February 2012 • COUNTRY FOLKS GROWER • Section B - Page 4
Finger Lakes Grape Growers Conference and New York Wine Industry Workshop This winter, the Finger Lakes Grape Growers’ Conference will be held in conjunction with the New York Wine Industry Workshop, March 1-3, 2012, at the Holiday Inn in Waterloo, NY. The FLGP and the Enology Extension Program will be developing this year’s
program with an eye both towards information that will be relevant to each of their specific cleintele, but also for topics that are important to both growers and winemakers, as well as the industry as a whole. The conference will include one day
focused on enology topics, one day on viticulture, and the middle day will have a little bit of everything for attendees to choose from. The New York Wine & Grape Foundation’s annual Unity Banquet will be held during that same timeframe as well.
There will still be a trade show during the conference, which will be held Friday, March 2. More information is available at http://cals.cornell.edu/cals/grapesandwine/outreach/enology/workshops.cfm.
Methods from B3 worms have a tendency to stick together or rupture when packed together in a container. “We have developed several mechanisms that enhance the ability to store, ship and use these cadavers including covering soft bodied insect cadavers with a clay coating,” he noted. “Using hard bodies insects like mealworms also works well since they naturally don’t rupture or stick together. And, there is now a special tape covering being used that keeps the cadavers from touching each other to further prevent damage.” The tape system was invented by Perry, GAbased Southeastern Insectaries Inc. owner Louis Tedders. Tedders began packaging the insects in masking tape. He even designed a prototype machine to automate the process, which has since been finetuned by Morales-Ramos and Rojas. The mechanical device sorts mealworms by size,
enabling the largest worms to be placed into shallow dishes where they are infected by nematodes. Once the nematodes have infected and killed the mealworms, the device removes them oneat-a-time from the dishes and places the nematodeencased cadavers between two facing strips of masking tape at the rate of one insect every two seconds. “The tape is then rolled and stored until it is shipped to the growers,” said Morales-Ramos. “Once placed into the ground, the nematodes can move out of the tape and into the soil where they eliminate pests.” When another application is needed, growers can simply remove the old cadaver-wrapped masking tape strips and replace them with new strips. According to MoralesRamos, the mechanization of this process had made commercial production of nematode cadavers cost effective. This mechanized, tapepackaged biological con-
STRAWBERRY PLANTS
AC Wendy AC Valley Sunset Jewel Earliglow plus Seascape, Albion and Monterey Summer Varieties
Asparagus Crowns Several All-Male Hybrids Plus Purple Asparagus Free Illustrated Price List
KROHNE PLANT FARMS, INC. 65295 CR 342 Dept. CFG • Hartford, MI 49057 (269) 424-5423 • Fax (269) 424-3126 Web Site www.krohneplantfarms.com Email info@krohneplantfarms.com
trol is currently only available through Southeastern Insectaries. Shapiro-Ilan confirmed the commercial benefits of automating the process. He also summarized the inherent benefits of using this unique form of biological controls. “There are two main
reasons that the approach is attractive. The higher levels of infectivity and dispersal we’ve observed in nematodes emerging from cadavers can translate into better pest control,” he said. “And, for producers growing nematodes in their hosts, the cadaver approach can be
less expensive because it avoids the steps of harvesting and concentrating the nematodes.” For more information about cadaver-filled nematodes and the use of fire gel as a nematode pro-
tectant, contact David Shapiro-Ilan at the Southeastern Fruit & Tree Nut Research Laboratory, Byron, GA, by e-mailing david.shapiro@ars.usda.g ov, or call 478-956-6444.
PLASTIC MULCH Black & Clear Embossed Photodegradable
BAG YOUR OWN MULCH Economically priced mulch bagger, ideal for point-of-sale bagging of mulch and related materials. Allows Garden Centers and Nurseries to buy mulch in bulk and bag it as needed. 1 person can fill up to 100 bags per hour - double the output with 2 people.
LANDSCAPE MULCH Cut mulching time and put mulch where you want it with the KB 1300 Straw Mulcher. Processes small square straw bales in 30 seconds. Heavy-duty construction for dependable operation.
Spectra Green White on Black Red Clear & White Perf. Row Cover Gro-Guard & Covertan Drip Irrigation Mechanicall Transplanterr Co. 1150 Central Ave. * Holland, MI 49423
For more information contact
Weaverline, LLC at 877-464-1025
Phone: 800-757-5268 Fax: 616-396-3619 Web site: www.mechanicaltransplanter.com