USA: The increasing problem of spider mites in strawberries

As temperatures rise and day lengths extend, the two-spotted spider mite is becoming increasingly problematic. According to ADAS, this pest has already been noted on outdoor and protected strawberries this year.

The contact-acting acaricide Borneo has an off label approval for use in strawberries for the control of the two-spotted spider mite to add to its label recommendations in protected tomatoes and aubergines and its SOLA in protected ornamental plants.

Etoxazole, the active ingredient of Borneo, is a contact acting acaricide that works by inhibiting chitin production, affecting moulting and growth in spider mites. This results in effective control of eggs and all immature stages of the spider mites. It also has an adverse effect on egg production, through its chitin inhibition, making the female adult mites sterile.

Etoxazole is from the oxaline group of insecticides and shows no cross-resistance to any other acaricides. It has a useful place as the first spray in the spider mite control programme.

The product will give best performance when used at first appearance of the first mobile stages of spider mites. It is applied at a maximum of 35 mls per 100 litres of water in a minimum of 500 litres of water, sufficient to obtain good crop coverage. One application of Borneo is allowed per crop. Borneo has a residual action of around 45 to 60 days. It has little adverse effect on bees, predatory mites or wasps and is expected to fit in well within IPM systems.

Growers need to obtain a copy of the notice of approval to use Borneo in strawberries via the Chemicals Regulation Directorate (CRD) web site, ADAS offices, the HDC or NFU. The SOLA reference number is 2400 of 2009. Growers are advised to test a small area of crop prior to commercial use.

Developed by Sumitomo Chemical Company, Borneo contains 110 gms/litre etoxazole formulated as a suspension concentrate. It is packed in 250 mls packs.

In the SOLA notice of approval, CRD point out that, as is the case for all SOLA's, liability lies with the user and growers are advised to test a small area of crop prior to commercial use.Accordingly, Sumitomo Chemical Company Ltd as manufacturer of Borneo and Interfarm as UK distributor decline any liability in case of crop damage or efficacy enquiries.

Italy visit shocks kiwifruit growers

The vine disease Psa has been described as a "9/11" of the kiwifruit industry. Every kiwifruit grower, whether their orchard had Psa or not, had been affected by the outbreak which has irrevocably changed the industry. This is the belief of a 22-strong group of growers, consultants and representatives of post-harvest operators, who have visited the Psa-affected region of Latina in Italy. "Psa is the 9/11 of the kiwifruit industry. Nothing will ever be the same again," said Carlos Verissimo of Patamuhoe, Auckland. "Before I visited Italy, I had questioned some of the of the hygiene measures we were being asked to carry out but have changed my mind after what I've seen here," he said.

"We have to do everything we can to stop its spread," said Mr Verissimo as he and the party visited yet another Latina orchard where vines were dying from Psa. The sense of shock at the level of destruction caused by the bacteria Pseudomonas syringae pv actinidiae (Psa) he had seen on Italian orchards was shared by others in the party. After two days of talking to some of the worst affected growers, the party conceded New Zealand orchardists could not be complacent about Psa and think that their orchard practices and growing conditions would shield them from the worst the disease could do.

Even in the few days they had been away from New Zealand, secondary Psa-V symptoms were confirmed for the first time in a Hayward orchard in Te Puke and preliminary tests showed the most virulent form of the disease was also probably present in orchards in Paengaroa, Pongakawa South and Gisborne and Nuhaka (between Gisborne and Napier). That news will only increase the uncertainty about the future which has seen orchard values drop and sales slow dramatically, trends unlikely to reverse until solutions are found to manage the disease. Mark Ericksen, a kiwifruit grower of Hawke's Bay, who worked in Latina four years ago helping establish 300ha of Zespri Gold kiwifruit orchards, was dismayed at what he saw and how hard the loss of vines and income was on growers.

"New Zealand growers have got to take this seriously. There is too much at stake," he said. Many of the growers admitted they had thought growing conditions on the heavy, former wet-land soils of Latina, the management practices of Italian growers, plus the fragmented nature of the industry may have made their vines more susceptible to Psa. Elaine Fisher is visiting Italy as a guest of Zespri and Kiwifruit Vine Health.

Russia bans German and Spanish vegetables

Country to seize all vegetable imports from Germany and Spain, with threat of further sanctions against other EU suppliers

In the wake of an E.coli bacteria outbreak linked to Spanish cucumbers which has so far reportedly led to the death of 14 people in Germany and more than 300 taken ill across a number of European countries, Russia has taken the drastic step of banning all vegetable imports from both Germany and Spain.

Austria is also reported to have banned all sales of cucumbers, tomatoes and aubergines grown in Spain.

According to the Associated Press, Russian officials have also warned that it could extend the ban to other European countries if a satisfactory explanation of how the outbreak came about is not forthcoming soon.

The country's consumer consumer protection agency, the Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer Protection and Welfare, said in a statement that the ban covered "raw vegetables", including tomatoes, cucumbers and salad produced in Germany and Spain.

"This measure stems from the outbreak in Germany of the acute intestinal infection caused by Enterohaemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC)," the agency said in a statement.

Late last week, German officials said they had reason to believe that the deadly bacterial strain may have come from organic cucumbers imported from Spain.

"Moreover, in the coming hours, a decision may be taken to ban the import to or sale in Russia of vegetables produced in all EU countries," the Russian statement added.

Agency chief and chief medical officer Gennady Onishchenko urged Russians to eat only locally grown vegetables, adding that all vegetables already imported from Germany and Spain would be seized.

"We are calling on the population not to purchase fresh vegetables from Germany and Spain," Interfax quoted Onishchenko as saying. "Let them purchase domestic products."

Meanwhile, the latest reports quoting local authorities suggest 36 cases of suspected E. coli in Sweden, all of them in people who were recently in northern Germany.

A smaller number of cases have also been noted in the UK, Denmark, France and the Netherlands, all linked to recent travel to Germany.

However, Spanish authorities continue to maintain that there is no evidence the deadly outbreak has been caused by Spanish vegetables.

Spain's health minister Leire Pajin observed that no cases of E.coli infection have yet been reported within her country, and called on counterparts in Germany to provide definitive proof of what has caused the outbreak.

Germany's allegations "create alarm and affect the producers of a country without any evidence," she said.

European peach and nectarine volumes set to rise

Stonefruit volumes are expected to increase slightly in Europe in 2011, but producers are more relieved by the timing of the season

Having experienced a significant delay of up to two weeks last season due to unusually low temperatures, European peach and nectarine producers are welcoming the expected return to a normal production schedule this year.

In terms of volumes, a slight increase of 2 per cent is forecast over 2010's results, with the total European crop expected to reach 2.86m tonnes, according to figures released by Europêch' at last week's Medfel trade fair in Perpignan, France.

The largest producer country, Italy, is expected to see a fall of 2 per cent compared with last season, with volumes forecast at 1.45m tonnes.

This would represent a drop of 3 per cent in contrast to the 2005-2009 average, thanks mostly to a dramatic fall of 22 per cent in clingstone peach production.

In Spain, volumes are forecast to rise by 10 per cent to some 802,604 tonnes, with peach volumes increasing by 12 per cent to 365,134 tonnes and nectarines increasing by 8 per cent to 437,470 tonnes.

This total volume would mark a rise of 19 per cent over the five-year average, aided by a 25 per cent increase in peach production and a 14 per cent rise in nectarine volumes.

Spanish production of clingstone peaches, on the other hand, is in decline, with orchards being uprooted to make way for other varieties. 2011 volumes are expected to be 27 per cent lower than the 2005-2009 average.

Meanwhile, the planted area for flat peaches is on the rise, with production expected to reach around 81,550 tonnes this season, up from last year's 55,000 tonnes.

In France, total production is forecast to fall by 3 per cent to 308,713 tonnes, a 15 per cent drop compared with the five-year average.

While peach and nectarine volumes are expected to fall compared with last year, by 4 and 2 per cent respectively, clingstone peach production is anticipated to rise by 4 per cent.

According to Bruno Darnaud, president of AOP Pêches et Nectarines France, peach volumes are likely to rise in the future as phytosanitary issues related to apricots encourage French farmers to switch from apricot to peach production.

In Greece, stonefruit volumes are expected to rise by 8 per cent this season, to some 298,200 tonnes.

Increases of 9 per cent for peaches and 4 per cent for nectarines are forecast to make up for the anticipated 11 per cent drop in clingstone peach production.

The total volume marks a decrease of 3 per cent compared with the 2005-2009 average, with clingstone peach volumes down 26 per cent.

Chile records table grape growth

The US, Europe and the Middle East rank as the leading destinations for Chilean Thompson Seedless, Red Globe and Crimson Seedless grapes this season

Exports of Chilean table grapes have risen by 6.9 per cent to 777,150 tonnes up to week 16, according to figures released by the Chilean Fresh Fruit Exporters Association (Asoex) and reported by SimFRUIT.

The US East Coast has received the majority of the sendings, according to Asoex, absorbing 297,391 tonnes by down 7.49 per cent on the same period last season.

Europe ranks as the second-largest destination for Chilean grapes, receiving 189,879 tonnes or 12.2 per cent more than the year-earlier period.

The Middle East, meanwhile, represents the third-biggest market for Chilean grapes this season with 127,179 tonnes or 51.5 per cent more than last year.

The most exported varieties this season are Thompson Seedless, Red Globe and Crimson Seedless, Asoex said.

European apricot crop down 20%

Significant downturn in production volumes forecast for Italy, Greece and Spain, while France expects only slight decreas.

European apricot production is set to fall dramatically this season, according to new figures unveiled at this week's Europêch, the annual stonefruit sector meeting, in Perpignan, France.

As confirmed by Italian industry association CSO, overall apricot volumes across the four major European producers – France, Greece, Italy and Spain – are predicted to fall by 20 per cent compared with last season to around 414,000 tonnes.

Italy, Europe's largest apricot producer, is preparing for a 22 per cent decrease in volumes, from 228,000 tonnes in 2010 to some 189,000 tonnes this year.

The downturn is likely to most evident in the south of the country, where production forecasts are down by 28 per cent overall as a result of recent cold conditions.

In Emilia-Romagna in the north, meanwhile, the decrease will not be quite so pronounced at around 15 per cent, CSO reported.

While apricot supply in France, the next-largest producer, is set to fall by just 3 per cent year-on-year to 134,000 tonnes – still above the average for the past six years – the biggest decline is set to be visible in Greece.

There, an expected drop in output is set to mean the country will produce just 40,100 tonnes, 43 per cent less than the 70,400 tonnes it produced in 2010 – although that figure in itself was 35 per cent up on 2009 and 10 per cent above the average for 2004-2008.

Spain continues to fall away in terms of its apricot production area, resulting in an estimated 51,000 tonnes of production for 2011 and a likely 21 per cent decline when compared with the previous campaign's volume.

Last season, Spain saw its apricot output drop by 20 per cent to 69,670 tonnes, a marked 29 per cent decrease on the 2004-2008 average.