fruit during the main harvest period, basically most of July, was outstanding. Often times in the past my unmarketable fruit reached 25-35% of my harvested fruit in July, but this year the mean was only around 11% - amazingly low and using grafted plants did not reduce the unmarketable fruit significantly compared with non-grafted plants. Part of the reason for this I think was the great reduction in rainfall that led to low disease incidence in the field, but also to the excellent fruit set in both grafted and non-grafted plants (fig. 1). Grafting seems to help with the yields or quality of the fruit when plants are under some kind of stress such as flooding, high salts, soil diseases, soil nematodes, etc. If environmental conditions are good the grafting does not seem to help as much, as shown in this study.

11

Paraquat Dichloride Training for Certified Applicators Source: United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), https://www.epa.gov/pesticide-worker-safety/paraquat-dichloride-training-certified-applicators

EPA Paraquat Mi ga on Decision: What You Need to Know 

EPA Requirement  Details  Effec ve Date 

Supplemental warning materials 

Warning s cker affixed to cap  Safety s cker on container  Product warning “counter card” 

Cer fied applicators only 

Applicator must be a licensed cer fied applicator, can no longer work under supervision of a cer fied applicator** 

Stewardship and Safety Training 

EPA‐approved paraquat internet training program  Product label to include training program website  Training must be completed every 3 years 

Training material in place by 3/30/2018. implementa on TBD a er 3/30/2018 

Closed System  All paraquat non‐bulk containers must comply with EPA approved closed system standards.  Non‐bulk is defined as any container less than 120 gallons 

10/1/2020 

*En es other than registrants may con nue to sell and/or use exis ng stocks of products with previously approved labeling and packaging un l stocks are exhausted. ** When applying product with new amended label. Source: Russ Noratel, Maryland Department of Agriculture

10/1/18 All product entering channel will have new amended label and supplemental 

warning materials*  

As required by EPA’s Paraquat Dichloride Human Health Mitigation Decision and amended paraquat dichloride (a.k.a. paraquat) product labels, certified applicators must successfully complete an EPA-approved training program before mixing, loading, and/or applying paraquat. The training provides important information about paraquat’s toxicity, new label requirements and restrictions, and the consequences of misuse.

To access the EPA approved training module through eXtension Online Campus go to https://campus.extension.org/course/view.php?id=1660.

This training was developed by paraquat manufacturers as part of EPA’s 2016 risk mitigation requirements and has been approved by EPA.

Below are frequent questions about the paraquat dichloride training.

Why are there additional training requirements to use paraquat? Answer: Since 2000, there have been 17 deaths – three involving children – caused by accidental ingestion of paraquat. These cases have resulted from the pesticide being illegally transferred to beverage containers and later mistaken for a drink and consumed. A single sip can be fatal. In addition to the deaths by accidental ingestion, since 2000 there have been three deaths and many severe injuries caused by the pesticide getting onto the skin or into the eyes of those working with the herbicide. To prevent these tragedies, EPA is requiring this special training for certified applicators who use paraquat. One of the purposes of the paraquat training is to reinforce that paraquat must not be transferred to or stored in improper containers. Who is required to take this training? Answer: Any person who intends to use paraquat must be a certified applicator and is required to take the training. “Use” includes pre-application activities involving mixing and loading the pesticide; applying the pesticide; and other pesticide-related activities, including, but not limited to, transporting or storing opened pesticide containers, cleaning equipment, and disposing of excess pesticides, spray mix, equipment wash waters, pesticide containers, and other paraquat-containing materials. Who is permitted to use paraquat? Answer: The use of paraquat, which is a restricted use pesticide, is restricted to certified pesticide applicators only; noncertified persons working under the supervision of a certified applicator are prohibited from using paraquat, including mixing, loading, applying the pesticide, and other pesticide-related activities. What are the training requirements for paraquat products? Answer: To use paraquat products, you must be a certified applicator. In addition, paraquat-specific training is required by new paraquat labels and must be completed prior to using products with the new labeling. All paraquat labels are expected to include a link to the training by Fall 2019. The training provides important information about paraquat’s toxicity, new label requirements and restrictions, and the consequences of misuse. The training must be retaken every three years. Although this training is a paraquat label requirement, a state may choose to approve it for continuing education. For state-specific requirements, contact your state lead pesticide agency. To find the contact information for your state lead pesticide agency, see the National Pesticide Information Center’s

webpage http://npic.orst.edu/reg/state_agencies.html on state pesticide regulatory agencies How does the paraquat training module differ from the certified applicator training requirements? Answer: Pesticide applicators become certified by proving they are competent to apply or supervise the use of restricted use pesticides (RUPs), generally by examination. Many states approve courses that certified applicators can take to maintain their certification. The examinations and training courses pertain to a category or type of pesticide application (e.g., agricultural plant pest control, seed treatment, structural pest control). Conversely, the paraquat training module emphasizes the importance of handling paraquat safely because of its extreme toxicity. The training highlights product-specific restrictions, including that paraquat products bearing the new labeling can be handled by certified applicators only (i.e., paraquat can no longer be handled by those working under the supervision of a certified applicator). For more information related to the pesticide applicator certification, visit: How to Get Certified as a Pesticide Applicator at https://www.epa.gov/pesticide-worker-safety/how-get-certified-pesticide-applicator One of the label requirements is to maintain a record of the completed training. How will certified applicators show proof that they completed the required training? Answer: Once the certified applicator successfully completes the training, a certificate will be automatically generated. Per the new labeling, applicators are required to retain certificates of training completion. In addition, paraquat registrants have arranged for the National Pesticide Safety Education Center (NPSEC) to retain certification records should the user, state regulators, or enforcement personnel need access. Who is responsible if a certified applicator overlooks a label requirement, even if the paraquat-specific training covered that point? Answer: The intent of the training is to provide the user with the best possible understanding of paraquat product safety issues. Ultimately, it is the user’s responsibility to handle the product in strict accordance with the product labeling. Are state personnel required to conduct the paraquat-specific training? Answer: No, state employees are not required to conduct this training. The training is available online for paraquat users to take at their convenience at www.usparaquattraining.com. Are states or other entities permitted to develop alternate paraquat training materials? Answer: States or other entities may develop alternate training materials that comply with the 2016 mitigation decision. All paraquat handler training materials must be approved by EPA. For a discussion of the requirements for the training materials, refer to the 2016 Paraquat Dichloride Human Health Mitigation Decision by going to https://www.regulations.gov/contentStreamer?documentId=EPA-HQ-OPP-2011-0855-0115&contentType=pdf

12

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

For the eleventh year, Penn State Extension will hold a day-long session in Spanish during the Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention. Special guest is Mario Miranda Sazo, Cornell Extension, who will lead demonstrations on pruning techniques for high density plantings and principles of crop load management.

Mario Miranda Sazo, Cornell Extension Lake Ontario Fruit Specialist, is known for his engaging bi-cultural educational programs on the science behind best management practices in orchards. His research and extension responsibilities focus on pruning, the testing of new Cornell Geneva® apple rootstocks, feathering of nursery apple trees, the tall

spindle apple system, and orchard mechanization for higher labor efficiency.

The program for the Spanish session is jointly planned by Extension faculty and educators from Penn State Extension and Virginia Cooperative Extension, along with leaders of the Penn State Latinx Agricultural Network. The morning program includes a classroom practicum on fruit pests, diseases and beneficials; a lab practicum on assessing soil health; and a demonstration in the exhibit hall on equipment safety. Facilitators are Beth Sastre, Virginia Cooperative Extension, and Maria Gorgo, Dr. Tara Baugher (program co- chairs) Dr. Carlos Quesada, Don Seifrit, Dr. Kari Peter, Dr. Margarita López-Uribe, Megan Chawner, Ilse Huerta, Emma Rosenthal and Montserrat Fonseca Estrada, Penn State Extension.

The afternoon topics presented by Mario Miranda Sazo include “Applied Pruning Techniques—Long Pruning versus Short Pruning for High Density Apple Plantings” and “Understanding the Basic Principles of Blossom/Fruitlet Thinning and the Reasons and Benefits of Early Crop Load Management—What/Why/How Can You Help?”

A catered lunch is provided at no charge. The complete program, in Spanish and English, along with registration information is available at https://www.mafvc.org/Schedule. When you register with the trade association of your choice, please be sure to indicate how many from your operation will be attending the Spanish session, as a headcount will be needed for lunch. The program is supported by PDA/USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant Award #ME44187248, a Penn State Extension Agricultural Latinx Network Impact Grant, and the Penn State Pesticide Education Program.

Mario Miranda Sazo to Lead Interactive Trainings During the Spanish Session at the Mid-Atlantic Fruit & Vegetable Convention Tara Baugher, Penn State Extension Educator

Mario Miranda Sazo, Cornell Extension, will lead interactive trainings on pruning and apple thinning during the Spanish Session held at the 2020 Mid-Atlantic Fruit

Jan. 9-12, 2020: Southeast Regional Fruit and Vegetable Conference, Savannah, GA. seregionalconference.org

Jan. 14-16, 2020: 2020 Empire State Fruit and Vegetable Expo, Onecenter, Syracuse, NY., http://nysvga.org/expo/information/

Jan. 16-18, 2020: Future Harvest - CASA 21st Annual Conference—Farming For Our Soil, Livelihood, and Community, College Park Marriott, East Hyattsville, MD. https://www.futureharvestcasa.org/2020-conference-january-16-18

Jan. 19-22, 2020: NASGA 2020 Annual Meeting & Conference, San Antonio, TX nasga.org

Jan. 21-23, 2020: 2020 Ohio Produce Network, Columbus Airport Marriott, Columbus, OH. http://www.opgma.org/Ohio-Produce-Network/

Jan. 23, 2020 (9:00 AM-3:00 PM): Central Maryland Vegetable Growers Meeting, Friendly Farms Restaurant, Foreston Road, Upperco, MD. Registration go to https://vgd2020.eventbrite.com (Cost: $22 advance, $30 at the door)

Jan. 28-30, 2020: 2020 Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention, Hershey, PA .,www.mdhortsociety.org/mafvc (registration and program included in this newsletter)

Jan. 31 thru Feb. 4, 2020: 2020 Annual NAFDMA Agritourism Conference & EXPO, Charleston, SC. More information and to register go to http://nafdmaconvention.com

Feb. 11, 2020: Eastern Shore Vegetable and Fruit Meeting , Eastern Shore Hospital Center, Cambridge, MD. Register by calling the Dorchester County UME office at 410-228-8800 or go to https://2020esveg meeting.eventbrite.com/

Feb. 6, 2020 (8:00 AM - 4 PM): Southern Maryland Vegetable & Fruit Production Meeting, Location: Bowie Elks Lodge, Gambrills, MD. Contact: 410-222-3906 or myersd@umd.edu

Feb. 28-29, 2020: Maryland Wine & Grape Industry Annual Meeting for more information go to: marylandgrapes.org/events/annualconference.shtml

Feb. 12-13 2020: Annual Regional Women in Agriculture Conference, Dover Downs Hotel, Dover, DE. For more information or to register go to: https://extension.umd.edu/womeninag/annual-conference

Feb. 13, 2020 (9:00 AM to 4:00 PM): Western Maryland Regional Fruit Meeting, Western Maryland Research & Education Center, Keedysville, MD. For more information or to register contact Susan Barnes at (301) 432-2767 x301 or sbarnes6@umd.edu

Feb. 2020 : Bay Area Fruit School, Wye Research and Education Center, Queenstown, MD. For more information contact: Mike Newell at (410) 827-7388 /mnewell@umd.edu

13

2020 Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention Jan. 28 –30, 2020 PROGRAM AND REGISTRATION INFORMATION (as of November 15, 2019, Check for updates on the website at www.mafvc.org.)

MSHS Meetings Held at MAFV Convention

The Maryland State

Hor cultural Society (MSHS)

will have the following mee ngs

during the Mid‐Atlan c Fruit

and Vegetable (MAFV)

Conven on.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 

MEETING  

(officers & board members)

Tuesday, January 28, 2020 ●

4:30 PM ● Cocoa Suite #6

BUSINESS MEETING  

(All members are encouraged

to a end)

Wednesday, January 29, 2020

4:30 PM ● Room: To be

announced

Lodging At Hershey

The Mid Atlan c Fruit &

Vegetable group rate is:

$154.00. room/per night plus

11% taxes prior 12/30/19.

A er that date, room prices

may increase and/or rooms

may not be available. 

 

TO MAKE HOTEL  

RESERVATIONS:

Voice: 

1‐855‐729‐3108

to receive conven on

discounted rate; men on that

you are a ending the MAFV

Conference.

Online: h ps://

book.passkey.com/go/

MAFVC2020

Monday, January 27, 2020

Tomato School (9:00 AM - 4:00 PM)

Fee: $85 (includes lunch and handouts) Tomatoes offer the best financial return per square foot of any commercial vegetable crop in the Mid-Atlantic region despite significant production challenges that can impact the yield and quality of the crop. Join our outstanding team of experts as they cover the key topics regarding commercial tomato production in the Mid-Atlantic. 9:00 AM Market Trends and Economic Potential of Tomatoes Speaker: Tom Ford, Commercial Horticulture Educator, Penn State Extension 9:30 AM Economics of Growing Field, High Tunnel and Greenhouse Tomatoes Speaker: Lynn Kime, Senior Extension Associate, The Pennsylvania State Univ. 10:00 AM Break 10:15 AM Growing Systems: Field, High Tunnel & Greenhouse Speaker: Tim Elkner, Commercial Horticulture Educator, Penn State Extension 11:00 AM The New, the Best, and Best-forgotten Speaker: Jan van der Heide, Northeast Sales & Product Development Manager at Bejo Seeds, Inc. 11:30 AM Sprayer Technologies for High Tunnel and Greenhouse Tomatoes Speaker: Will Brownback, Spiral Path Farms,*1 core credit 12 noon Lunch 12:45 PM Fertilization and Nutrient Management in Tomato Production Systems Speaker: Steve Bogash, NE Territory Manager Marrone Bio Innovations 1:45 PM Pollination for Tomato High Tunnels and Greenhouse Operations Speaker: Tom Ford, Commercial Horticulture Educator, Penn State Extension 2:15 PM Bio-based Approaches to Pest & Disease Management in Tomatoes Speaker: Steve Bogash, NE Territory Manager Marrone Bio Innovations *2 Credits Category Private, (PC), 03, & 18 3:15 PM Harvest and Post-harvest Handling Tips for Vine Ripe Tomatoes Speaker: Tom Ford, Commercial Horticulture Educator, Penn State Extension 4:00 PM Adjourn and Award Pesticide Credits

CBD Hemp Production Intensive for Growers (9:00 AM—4:00 PM)

Fee: $150.00 (includes lunch)

CBD Hemp Production Intensive for Growers is a full-day workshop that will focus on CBD hemp production from propagation to business contracting with sessions offered by both university and industry experts. As a pre-conference session of the Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention, this workshop will emphasize the horticultural production of hemp for CBD.

This workshop is OFFSITE and will take place at the Penn State Harrisburg Campus, 777 W. Harrisburg Pike, Middletown, Pennsylvania 17057

Registration for this workshop is through Penn State Cvent system by going to https://extension.psu.edu/cbd-hemp-production-intensive-for-growers (registration deadline is January 17, 2020)

Bees, Pollinators and, Pollination (9:00 AM—4:00 PM)

Fee: $40 (includes lunch and handouts) We’ll use hands-on identification, talks, and discussions to provide a well-rounded understanding of the diversity of bees in your farmscape, the pollination services they provide, and opportunities to help support their populations. We’ll provide a structure of understanding the full array of bee species in the MidAtlantic, their current status, the stressors they face, and what you can do to support them. This program is appropriate for

PRE- CONVENTION WORKSHOPS

Continued on page 14

14

Bees, Pollinators and Pollination continued...

farmers growing bee-pollinated crops and those managing lands who wish to support bee populations. Topics and activities include: 9:00 AM Bees and Pollination 101, Margarita Lopez-Uribe, Penn State 10:00 AM Hands-on Identification Workshop Supported with Dissecting Microscopes, Margarita Lopez-Uribe, David Biddinger, Michael Sklarva, Penn State 11:15 AM Feeding and Sheltering Bees in Your Landscape, Harland Patch, Penn State Noon Lunch with Poster Presentations 1:00 PM Stressors—Pesticides, David Biddinger, Penn State 1:30 PM Stressors—Parasites, Pathogens, and the Bee’s Immune System, Allyson Ray, Penn State 2:15 PM Pollination Services in Cucurbits, Shelby Fleischer, Penn State 2:40 PM Pollination Services in Tree Fruit, David Biddinger, Penn State 3:00 PM Pollination Services in Small Fruit, Margarita Lopez-Uribe, Penn State 3:20 PM NRCS Support for Projects that Support Bees, Jim Gillis, USDA NRCS 3:40 PM Resources and Summary, Natalie Boyle, Margarita Lopez-Uribe, Shelby Fleischer, Penn State 4:00 PM Adjourn

FSMA Grower Certification Training (9:00 AM - 5:15 PM)

Fee: $35 (includes lunch) This training is for fruit and vegetable growers and others interested in learning about: produce safety, the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule, Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs), and co-management of natural resources and food safety. This PSA course is one way to satisfy the grower training requirement of the FSMA Produce Safety Rule as outlined in Section 112.22(c). Participants in the course will learn about: Microorganisms relevant to produce safety and where they may be found on the farm; How to identify microbial risks, practices that reduce risks, and how to implement produce safety practices on the farm; Requirements in the FSMA Produce Safety Rule and how to meet them. After attending the entire course, participants will be eligible to receive a certificate from the Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO) that verifies they have completed the training course. The Pennsylvania Food Safety Resource Center is providing funds to cover AFDO certification fees and course material costs for this workshop.

Cultivating Leadership: Sowing Seeds of Success in Your Specialty Crop Enterprise (10 AM - 4 PM)

Fee: $40 (includes lunch) Penn State Extension’s Leadership Network will facilitate this workshop for specialty crop growers, managers and supervisors looking for strategies for quality management and leadership. 10:00 AM Welcome and Introduction, Sarah Lott Zost, Chairperson, Young Grower Alliance 10:15 AM Managing for Stress in Specialty Crop Production, Dr. Suzanna Windon, Assist. Prof., Youth and Adult Leadership 11:00 AM Break 11:10 AM Enhancing Your Mentoring Toolbox, Mariah Stollar, MS, Agricultural and Extension Education Noon Catered Lunch 1:00 PM Growing a Motivated Horticultural Team, Linda Falcone, Extension Educator, Entrepreneurship, Economic and Community Development 1:45 PM Cultural Competency Toolkit for Your Farm, Tanya Lamo, Extension Educator, Leadership Development 2:35 PM Break 2:45 PM Fostering Creativity and Peak Performance, John Wodehouse, Extension Educator, Business 3:25 PM Program Feedback 4:00 PM Adjourn

Farm Market Tour-Lancaster County (8 AM - 4:30 PM)

Fee: $60 (includes bus and includes lunch) This all-day bus tour will leave and return to the Hershey Lodge and Convention Center. The tour will visit the following farms and venues: Good Harvest Farm in Strasburg, Cherry Crest Adventure Farm in Strasburg, Kitchen Kettle Village in Intercourse, Harvest Lane Farm in Lititz, and Masonic Village Farm Market in Elizabethtown.

TO REGISTER FOR THE PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOPS

ONLINE: https://2020-mondayworkshops.eventbrite.com MAIL IN: Use enclosed registration form

Continued on page 15

2020 Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention Jan. 28– 30, 2020 PROGRAM AND REGISTRATION INFORMATION Cont. from page 13 PRE- CONVENTION WORKSHOPS

Monday, January 27, 2020

15

CONVENTION PROGRAM (as of November 15, 2019) Please note, speakers, topics, credits,  mes and rooms in this program are subject to change. Check for updates on the website at www.mafvc.org.  The printed program at the conven on will take precedence over any pre‐conven on programs.

2020 Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention Jan. 28– 30, 2020 PROGRAM AND REGISTRATION INFORMATION Cont. from page 14

Tuesday Morning, January 28, 2020

COMPOSTING (Trinidad Room) 9:00 Composting Overview-Yichao Rui, Rodale Institute 9:30 Industry Show & Tell 9:45 Composting: How We Do It at Spiral Path Farm-Mike Brownback, Spiral Path Farm 10:30 Adjourn to Keynote Session

LEGUMES (Wild Rose Room ) 9:00 Bush and Pole Lima Bean Production and Heat Tolerance in Limas & Snap Beans-Emmalee Ernest, Univ. of Delaware 9:30 Industry Show & Tell 9:45 What’s the Latest in Snap Bean Weed Control?-Mark Van Gessel, Univ. of Delaware 10:30 Adjourn to Keynote Session

BASIC VEGETABLE PRODUCTION (Crystal Room) 9:00 Vegetable Growing Systems-Steve Reiners, Cornell Univ. (tentative) 9:30 Industry Show & Tell 9:45 Pest and Disease Management Considerations-Dr. Beth Gugino, Penn State Univ. 10:30 Adjourn to Keynote Session

SWEET POTATOES (Empire Room AB) 9:00 Sweetpotato in Pennsylvania: the Roadmap for Adaptation and Adoption By Stakeholders-Dr. Luis Duque, Penn State Univ. 9:30 Industry Show & Tell 9:45 Sweet Potato Production—A Southern Perspective on Varietal Development, Culture, Nutrition, and Trends-Dr. Don Labonte, Louisiana State Univ. 10:30 Adjourn to Keynote Session

ALLIUMS (Empire Room CD) 9:00 *Allium Leafminer—When and How to Control-Shelby Fleischer, Penn State Univ. 9:30 Industry Show & Tell 9:45 *Stemphylium Leaf Blight Management in Onions-Sarah Pethybridge, Cornell Univ. 10:30 Adjourn to Keynote Session

FARMERS HEALTH (Magnolia Room ABC) 9:00 Defend Yourself Against Ticks and Vector-Borne Diseases- Karen C. Poh and Hannah S. Tiffin, Penn State Univ. 9:30 Industry Show & Tell 9:45 Skin Cancer Prevention-Laura Toole, Northeast Cancer Institute 10:30 Adjourn to Keynote Session

BUILDING CREATIVE DISPLAYS (Cocoa Terrace/Cocoa 1) 9:00 Signage & Display Theory-Brian Moyer, Tanya Lamo, Alicia Anderson, Penn State Extension 9:45 Industry Show & Tell 10:00 Hands-On Display Building 10:30 Adjourn to Keynote Session

TREE FRUITS (Nigerian Room) 9:00 Invocation-Ed Weaver 9:05 President’s Address, Chris Baugher

9:15 Calcium Absorption and Movement in Honeycrisp-Dr. Lee Kalcsits, Washington State Univ. 9:30 SHAP Funded Research—Lightning Talks 10:00 Completing the Picture: Characterizing Bitter Rot Fungi Isolates in the Lab & Field-Phillip Martin 10:15 Blossom Thinning Golden Delicious Using Lime Sulfur & the Pollen Tube Growth Model-Jim Schupp 10:30 Adjourn to Keynote Session

KEYNOTE (Nigerian and Trinidad Rooms) 10:30 Adjourn to Keynote Session Sponsored by the American Vegetable Grower and American Fruit Grower

Tuesday Afternoon, January 28, 2020

TOMATOES (Trinidad Room) 1:30 Tomato Variety Update-Tom Pagels, Stokes Seed 2:00 Biopesticides to control Spot, Canker in Greenhouse Transplants-Francesca Rotondo-Ohio State Univ. 2:30 Update on Tomato Herbicide-Mark VanGessel, Univ. of Delaware 3:00 Industry Show & Tell 3:15 Fixing What Went Wrong in My Tomatoes-Steve Bogash, Maronne Bio 4:00 **Calculations for Mixing Small Amounts of Pesticides- Pesticide Education Program-to be announced 4:30 Adjourn

GENERAL VEGETABLES (Magnolia Room ABC) 1:30 Identification and Management of Foliar Diseases of Table Beets-Sarah Pethybridge, Cornell Univ. 2:00 Are Farmers Making Any Money?-Franklin Egan, PASA 2:30 Tips for Small Potato Growers-Robert Leiby, PA Potato Coop 3:00 Industry Show & Tell 3:15 Basic Post Harvest Techniques-Dr. Penelope Perkins-Veazie, NC State Univ. 4:00 When You Observe Your Crops, What Do You See?-Denny Wildman, Advanced Ag East, LLC 4:30 Adjourn

BASIC VEGETABLE PRODUCTION (Empire Room CD) 1:30 Irritation 101-Bill Wolfram, Toro Ag Irrigation 2:00 Soil, tissue and Sap Test: Making Sense of the Numbers- Krystal Snyder, Penn State Extension 2:30 Economics: To Tunnel or Not to Tunnel-Lynn Kime, Penn State Extension 3:00 Industry Show & Tell 3:15 Crop Rotation Basics: Building a Multi-year Program on Limited Land-Crystal Stewart, Cornell Cooperative Extension 4:00 Veggie Starts 101: Brassicas to Tomatoes-Nick Flax, Penn State Extension 4:30 Adjourn

COLE CROPS (Empire Room AB) 1:30 Disease Management: Alternaria Leaf Spot and Black Rot-Dr. Francesca Rotondo, Ohio State Univ. 2:00 Optimizing Cole Crop Fertility-Steve Reiners, Cornell Univ.

Continued on page 16

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2020 Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention Jan. 28– 30, 2020 PROGRAM AND REGISTRATION INFORMATION Cont. from page 15

2:30 New Brassica Varieties For the Northeast-Jan van der Heide, Bejo Seeds Inc. 3:00 Industry Show & Tell 3:15 Lepidoptera Management 101-David Owens, Univ. of Delaware 4:00 Future of Marketing Cole Crops-Speaker 5, Wegmans (tentative) 4:30 Adjourn

SOIL HEALTH (Crystal Room) Rob Ansterdam & Megan Chawner 1:30 Topic 1, TBA 2:00 Topic 2, TBA 2:30 Topic 3, TBA 3:00 Industry Show & Tell 3:15 Panel: Best Practices/ Q & A-Kris Ribble, USDA-NRCS; Charlie White, PSU 4:30 Adjourn

WHOLESALE MARKETING (Wild Rose Room) To be announced

RETAIL MARKETING (Cocoa Terrace/Cocoa 1) 1:30 PA Farm Markets Update-Brian Moyer, Penn State Extension & PA Farm Markets 2:00 To be Announced-Caleb Torice, Tabora Farm Market 3:00 Industry Show & Tell 3:15 To be Announced-Jen Brodsky, Poppy’s Green Grocer 4:00 To be Announced-Carla Snyder, Penn State Extension 4:30 Adjourn

TREE FRUIT (Nigerian Room) 1:30 *Brown-Marmorated Stink Bug-What’s New?-Dr. Greg Krawczyk, Penn State Univ. 2:00 **Understanding the Respirator Fit Test Requirements-Jim Harvey, Penn State Extension 2:30 Industry Show & Tell 2:45 *Release & Distribution of T. japonicus in the Mid-Atlantic-Dr. Chris Bergh, Virginia Tech 3:15 *What’s New with Plum Curculio-Dr. Anne Nielsen, Rutgers Cooperative Extension 4:00 Adjourn 4:15 SHAP Business Meeting

Tuesday Evening, January 28, 2020

MSHS Executive Committee Meeting 4:30 Meeting Room: Cocoa Suite #6

SOCIAL 6:00 Reception (Chocolate Lobby-ticket required) 7:00 Growers Banquet (Nigerian & Trinidad Rooms-ticket required)

Wednesday Morning, January 29, 2020

PUMPKINS/VINE CROPS (Magnolia Room ABCD) 9:00 Pumpkin Games—Worthwhile Fun with Worthless Pumpkins -Jeff Stoltzfus, Penn State Extension 9:30 **How FieldWatch Can Help with Pesticide Applications-To be announced 10:00 Industry Show and Tell 10:15 *Managing Fungicide Resistance in Vine Crop Diseases-Meg McGrath, Cornell Univ. 11:00 *Update on Insect Control for Cucurbit Crops-Tom Kuhar, Virginia Tech

11:30 PVGA Annual Meeting (Crystal Room) 12:30 Luncheon Buffet (Great Lobby and Chocolate Lobby-cash)

GENERAL VEGETABLES (Crystal Room) 9:00 Industrial Hemp IPM-Dr. Tom Kuhar and Katie Britt, Virginia Tech 9:30 Asparagus Production Tips-Tom Ford, Penn State Extension 10:00 Industry Show and Tell 10:15 Basic Growing Systems for Vegetables-Dr. Tim Elkner, Penn State Extension 11:00 Biological/Biostimulants in Crop Production-Dr. Mike Orzolek, Prof Emeritus Vegetable Crops, PS 11:30 PVGA Annual Meeting (Crystal Room) 12:30 Luncheon Buffet (Great Lobby and Chocolate Lobby-cash)

GREENHOUSE ORNAMENTALS (Empire Room AB) 9:00 Core Pesticide Topic-Krystal Snyder, Penn State Extension 9:30 Build a Better Garden-Retail Store–Bridget Behe, Michigan State Univ. 10:15 Industry Show and Tell 10:30 Best of the Penn State Flower Trials–Sinclair Adam, Penn State Extension 11:15 Diagnosing Floriculture Crop Issues–Nick Flax, Penn State Extension 11:45 Industry Show and Tell 12:00 Luncheon Buffet (Great Lobby and Chocolate Lobby-cash)

ORGANIC VEGETABLE PRODUCTION (Empire Room CD) 9:00 To be Announced (Habitat plants, high tunnels)-Margaret Skinner, Univ. of Vermont 9:30 Grafting for Organic Production–Matt Kleinhenz, Ohio State Univ. 10:00 Industry Show and Tell 10:15 To be Announced (Saffron)–Margaret Skinner, Univ. of Vermont 11:00 PA Preferred Petite Sweetpotato: Could it be a Future Reality -Luis Duque, Penn State Univ. 11:30 PVGA Annual Meeting – Crystal Room 12:30 Luncheon Buffet (Great Lobby and Chocolate Lobby-cash)

EMPLOYEE RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION (Cocoa Terrace) 9:00 Attracting the Best Employees to the Pennsylvania Fruit and Vegetable Industry-Dr. Scott Sheely, PA Department of Agriculture 10:00 Industry Show and Tell 10:15 Retaining Employees through Effective Team-Building and Communication-Mary Jo Dudley, Director, Cornell Farmworker Program; Dr. Kathleen Sexsmith, Penn State Univ. 11:00 Workplace Preparedness for Future Challenges and Opportunities-Dr. Ross H. Pifer, Penn State Law 11:30 Industry Questions for Speakers 12:00 Luncheon Buffet (Great Lobby and Chocolate Lobby-cash)

SMALL FRUIT (Wild Rose Room) 9:00 Quality and Storage Life of Berries-Dr. Penny Perkins-Veazie, NC State Univ. 9:30 What to Do After a Hailstorm–Mark Longstroth, Michigan State Univ. 10:00 Industry Show and Tell 10:15 Grower Innovations in Strawberry Production–John Saylor, Saylor’s Farm 11:00 Understanding Spring Frosts and Freezes–Mark Longstroth, Michigan State Univ. 11:30 A Glimpse into European Strawberry Production and

Continued on page 17

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2020 Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention Jan. 28– 30, 2020 PROGRAM AND REGISTRATION INFORMATION Cont. from page 17

Marketing–Dr. Francesco Di Gioia, Penn State Univ. 12:00 Luncheon Buffet (Great Lobby and Chocolate Lobby-cash)

MARKETING 101 (Trinidad Room)

9:00 Farm Market Hack Share-Facilitator, Tanya Lamo, Penn State Extension-To be announced 9:45 “Under The Ground” First Year Results–Tanya Lamo, Alicia Anderson, Penn State Extension 10:00 Industry Show and Tell 10:15 Website Design & Signage–Timothy Howard, Clarity Connect 11:15 Consumer Trends–Claudia Schmidt, Penn State Univ. 12:00 Luncheon Buffet (Great Lobby and Chocolate Lobby-cash)

TREE FRUIT (Nigerian Room) 9:00 **Field Watch-Jon Johnson (speaker may change) 9:30 Will Orchard Protective Covers be In Your Future?-Lee Kalcsits, Washington State Univ. 10:15 Industry Show & Tell 10:30 Update on Development of DBR Automated Ag Harvest- Assist Platform-Dr. Daniel Weber, Dr. Long He and Mingsen Huang, Penn State Univ. 11:00 Pre-Harvest Drop Control of Gala Using Harvista & ReTain-Dr. Sherif Sherif, Virginia Tech Univ. 11:30 Precision Irrigation Technologies for Specialty Crops-Dr. Long He, Penn State Univ. 12:00 Luncheon Buffet (Great Lobby and Chocolate Lobby-cash)

SPANISH (Cocoa Terrace) 9:00 Actividad de Apertura (Welcome and Ice-breaker)-Ilse Huerta y Emma Rosenthal, Penn State Univ. 9:30 *Clase Práctica sobre Plagas, Enfermedades e Insectos Beneficiosos de las Frutas (Classroom Practicum on Fruit Pests, Diseases and Beneficials)-Dr. Carlos Quesada, Don Seifrit, Dr. Kari Peter y Dr. Margarita López-Uribe, Penn State Extension 10:30 Práctica de Laboratorio sobre la Evaluación de la Salud de Suelos (Lab Practicum on Assessing Soil Health)-Beth Sastre, VA Cooperative Extension; Maria Gorgo-Gourovitch, Don Seifrit y Megan Chawner, Penn State Extension 11:30 Almuerzo gratis gracias al patrocinio de becas de Penn State Extension (Catered Lunch Supported by Extension Grants)12:00 Demostración sobre la Seguridad con Equipos y Maquinarias - Sala Azteca; seguido de tiempo libre para visitar la Exposición (Equipment Safety Demonstration—Aztec Room; visit trade show)-Maria Gorgo-Gourovitch, Penn State Extension

Wednesday Afternoon, January 29, 2020

SWEET CORN (Magnolia Room ABCD)

1:30 **Pesticide Knowledge Challenge-John Esslinger, Penn State Extension 2:00 Tips and Tassels—A Review of Practices and Varieties-Blake Myers, Siegers Seed Co. 2:30 Improving Sweet Corn Herbicide Performance-Mark VanGessel, Univ. of Delaware 3:00 Industry Show and Tell 3:15 Early Corn Best Practices-Grower Panel: Brian Campbell, David King, Jeanice Ferris Britvich 4:00 Current Efficacy and Management of Bt Sweet Corn-Galen Dively, Univ. of Maryland 4:30 Adjourn

ORGANIC (Crystal Room) 1:30 Growing for Wholesale at Taproot Farm-George Brittenburg, Taproot Farm 2:00 New Morning Farm: How we Use Biocontrols-Jennifer Glenister, New Morning Farm 2:30 Influence of Cover Crops on Allium Leaf Miner in Onion-Gladis Zinati, Rodale Institute 3:00 Industry Show and Tell 3:15 Integrating Crop Diversity into High Tunnels-Cary Rivard, Kansas State Univ. 4:00 Reduced Tillage in Winter Squash: Effects on Post-harvest Nutrient Quality-Gladis Zinati, Rodale Institute 4:30 Adjourn

GREENHOUSE ORNAMENTALS (Empire Room AB) 1:30 The Game of the Name-John Friel, Emerald Coast Growers 2:00 Home-Grown Consumer Research-Bridget Behe, Michigan State Univ. 2:45 Successes with Vegetative Cuttings-Dr. Will Healy, Ball Horticultural 3:30 Biological Pest Management: A Grower’s Perspective-Alex Traven, Peace Tree Farm 4:00 Tissue Culture Finishing of Perennials for Greenhouse Growers-Sinclair Adam, Penn State Extension 4:30 Adjourn 4:30 Greenhouse Grower Toolbox: Hands-On Diagnostic Tech and Techniques (ends at 5:30) (Location to be announced)

STONE FRUIT (Empire CD) 1:30 Ernie Christ Memorial Lecture: Peach Pre and Postharvest Handling-Dr. Chris Walsh, Univ. of Maryland 2:15 Industry Show & Tell 2:30 **Backpack Sprayer Basics and Calibration Methods-To be announced 3:00 *Peach Bacterial Spot Management: Comparison of Copper Compounds and Rates-Dr. Norman Lalancette, Rutgers Univ 3:30 The Impact of the Environment & Genotype on Peach Cold Hardiness and Damage-Dr. Ioannas Minas, Colorado State Univ. 4:15 Adjourn

SMALL FRUIT (Wild Rose Room) 1:30 *What’s Cooking with Anthracnose Crown and Fruit Rots in Strawberry Plantings-Dr. Mengjun Hu, Univ. of Maryland 2:00 *Behavior-Based Control Tactics for Spotted Wing Drosophila–Dr. Cesar Rodriguez-Saona, Rutgers Univ. 2:30 Navigating Food Safety in the Pick-Your-Own Patch–Jeff Stoltzfus, Penn State Extension 3:00 Industry Show and Tell 3:15 A Review of Strawberry Production Systems, Basic to Advanced-Kathy Demchak, Penn State Univ. 4:00 **Pesticide Exposure–Leah Fronk, Penn State Extension 4:30 Adjourn

HOT TOPICS FOR DIRECT MARKETERS AND VALUE –ADDED PRODUCTS AND SERVICES (Trinidad Room) Moderator: William T. Hlubik, Rutgers Cooperative Extension

1:30 Developing Value Added Products-To be announced 2:00 First Field—Our Story of Developing Value Added Tomato Products- Theresa Viggiano, First Field, Princeton, NJ

Continued on page 18

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2:30 Hazelnuts as a Value Added Product-Megan Muehlbauer, Hunterdon County Agricultural Agent, and David Hlubik, Rutgers Univ. 3:00 Industry Show and Tell 3:15 Product Packaging and Promotion to Add Value-Brendon Pearsall, Pearsall Flowers, Farmer and Rutgers Agriculture Student 4:00 Sharing my Story for Expanding Farm Products & Services-Ed Harbes, Harbes Family Farm, Mattituck, NY 4:30 Adjourn

TREE FRUIT (Nigerian Room) 1:30 **Private Applicator Record Keeping: Have You Dotted Your “I’s” and Crossed Your “T’s”?-To be announced 2:00 Bloom Diseases & Yields of Hard Cider Cultivars at Snyder Farm-Dr. Megan Muehlbauer, Rutgers Cooperative Extension 2:30 Industry Show & Tell 2:45 Apple Yield Estimation Using Computer Vision Technology-Dr. Dana Choi, Penn State Univ. 3:15 What Do We Know About the Geneva Rootstocks?-Rob Crassweller, Penn State Univ. 4:00 Adjourn

SPANISH (Cocoa Terrace) 1:30 Aplicación de técnicas de poda: Poda corta versus la poda larga en huertos de alta densidad de manzanos (Applied pruning techniques: long pruning versus short pruning for high density apple plantings)-Mario Miranda Sazo, Cornell Extension 2:30 Entendiendo los Principios Básicos de Raleo de Flor, de Frutos y Los Beneficios del Manejo Temprano de Carga Frutal, Qué/Por qué/Cómo Tu Puedes Ayudar? (Understanding the Basic Principles of Blossom/Fruitlet Thinning and the Reasons and Benefits of Early Crop Load Management, What/Why/How Can You Help?) 3:30 Evaluación y Cierre del Evento (Evaluation and Adjourn)- Montserrat Fonseca Estrada

Wednesday Evening, January 29, 2020

MSHS Business Meeting 4:30 Meeting Room: TBA All Maryland State Horticultural Society members are encouraged to attend.

5:00 Apple Growers Reception 7:00 Pennsylvania Vegetable Growers Association Ice Cream Social

Thursday Morning, January 30, 2020

HIGH TUNNELS (Trinidad Room) 9:00 Water Quality and Pesticide-Thomas Ford, Penn State Extension 9:30 Utilizing Bio-nematicides to Control Plant Parasitic Nematodes in High Tunnels–Timothy Johnson, Marrone Bio Innovations 10:00 Industry Show and Tell 10:15 Integrating Cover Crops Successfully into High Tunnel Production Systems-Cary Rivard, Kansas State Univ. 11:00 Anaerobic Soil Disinfestation Application to Pennsylvania High Tunnel Production Systems-Francesco Di Gioia, Penn State Univ.

11:30 Use of Organic Amendments and Organic Fertilizer Management in High Tunnel–Xin Zhao, Univ. of Florida 12:00 Luncheon Buffet-Great Lobby and Chocolate Lobby (cash)

POTATOES (Empire Room AB) 9:00 Potatoes USA-Bryan Bender, Bender Potatoes and Blair Richardson, PotatoesUSA 9:30 Potato Insect Update-Thomas P. Kuhar, Virginia Tech Univ. 10:00 Industry Show and Tell 10:15 Herbicides and Weed Control in Potatoes-Dwight Lingenfelter, Penn State Univ. 11:00 Potato Variety Evaluation Trials in Pennsylvania-Xinshun Qu, Penn State Univ. 11:30 Specialty Potatoes in PA–Robert E. Leiby, PA Cooperative Potato Growers 12:00 Luncheon Buffet-Great Lobby and Chocolate Lobby (cash)

LEAFY GREENS (Crystal Room) 9:00 Season Long Lettuce Production-Art King, Harvest Valley Farms 9:30 Two Years of Heat-tolerant Romaine Lettuce Trials, Results and Insights-Crystal Stewart, Cornell Univ. 10:00 Industry Show and Tell 10:15 Multiple Ways to Grow Spinach-David King, Harvest Valley Farms 11:00 Comprehensive Evaluation of Lettuce for Farm-to-Hospital Market-Lewis Jett, West Virginia Univ. 11:30 Leafy Greens IPM-Gerald Brust, Univ. of Maryland 12:00 Luncheon Buffet-Great Lobby and Chocolate Lobby (cash)

CUT FLOWERS (Empire Room CD) 9:00 Designer Dahlias for Floral Sales-Katie Byler, Claire’s Blooms 9:30 Biocontrol Options for Cut Flowers-Steve Bogash, Marrone Bio- Innovations 10:00 Industry Show and Tell 10:15 New Introductions and Old Favorites for Specialty Cut Flower Growers-Dr. Alicain Carlson, Syngenta Flowers 11:00 Implementing an IPM Program in Specialty Cut Flowers-Ginny Rosenkranz, Univ. of Maryland Extension 11:30 Hydrangeas, from Field to Vase-Tom Ford, Commercial Horticulture Educator, Penn State Extension 12:00 Luncheon Buffet (Great Lobby and Chocolate Lobby-cash)

STONE FRUIT (Cocoa Terrace/Cocoa 1) 9:00 Development of Stone Fruit Flavor-Dr. Macarena Farcuh, Univ of Maryland 9:30 Pros and Cons of High Tunnels for Cherry Production-Daniel Weber (moderator), Justin Weaver, PA, Corey McCleaf, PA, Molly Brumbley, MD, and Adam Costello, NJ 10:15 Industry Show & Tell 10:30 Peach Rootstocks—What’s on the Horizon?-Dr. Jim Schupp, Penn State Univ. 11:15 Pre- and Postharvest Factors Affecting Peach Fruit Quality- Dr. Ioannis Minas, Colorado State Univ. 12:00 Luncheon Buffet (Great Lobby and Chocolate Lobby-cash)

SMALL FRUIT (Wild Rose Room) 9:00 Fertigating Blueberries for Maximum Yields-Dr. Gary Pavlis, Rutgers Univ. 9:30 How Blueberry Plants Grow: What’s Normal, What’s Not?– Mark Longstroth, Michigan State Univ. 10:00 Industry Show and Tell

2020 Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention Jan. 28– 30, 2020 PROGRAM AND REGISTRATION INFORMATION Cont. from page 17

Continued on page 19

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10:15 Basics for Establishing a Successful Blueberry Planting–Mark Longstroth, Michigan State Univ. 11:00 What’s New in Bramble and Blueberry Varieties and Production Systems–Tim Nourse, Nourse Farms 11:30 *A Review of Raspberry and Blackberry Insects and Mites–Dr. Kelly Hamby, Univ. of Maryland 12:00 Luncheon Buffet (Great Lobby and Chocolate Lobby-cash)

AGRITOURISM (Magnolia ABC) 9:00 Challenges and Success Factors in PA-Dr. Claudia Schmidt, Penn State Univ. 9:30 Taking Your Agritourism Enterprise to the Next Level-Hugh McPherson, Maize Quest 10:00 Industry Show and Tell 10:15 Digital Marketing Best Practices-Sarah Cornelisse, Penn State Univ. 11:00 Risk Management for Agritourism-Lynn Kime, Penn State Univ. 11:30 The Evolution of a Direct Marketing and Agritourism Business: Lessons Learned–Jim Giamarese, Giamarese Farm & Orchards 12:00 Luncheon Buffet (Great Lobby and Chocolate Lobby-cash)

TREE FRUIT (Nigerian Room) 9:00 Creating the Box: A Two-Dimensional Canopy for Apples- Mario Sazo, Cornell Cooperative Extension 9:30 Update from the U.S. Apple Association 10:00 Can You Buy – N – Fly a Drone to Help Orchard Production?- Dr. Joe Sommer, Penn State Univ. 10:30 Impact of Orchard Covers on Production-Dr. Lee Kalcsits, Washington State Univ. SHAP Funded Research – Lightning Talks 11:15 Verification & Modification of Bitter Pit Model-R. Marini 11:30 Sources of Apple Rot Fungi in packing Houses-Johanny Castro, Penn State Univ. 11:45 Combating Listeria monocytogenes Growth in Tree Fruit Packinghouse Biofilms-Priscilla Sinclair 12:00 Luncheon Buffet (Great Lobby and Chocolate Lobby-cash)

WINE GRAPES (Magnolia Room D) 9:00 Long Island Grapevine Variety Trial-Alice Wise, Cornell Cooperative Extension 9:40 *Crown Gall Elimination and Virus Testing for Nursery Stock– Tim Martinson, Cornell Univ. 10:20 Industry Show and Tell 10:30 Bird Netting on Long Island–Alice Wise, Cornell Cooperative Extension 11:00 *Herbicide Drift Injury in Vineyards: Awareness and Preventive Measures. Panel Discussion–Larry Shrawder, Stony Run Winery; Leonard Brylewski, PA Dept. of Agriculture; Dwight Lingenfelter, Penn State Univ. 12:00 Luncheon Buffet (Great Lobby and Chocolate Lobby-cash)

Thursday Afternoon, January 30, 2020 HIGH TUNNELS (Trinidad Room) 1:00 Use of Plant Biostimulant/Plant Nutrition-Matthew Kleinhenz, Ohio State Univ. 1:30 Winter Onion Production in High Tunnels-Lewis Jett, West Virginia Extension 2:00 Fruit Cluster Pruning of Tomato in an Organic High-Tunnel System-Brian Mitchell, Colorado State Univ.

2:30 Initiating a Biocontrol Program in High Tunnel Tomatoes- Carol Glenister, IPM Labs 3:00 Current and Future Research on High Tunnel Vegetable Production at Penn State-Francesco Di Gioia, Penn State Univ. 3:30 High Tunnel Open Q/A Tips and Best Practices-Harry Edwards, Rimol Greenhouse Systems 4:00 Tips for Minimizing Wind Damage to High Tunnels-Kathy Demchack, Penn State Univ. 4:30 Adjourn

POTATOES (Empire Room AB) 1:30 **Adjuvants-Leah Fronk, Penn State Extension 2:00 Collecting and Analyzing Data on your Potato Farm-Curtis M Frederick, Sterman Masser 2:45 Potato Disease Update-Beth Gugino, Penn State Univ. 3:15 To be Announced-Speaker 4, Institution/Company/Farm or Adjourn 3:45 To be Announced-Speaker 5, Institution/Company/Farm or Adjourn 4:30 Adjourn

FOOD SAFETY (Crystal Room) 1:30 Controlling Listeria in the Packing House-Dr. Luke LaBorde, Penn State Extension 2:00 FSMA: “In or Out” Common Produce Practices-Jeff Stoltzfus, Penn State Extension 2:45 What Happens When a Produce Recall Hits a Grocery Store- Steve Strub, Wegman’s 3:15 GAP/GHP Audits: Getting Started with 3rd Party Audits- Brenda Sheaffer 3:45 PDA Update: FSMA inspections, What to expect in 2020— PDA 4:30 Adjourn

GREENHOUSE VEGETABLES (Empire Room CD) 1:30 Hydroponic Herbs-Chris Currey, Iowa State University 2:00 Hydroponics 101-Chieri Kubota, Ohio State Univ. 2:45 Managing Hydroponic Nutrient Solutions-Chris Currey, Iowa State University 3:15 Growing Greenhouse Strawberries-Chieri Kubota, Ohio State Univ. 4:00 Pest Management BMPs for GH Vegetable-Nick Flax, PSU Extension 4:30 Adjourn

FARM MANAGEMENT (Magnolia ABC) To be announced

SMALL FRUIT (Wild Rose Room) 1:30 PhylloLux—a New UV-C Light Based Technology for Control of Strawberry Diseases, Insects, and Mites-Dr. Wojciech Janisiewicz and Dr. Fumiomi Takeda, USDA-ARS 2:00 Enhancing Fall ‘Albion’ Strawberry Production with Inexpensive Field Lighting: Does it Really Work?-Dr. Edward Durner, Rutgers Univ. 2:45 *A Review of Bramble Diseases and Their Management-Kathy Demchak, Penn State Univ. 3:15 Weed Management in Strawberry Production Systems-Bob Pollock, Penn State Extension 3:45 Adjourn

Continued on page 20

2020 Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention Jan. 28– 30, 2020 PROGRAM AND REGISTRATION INFORMATION Cont. from page 18

20

DEVELOPING A SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING PLAN (Cocoa1/Cocoa Terrace) 1:30 Addressing Negative Comments-Sarah Cornelisse, Penn State Extension 2:00 Social Media Panel Discussion—Platforms used, Best Facebook posts, Online ads-Victoria Hoff, Local Homestead Products and Jason and Megan Coopey, Way Fruit Farm 2:45 Taking Farm Videos to the Next Level-Hugh McPherson, Maple Lawn Farm, New Park PA 3:30 Tricks of the Trade - Moderator, TBA 4:30 Adjourn

TREE FRUIT (Nigerian Room) 1:00 *The Ins & Outs of Fire Blight: A Healthy Review-Dr. Kari Peter, Penn State Univ. 1:30 *Current Fire Blight Research: Mechanical Thinning, PGRs and Strain Tracking-Dr. Kerik Cox, Cornell Univ. 2:00 *Fire Blight Management Update: The Latest for Controlling Blossom Blight and Shoot Blight-Dr. Kari Peter, Penn State Univ. 2:30 *Fire Blight Disease Forecasting & Using the NEWA System Effectively-Dr. Kerik Cox, Cornell Univ. 3:00 Question & Answer Session on Fire Blight-Dr. Kari Peter, Penn State Univ. and Dr. Kerik Cox, Cornell Univ. Adjourn

WINE GRAPES (Magnolia Room D) 1:00 **FieldWatch: An Online Mapping Tool to Promote Collaboration between Producers and Applicators-Emily Weaver, Penn State Univ. 1:30 How Radical Modification of Source-Sink Relationships affected Riesling Yield, Winter Bud Hardiness, and Return Crop-Tim Martinson, Cornell Univ. 2:00 *Impacts and Management of Spotted Lanternfly in Vineyards-Heather Leach, Penn State Univ. 2:40 Industry Show &Tell 2:50 *Characterization and Identification of Grape Late Season Rots-Mengjun Hu, Univ. of Maryland 3:30 *Managing Downy Mildew in Spite of the Weather: Review and Research Update-Bryan Hed, Penn State Univ. Adjourn

2020 Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention Jan. 28– 30, 2020 PROGRAM AND REGISTRATION INFORMATION Cont. from page 19

TO REGISTER FOR THE CONVENTION ONLINE: 2020-mafvc.eventbrite.com MAIL IN: Use enclosed registration form

* before a topic indicates the topic is expected to qualify for a category pesticide applicator license update credit. ** before a topic indicates the topic is expected to qualify for a core pesticide applicator license update credit.

Western Maryland Research and Education Center 18330 Keedysville Road Keedysville, MD 21756

MID-ATLANTIC FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CONVENTION REGISTRATION ENCLOSED

FARM/BUSINESS INFORMATION (PLEASE PRINT)  

     

   

FARM/BUSINESS NAME  

CITY  

STREET ADDRESS  

STATE  POSTAL CODE  

E‐MAIL   PHONE  

MAILING PREFRENCE (Please check preference ) Add my name to the e-mail list (receive program information from MSHS/UME) I do not have e-mail and wish to receive program information from MSHS/UME via U.S. Mail.

OFFER WITH MAFVC REGISTRATION FREE 1 year subscription to Country Folks Grower

MSHS 2020 DUES

2020 MSHS MEMBER

NON MEMBER GROWERS

DINNER 1/28/2020

Tomato School

Hem

p Production

Bees, Pollinators, and Pollination

FSMA

Grow

er Training

Cultivating Leadership

Farm M

arket Tour-Lancaster Co.

TOTAL

ADVANCED REGISTRATION

WALK IN

AFTER

1/17/20

1 DAY

3 DAY

1. ADVANCED MEMBER FIRST PERSON OR NON-MEMBER OPTIONS

$125 MEMBERSHIP & ADVANCED REG. $75 + $50 = 125

ADDITIONAL PERSON, FAMILY,

FARM, OR COMPANY 

$140 MEMBERSHIP & WALK-IN

REG. $125 $165 $35 $85 $40 $35 $40 $60

$

2. ADDITIONAL PERSON  $50 Optional — $60 $90 $125 $165 $35 $85 $40 $35 $40 $60 $

3.   $50 Optional — $60 $90 $125 $165 $35 $85 $40 $35 $40 $60 $

4.   $50 Optional — $60 $90 $125 $165 $35 $85 $40 $35 $40 $60 $

5.   $50 Optional — $60 $90 $125 $165 $35 $85 $40 $35 $40 $60 $

6.   $50 Optional — $60 $90 $125 $165 $35 $85 $40 $35 $40 $60 $

7.   $50 Optional — $60 $90 $125 $165 $35 $85 $40 $35 $40 $60 $

8   $50 Optional — $60 $90 $125 $165 $35 $85 $40 $35 $40 $60 $

Registration through Penn State Cvent System

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WORKSHOPS (MONDAY, JAN. 27, 2020)

Maryland State Horticultural Society (MSHS) Annual Meeting - Jan. 28 to 30, 2020 At the Mid-Atlantic Fruit and Vegetable Convention - Hershey Lodge Convention Center, Hershey PA

JOIN MSHS TO QUALIFY FOR THE CONVENTION MEMBER RATE

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PAY BY CREDIT CARD* GO TO: CONVENTION/MEMBERSHIP: https://2020-mafvc.eventbrite.com WORKSHOP REGISTRATION: https://2020-mondayworkshops.eventbrite.com *There is an additional processing fee from Eventbrite to pay by credit card

To QUALIFY for the Advanced Registra on conven on rate you must have at least 1 person from a family, farm or company that has paid their 2020 MSHS Membership dues. Use Line #1    

Not going to the conven on, but you want to renew your membership use line #2  

ATTENDEE REGISTRATION (Must be postmarked on or before Jan. 17, 2020 for advanced registration rate) Please print each name and CIRCLE the following membership & conference options that apply for each person attending

For more information please call Robert Black at 240-409-7491 or e-mail hbgala@aol.com

Please make your check payable to: MARYLAND STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY (MSHS) (You may use one check to pay for convention registration and 2020 Membership dues)

Mail registration and payment to: Maryland State Horticultural Society (MSHS) c/o Susan Barnes, 18330 Keedysville Road Keedysville, MD 21756

TOTAL ENCLOSED $

CHECK #

# ATTENDING SPANISH SESSION