Briefly . . .

Size Up Taste Tests First  

Consider Old ‘Adversaries’ When Preparing Storage Facilities for Wheat Harvest

Walnut Council Field Day to Feature KSU Seed-Research Area 

Tomato Disease Factsheets Available

Size Up Taste Tests First

MANHATTAN, Kan. –Sampling a new food can help consumers decide whether or not to purchase it, but consumers are urged to be cautious, a Kansas State University specialist said.

Taste tests can be risky at outdoor markets, food fairs or other settings where food safety can be compromised by a lack of sanitary facilities, said Karen Blakeslee, Kansas State University Research and Extension food scientist.

She recommends washing the skins of fresh fruits and vegetables before cutting, because fresh produce can come in contact with naturally occurring bacteria in the soil that may cause foodborne illness. Failure to wash fresh fruits and vegetables before cutting into them may mean that potentially harmful bacteria is transferred to the edible flesh – and eaten.

“Be observant,” Blakeslee said. “Size up the cleanliness of the area in which the sample is being offered before taste testing: Is the area clean? Is water available? Are insects present? Is the person offering the sample wearing protective gloves?”

More information on food and food safety is available at county and district K-State Research and Extension offices and on Extension Web sites: www.ksre.ksu.edu/foodsafety ; www.ksre.ksu.edu and www.ksre.ksu.edu/humannutrition .

Consider Old ‘Adversaries’ When Preparing Storage Facilities for Wheat Harvest

GARDEN CITY, Kan. -- Now that this year’s wheat crop has headed, Kansas State University entomologist Phil Sloderbeck wants producers who are getting their bins ready for wheat harvest to think about how to keep old adversaries – in other words, insects – out of the grain.

“Whether storing seed wheat or the entire wheat crop, storage areas need to be cleaned thoroughly and sprayed with an insecticide prior to filling with this year's harvest,” said Sloderbeck, who is the entomology state leader with K-State Research and Extension. “This needs to be done several days prior to harvest so that the insecticide has time to work before new grain is put into the bin.”

Producers should also make sure that any other grain stored on the farm is free from insect infestation prior to harvest. That reduces the chance of insects’ moving from one bin to another, he said. Any infested grain should be sold, disposed of or fumigated. Even small quantities of old grain can serve as the source of insects to infest this year's grain.

If grain will be stored on the farm for more than a few weeks, producers probably will want to consider using a grain protectant to treat the grain as the bins are being filled, Sloderbeck said.

To help make producers make decisions on the type of insecticides they can use to treat bins or grain going into long-term storage K-State entomologists have posted on the Web such resources as http://www.entomology.ksu.edu/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=628 . In addition, a publication entitled “Stored Grain Insects, Part III: Structural sprays, pest strips, protectants and surface sprays” is available at: http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/library/entml2/MF917.PDF .

Walnut Council Field Day to Feature KSU Seed-Research Area

MANHATTAN, Kan. – The little-known Tuttle Creek Forestry Research Area will open briefly to the public June 11 for the Kansas Walnut Council’s 2009 field day. Located near Manhattan, the secluded site is where Kansas State University scientists are working year-round to provide genetically superior black walnut seeds for Kansas growers.

Key topics at the field day will be improving walnut stands through genetic selection and careful thinning. Other sessions will cover management alternatives ranging from grafting trees and reducing wildlife damage to grading logs and growing stump sprouts for firewood.

“The black walnut is already the most commercially valuable native tree in the state. It’s also the major species on almost 30,000 acres of Kansas forests. But, we haven’t still come close to recognizing its full economic potential,” said Bob Atchison, rural forestry coordinator for the Kansas Forest Service.

A link to the event’s program brochure, which includes a registration form and driving directions, is available on the Web at http://www.kansasforests.org/calendar/index.shtml. A hot, catered lunch will be part of the field day’s $12 registration fee. Interested persons also can register with a check made out to the Kansas Chapter of the Walnut Council and mailed to Kansas Chapter of the Walnut Council, 5197 114th ST, Meriden, KS 66512-8763.

Tomato Disease Factsheets Available

MANHATTAN, Kan. – If there’s any plant that gardeners are likely to grow once warm weather hits, it’s the tomato.  So, to help those who want to learn more about tomato diseases and how to avoid or treat them, Kansas State University plant pathologist Megan Kennelly has just updated a factsheet about just that. 

Be it early blight, Septoria leaf spot, anthracnose or some other malady, the factsheet – which can be found on the Web at http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/library/plant2/samplers/l721.asp – likely covers it. The resource also includes abiotic disorders, such as growth cracks, blossom end rot and physiological leaf roll.

Color photos throughout the publication are designed to help growers identify disease problems.

Other diseases of tomato that are caused by viruses, wilt pathogens, and nematodes are covered in another factsheet: http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/library/plant2/l723.pdf .   

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