07/05/05 Tour to advance I.P.M.

07/05/05 Tour to advance I.P.M.

A recent tour of various orchards, packing houses, and research facilities in the Wenatchee and Peshastin Valley's of Washington State were the last stops in a four day tour that included visits in California, Oregon, and the Yakima Valley. Various U.S.D.A., Environmental Protection Agency, land grant university researchers, and others gathered to view projects designed to reduce risks of insect pests through various integrated pest management systems. BRUNNER: These are two programs that were funded by federal grants in a federal competitive granting program. One grant came to Washington State University, and one grant came to University of California at Berkeley. But it funded a team of seventeen scientists working in the tree fruit, apple and pear, systems in the Northwest and then also in pear and walnut systems in California. And we're looking at new technologies to deliver pear management programs to those growing systems. Jay Brunner of Washington State University's Tree Fruit Research Center is one of the coordinators of the programs, and of the recent tour. He says the tour was an opportunity to review, and to discuss future plans. BRUNNER: This is the fifth and final year, of these programs, and we're looking at what we've accomplished and then talking and thinking about what might come in the future. The question is will the funding be available to continue such programs? More in our next program.
Previous Report07/04/05 Strawberry flavored pears?
Next Report07/06/05 Money for I.P.M. research programs?