Mid-Hudson Tomato Growers Watch for Late Blight

Julia Trunzo, Fishkill Farms, shows healthy tomato

EAST FISHKILL — This year's growing season is off to a "schizophrenic start," said one young farmer who would like to forget last June's late-blight devastation .

Joshua Morgenthau, co-owner of Fishkill Farms in East Fishkill, added, "I don't think it could be worse than it was last year."

Brown rot and lesions ruined about half of his 1,500 tomato plants, causing an estimated $10,000 worth of damage, the 26-year-old said.

To view the rest of the story click on the following link:
Mid-Hudson Tomato Growers Watch for Late Blight

Unidentified Disease Killing N. Mich. Apple Trees

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — An unidentified blight is being blamed in the deaths of some apple trees in northern Michigan and agricultural researchers are working to determine what is to blame for the disease.

The disease has killed some McIntosh apple trees grown from dwarf rootstock, the Traverse City Record-Eagle reported Saturday.

Nikki Rothwell, head of the Northwest Michigan Horticultural Research Station in Leelanau County, said the problem also is being reported at some McIntosh orchards in western Michigan and in New York state.

To view the rest of the story click on the following link:
Unidentified Disease Killing N. Mich. Apple Trees

Monroe CC Strengthens Ties to Agricultural Community

freshman Lauren Dickson tends to tomato and basil

BRIGHTON — A new greenhouse attached to one of Monroe Community College's classroom buildings is the most visible sign that agriculture has a growing presence in the MCC curriculum.

This past school year, more than 850 students enrolled in 11 courses — from practical botany to business management — with an agricultural component. Some of these classes made use of the greenhouse, where — with state-of-the-art heating and cooling systems — tomatoes potted in soil thrive near micro-greens cultivated hydroponically in nutrient-enriched water.

To view the rest of the story click on the following link:
Monroe CC Strengthens Ties to Agricultural Community

Farm Kids at Lower Allergy Risk, Even in Their 70s

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The anti-allergy effects of an agricultural upbringing persist well into old age, new research from Sweden shows.

Dr. Jonas Eriksson of the University of Gothenburg and colleagues found that people who spent the first five years of their lives on a farm were about 20 percent less likely to have itchy, runny eyes and noses due to allergies, from age 16 up through to age 75.

To view the rest of the story click on the following link:
Farm Kids at Lower Allergy Risk