Hybrid Peppers on the Rise

Seminis Brings Extensive Experience

By Jessica Theisman, Associate Editor

Before 2001, there were no hybrid Habanero Peppers. Terry Burke, hot pepper breeder for Seminis Vegetable Seeds—composed of several of the most well-known and trusted local and regional seed brands, some dating back to the mid-1800s—spoke to California Ag Today recently about hybrid peppers.

Seminis has a proud heritage and a long history of excellence. This extensive experience in the global market coupled with the rapid advancement of technical capabilities enables them to continually add to their vast and diverse collection of germ plasm. Burke explained how previously, growers weren’t interested in hybrids.

“I started working on Habaneros in 2001,” he said.

At the time, there were no hybrid habaneros; they were all just local open pollinated varieties. Ranchers wanted nothing to do with hybrids as the seeds would be too expensive.

“I made some crosses and developed a couple of good hybrids, including Chichen Itza in 2002,” Burke said.

A grower in Mexico allowed Burke to experiment with one row on his ranch. That year, there was a lot of virus pressure in Mexico. At the end of the trials, the only plants bearing acceptable fruit were the hybrid peppers known as the Chichen Itza.

“It turned out that they had very good virus tolerance, and when we saw the grower, he didn’t even ask what the price of the seed was. He just wanted to know when he could get seed,” Burke said.

“I enjoy solving problems for farmers, helping them make a good crop and a good living.”

There is a focus on disease resistance and two new hybrids debuting this year.

“We are launching two new hybrids this year in Anaheim called Spitfire and a new Santa Fe Grande,” Burke said.

Both have Phytophthora resistance. Burke and his fellow breeders have been working on this resistance since 2007.

“We developed a molecular marker linked to the resistance, and now we can use that marker to transfer the resistance into all these different cultivated varieties,” he said.

There are four main diseases that attack peppers in Mexico and the U.S.

“Phytophthora is one, Spotted Wilt Virus is another, Powdery Mildew is a fungal disease, and the Bacterial Spot—all of which we have resistance for,” Burke said.

They have molecular markers they are able to use to create a quad stack hybrid pepper.

“You should be able to grow any of these peppers anywhere in the U.S. or Mexico. That’s our goal,” he said

2021-05-12T11:05:08-07:00November 20th, 2018|

Caltec Shares Innovative Pest Control Practices

A New Approach to Managing Vine Mealybug

By Hannah Young, Contributing Editor

Some innovative pest and disease control products, such as heat application to kill insects, are making their way to the market, according to Caltec.

California Ag Today spoke with Rudy Monnich, president of Caltec Ag, about some of the new ways California farmers are fighting pests.

caltec

Rudy Monnich with Caltec

“We have a product which is the diatomaceous earth that controls vine mealybugs and ants and mites in orchards and vineyards,” Monnich said, adding, “There is nothing more damaging than vine mealybug. In fact, Monterey County is forming a committee to be zero tolerant just for that insect pressure.”

The product is silica dioxide and will scarify the body of insects, dehydrate them, and in result kill them off in three or four days, Monnich explained.

However, the product is not a chemical, but a mineral, which significantly diminishes resistance issues.

“You don’t have the resistant issues build up,” Monnich said. “It’s also controlling thrip and whitefly in tomatoes.”

Caltec introduced the product this past spring.

Heat application can also be used by growers to combat insect problems.

“We are working with the Agrothermal people who have a machine that 300-degree to 400-degree temperatures will annihilate soft-bodied insects in tomatoes and powdery mildew in grapes,” Monnich said.

The application of heat kills the spores before signs of damage appear on the plant, Monnich explained.

This method of pest control is increasing the quality of wine, Monnich concluded.

2021-05-12T11:05:10-07:00July 20th, 2018|

Boost Biomes Working on Disease Resistance

Researching the New Frontier

By Jessica Theisman, Associate Editor

California Ag Today recently spoke with Robert McBride of Boost Biomes. McBride explained his vision for the company.

“It’s the new frontier; It has not been researched that much,” he said.

He told us that the company is working on getting the correct microbes into the soil to enhance plants’ productivity.

“I would say the key thing that we think about in terms of getting the right microbes into the soil is that microbes are kind of like a plant’s second genome,” McBride said.

Genomes have the ability to impact the plant’s phenotype, along with the way the plants grow in different temperatures and soil salinity levels.

“They can change the flavor of the fruits and it is all controlled by the microbes in the rhizosphere,” McBride explained.

Boost Biomes is interested in controlling pest resistance. The microbiome shifts to a state that is protective.

“What we would like to do is take soils that are not protective and encourage that shift to happen more quickly,” McBride said.

Boost Biomes takes advantage of the natural microbes in the soil and rhizosphere that protect the plants.

“We are trying to identify the right network to put into the soil to get into the rhizosphere to make the plants resistant against diseases,” McBride explained.

2021-05-12T11:05:10-07:00July 18th, 2018|

Spotted Wilt Virus Impacting Tomatoes Again

Virus has Gotten Past Resistant Gene

By Patrick Cavanaugh, Editor

Tomato spotted wilt virus is becoming big in the central San Joaquin Valley, according to Tom Turini, University of California Cooperative Extension Farm Advisor in Fresno County for vegetable crops. The virus had earlier been spotted in lettuce, and this has caused some concern in this season’s tomato crop.

Tom Turini

“We had some concerns early in the season that we might be looking at a year where it’ll become a challenge, because we were finding it in lettuce back in February and March in the Huron area,” Turini said. “And then we notice that tomatoes were showing the virus symptoms. We had been managing tomato spotted wilt in processing and fresh market tomatoes largely with a resistance gene, and it seemed that the resistance was breaking.”

The virus is spread by thrips, and the gene in the tomato was the biggest deterrent in combating thrips.

“We were also talking about an IPM program, but the industry was leaning on this gene. This gene became a big part of their spotted wilt prevention program,” Turini said. “While sanitation of weeds was practiced, and there was some thrips management, it was really dependent upon this single gene resistance in the tomatoes, and as of 2016, we saw evidence that that gene was no longer performing.”

Because the virus can wipe out entire tomato fields, researchers are scrambling to find a new way to deter the thrip spreading the virus on tomatoes.

2021-05-12T11:01:55-07:00June 18th, 2018|

Rootstocks Offer Production Attributes

Tomato Rootstocks Grafting

By Jessica Theisman, Associate Editor

California Ag Today recently spoke with Brenna Aegerter, a UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor in San Joaquin County, about grafting rootstocks to tomato plants.

“Rootstocks are cut below the cotyledons, while the scions are cut above the cotyledons at an angle,” she said.

These two plants are then clipped together and go into a high humidity healing chamber for about one week.

Aegerter explained that, “In the beginning, there is no light. They gradually increase the light because they do not want to stress the plants, and so if those two angles match … then everything grows back together.”

Each tomato plant can differ depending on the rootstock that it has been grafted to. Different rootstocks have varying levels of resistance to disease and pests. Rootstock resistance does have an effect on crop yield. If all of the fruiting varieties had the nematode resistance gene, they could potentially improve their yields.

There is great success rate on grafting these tomato plants.

“We have had pretty good success, 90 percent and up,” Aegerter said.

The remaining 10 percent is because the angles were not matched up quite right and there is not enough contact between the two tissues.

“Rootstocks are for the most part, hybrids between our cultivated tomato and wild tomato species,” Aegerter explained.

Wild tomatoes are used often to bring in new genetic material due to their diversity and natural resistance. Depending on the type of tomato that is being used, the resistance can differ.

The fruiting varieties are resistant, but are resistant to a shorter list of diseases.

“These root systems are are bigger, the crown is bigger, and sometimes they aren’t even purely resistant to the disease, but just by virtue of the fact that they grow faster, they can outgrow it,” Aegerter said.

2021-05-12T11:05:14-07:00February 2nd, 2018|

Working on Nematode Resistant California Commercial Carrot

Nematode Resistant California Commercial Carrot On Its Way?

By Jessica Theisman, Associate Editor

Phil Simon is a carrot breeder and geneticist with the USDA Ag Research Service based at the University of Wisconsin. He produces the vast majority of carrots for the consumers throughout the nation. A big goal is to find a commercial carrot variety that is root-knot nematode resistant. Nematodes are a soil-borne, microscope, worm-like organism destroying production in some fields. Through lots of research, the carrot industry is getting closer to a resistant variety.

The first resistance gene was first discovered in 1992 in a Brazilian variety that may have some genetic resistance. The resistance was discovered by using derivatives from the Brazilian variety crossed with California-adapted carrots. This is all being done with, “the idea of moving that resistance gene into a carrot that’s suitable for California in terms of shape, size, flavor, and productivity,” Simon said.

The Brazilian variety is not suited to California because it is shorter and wider. It does not look like a California carrot, and it bolts very easy, which means it flowers and goes to seed. But with the Brazilian carrot having nematode resistance, it is also heat-tolerant, which is great news for us in California, especially with the rising temperatures.

It is said that California is getting closer and closer to getting its own commercial variety. “We’ve also found genes for resistance in other carrots from around the world, from Syria, China, Europe, and we intercrossed those also into California, so we’re putting a couple of genes in,” he said.

With all of these genes, this makes for an even stronger and durable resistance to nematodes.

2021-05-12T11:05:16-07:00May 16th, 2017|

Julie Borlaug Honors her Famous Grandfather

Julie Borlaug Honors her Famous Grandfather, Norman Borlaug, in Advancing Science in Agriculture

 

Editor’s Note: Julie Borlaug spoke recently at the 2016 Forbes AgTech Summit in Salinas, and shared with us the legacy of her Grandfather, Norman  Ernest Borlaug, a man who used technology to ward off starvation and the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, the Medal of Freedom, the Congressional Gold Medal, as well as the importance of advanced technology in Agriculture. 

 

Julie Borlaug, associate director for external relations, Norman Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture at Texas A&M University, introduced the Institute’s mission, “We design and implement development and training programs. We take the legacy of my grandfather and we carry it out through the land-grant mission of teaching, research and extension. We’re primarily funded by organizations like USAID and USDA, so we truly are a development agency.”

Here is more of what she shared:

Norman Borlaug

We all know why we care about agriculture and a lot of why we care is pretty much some of the same reasons my grandfather was up against during the green revolution. My grandfather was the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, the Medal of Freedom, the Congressional Gold Medal and now a statue in the National Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol. However, when I speak about my grandfather I like to humanize him a little and make people realize he was a normal person and that anyone can, if they’re dedicated, change the world.

Norman E. Borlaug Statue

Norman E. Borlaug Statue, National Statuary Hall, U.S. Capitol.

Growing up with him, we didn’t really know what he did. We just knew he flew through Dallas on his way to Mexico or Africa or India. In third grade, I took him to show and tell, and he was upstaged by a hamster. I think it was good for him.

When he got the Congressional Gold Medal I got to sit with him on stage and he had two minutes to talk. The entire Congress was shut down. At 10 minutes, Nancy Pelosi‘s staff [was] poking me from behind saying, “You’ve got to stop him.” I leaned forward to President Bush and I said, “They want him to stop. You’re the President.” He said, “This isn’t my thing, this is the Congressional.” Right at that point, I think we were about 18 minutes in, my grandfather said, “Poverty and hunger are fertile seeds for isms, and terrorism is one of them.” At that point Bush leaned back and said, “Don’t stop him now.”

Norman Borlaug, Congressional Gold Medal

President George W. Bush Presents Congressional Gold Medal to Dr. Norman Borlaug. Also pictured is House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, left, and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. (Source: White House photo by Chris Greenberg)

My grandfather was many things. He was a warrior against hunger, he was a teacher, but first and foremost he was a scientist. He often said, “The fear of change is the greatest obstacle to progress.” He came down on the side of innovation and was known to be bold and quick.

He was a fierce advocate for innovation and technological change, especially when it came to developing countries and small-scale farmers. His most potent view of science was that man’s most advanced knowledge and technology should be used in the battle against hunger and poverty.

Like my grandfather’s green revolution, we have a huge challenge in front of us: How to feed 9 billion people. This is going to require new economic, political policies, new rounds of innovation, of technological advancements, but most importantly in agriculture, it will require a new way of agriculture to address things.

Transformation

We have to change our thinking, we have to have new partners and we can’t be the traditional Ag and take a silo approach. We have to be interconnected, transformative, with greater transparency and we need to bring the life science technology entrepreneurs—everyone, even the medical community—to the table.

That’s one of the reasons why my grandfather’s green revolution was so successful. He realized he had to bring the government, economic infrastructure and technology together for the small-holder farmer for it truly to work, because agriculture alone cannot transform.

Like my grandfather, I strongly believe in biotechnology and innovation. I always get asked, “Can we feed 9 billion people?” My answer is yes, if we are allowed to. If my grandfather were here he’d say, “We are not going to be able to do this without science and without pushing the boundaries of innovation.”

To feed 9 billion we need to realize we have a new strain of fact-resistant humans and we have a lack of transparency, that’s all you can call them. I could call them something else, but that’s the most polite way.

Consumer Confusion

We need to realize that our consumer is very different. We have mommy bloggers, we have foodies driving the conversation and the table is moving closer to the farm. We have all the misconceptions; a backyard garden is not farming.

Pretty backyard gardens with chickens running around is not going to feed the world. It takes more than that and we have a public who thinks that’s what it is. I always ask those people, if they want to go see reality, come with me to rural Kenya and let’s ask a female farmer what she needs. It’s seeds, inputs and technology.

We also have market confusion. We have vegan green beans, we have gluten-free cranberries, we have GMO-free beef. I was at an opening of Whole Foods a few years ago and there was a North Texas cattle company that was showing GMO-free beef and I had to walk over and ask what he meant. He said, “We do not genetically modify our cattle.” I said, “Well, of course you don’t. Do you mean you’re not giving feed that has been genetically modified?” He said, “No, no, no, we do that. We just don’t genetically modify our cattle.” It was great marketing.

Julie Borlaug -2

Julie Borlaug, associate director for external relations, Norman Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture at Texas A&M University

We had GMO-free salt that sold at stores. I like that one. We have a public that believes everything on social media, especially what their 20-year-old yoga instructor says, who got a degree in nutrition online. We also have fear campaigns; look at what Greenpeace has done.

You cannot be anti-hunger and anti-innovation. If you are going to be anti-innovation, you better have a solution for us because we’re willing to accept it.

Innovation and NextGen

What’s really [fascinating] is where my grandfather would be excited about the future of Agriculture. My grandfather would be most excited about the gene revolution. We have gene-editing and synthetic biology. There are so many new solutions out there. We have a sharing economy, internet of everything, cloud biology, MachineryLink—something I’m involved in. It’s an uber platform for sharing of equipment.

In order to really get to my grandfather’s legacy, we have to remember that we are responsible for the next generation. We have to build the hunger-fighters that my grandfather built. The next generation is growing up with technology, they’re creative, they have bold ideas, they collaborate across discipline and they want change. We need to bring them to the table and support them.wheat

When my grandfather got the Nobel Peace Prize, the Chair said, “Behind the outstanding results in the sphere of wheat research for which the dry statistics speak, we sense the presence of a dynamic, indomitable and refreshingly unconventional research scientist. We still need more of those today. It’s going to be unconventional partnerships and innovations that help us end hunger. Just remember, if we don’t allow it to happen here, if we try to ban the future of agriculture and innovation, it’s just going to happen somewhere else, and I think we want that to happen here.”

If my grandfather was here he would thank you for your dedication and he’d tell you to move faster, because there are 25,000 people who are going to die today while we’re debating future technologies. I think we need to always remember that.

Before he died he said he had a problem. This was when he was told he was going to pass away, and it was 3 days before he died. My mom and I asked what his problem was and he said it was Africa. “I never brought a green revolution to Africa.”

I quickly said, “All the hunger-fighters, everyone you’ve trained, everyone in this room is going to ensure we bring a green revolution to Africa that’s appropriate for each country and each area, and we will do that everywhere.” That is what you’re doing, but remember, your innovation and technology is only good when you take it to the farmer.


2021-05-12T11:05:48-07:00September 1st, 2016|

Field Bindweed Control Requires Multiple Programs

Consistent Management Needed to Eradicate Bindweed

By Laurie Greene, Editor

Kassim Al-Khatib, professor, UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences and UCANR Cooperative Extension specialist in weed science, discussed field bindweed, a problematic weed that has the ability to regrow even with chemical and mechanical control.

“This is weed has been around for a long time,” Al-Khatib said. “It adapted pretty well to hot, dry land areas because it has a long root with a lot of reserve in it. Whatever you try to do, the plant still has reserve in the root and can regrow again.”

The weed scientist explained that bindweed is so problematic, it has to be assessed and managed every season in a variety of ways in order to control it. “If you do a mechanical control, the plant can come back. If you do chemical control, the plant will come back. If you think that you can control it with one shot or in one season, you’re going to be disappointed. This is a serious weed problem that requires a program with multiple approaches over multiple years,” he said.

Field bindweed (Photo by Jack Kelly Clark, UC Statewide IPM Program)

Field bindweed (Photo by Jack Kelly Clark, UC
Statewide IPM Program)

The weed is also difficult to eradicate, according to Al-Khatib, “because there’s a huge seed bank, plus these seeds have a hard coat, which means they can stay in the soil longer. If you try to germinate some of them this year, you’re going to have more seeds coming next year.”

Al-Khatib emphasized a multiple approach is still the best way to reach consistent, effective results. “The key point with field bindweed is to be consistent, have a program and envision what you can do over multiple years to get rid of it. Herbicide may suppress and weaken bindweed, but it is not going to control it or eradicate it. You need multiple approaches—chemical, mechanical, some biological.”

He offered that mites, if they can get established, have been found to feed on field bindweed, another example of using a multi-pronged eradication approach. Mildew can also weaken it. “The point I want to make,” Al-Khatib repeated, “is it takes a multiple approach, multiple tools, and multiple years before you get rid of it.”


Resources:

Field Bindweed, How to Manage Pests: Pests in Gardens and Landscapes, UC IPM

 

2021-05-12T11:05:52-07:00July 14th, 2016|

Weed Control in Rice Fields

Controlling Herbicide-Resistant Weeds in California Rice Fields

By Emily McKay Johnson, Associate Editor

Whitney Brim-DeForest, UC ANR Cooperative Extension rice farm advisor for Sutter, Yuba, Placer and Sacramento Counties in California, currently works in all rice production areas across the state to identify problematic weeds in rice fields.

Given her background in weed science, Brim-DeForest explained California rice growers flood their fields for weed suppression, as well as use herbicides for weed control and management. “I’d say that we do have quite a few herbicides right now. As we continue to get new herbicide resistant weeds every year,” said Brim-DeForest, “we are starting to run out of options, especially for some growers who encounter herbicide resistance.”

Brim-DeForest believes herbicide resistance was first discovered in the early 1990’s, but “has become significantly problematic for growers within the last 20 years. Because of the herbicides we use and the limited number that we have, we have ended up with an increasing number of weeds that are herbicide resistant every year. Since about 2000,  we’ve had a new species or herbicide that encounters resistance every year,” she stated.

Brim-DeForest treats a multitude of weed species in her line of work. “I would say the watergrass species is our biggest problem,” she noted. “We also have a weedy red rice that was discovered in the early 2000s. It is not widespread, but we do have a few fields with it,” she explained.

Featured Photo: Whitney Brim-DeForest, UC ANR Cooperative Extension rice farm advisor.

2021-05-12T11:03:00-07:00July 11th, 2016|

Jasieniuk on Weed Evolution

Tracking Herbicide Resistance in Weed Evolution  

By Emily McKay Johnson, Associate Editor

 

Marie Jasieniuk, professor and weed scientist at UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, discussed her groundbreaking research, “I work on the population genetics and evolution of agricultural weeds and invasive plants,” she said. “We use molecular tools to look at the origins and spread of weeds. We also use molecular tools and genetic studies to understand the evolution of herbicide resistance in weeds,” Jasieniuk added, “to be able to propose management approaches that reduce the likelihood of further evolution and spread of resistant weeds.”

UC Davis Annual Weed Day 2016

UC Davis Annual Weed Day 2016

Jasieniuk and her team identify the origins of invasive plants, and determine how they were introduced. “We study how they were introduced, how they have spread and whether they have been introduced multiple times. Again, if we understand how they’re spreading, we can do something to try to stop the spread,” she said.

Italian rye grass, a weed Jasieniuk is currently studying, is problematic because it is resistant to Roundup, a popularly used weed and grass killer by growers. “UC ANR Cooperative Extension specialist, now emeritus, Tom Lanini, and I sampled over 100 locations of Italian rye grass and tested them for resistance to Roundup ten years ago,” she said about the project, funded by USDA. “Last year, we re-sampled all of those sites, and we’re re-testing to see if there’s been an increase or a decrease or no change in resistance to glyphosate, to Roundup,” she said.

Roundup isn’t the only weed and grass killer available on the market. “We’re looking at resistance to three other herbicides,” she said. Working with growers to determine the most efficacious weed treatments that also reduce the likelihood of wood resistance to herbicides,” Jasieniuk explained, “We interview growers about their herbicide use, non-chemical approaches, and integrated management techniques to identify management practices that correlate highly with low or no resistance,” she explained.

Resistance management is found to be more effective with a rotation of various herbicides. “What you want to do is rotate different types of herbicides with different modes of action,” Jasieniuk said. “Perhaps do tank mixes and incorporate non-chemical approaches as well,” she added.

Eliminating weeds can be as simple as disking and digging them out with a shovel when there are only a few. “I think, in many cases, this would have done a lot to prevent new weeds from coming in and certainly resistant weeds from spreading,” she noted.

2021-05-12T11:05:53-07:00July 11th, 2016|
Go to Top