One of the primary goals of the Agricultural Research Service is to ensure high-quality, safe agricultural products while sustaining a competitive agricultural economy.   Our unit seeks to achieve this by discovering new ways to control postharvest insect pests and decay in horticultural commodities.   In doing so, we help provide the public with quality produce and overcome quarantine barriers to allow increased exports of U.S. crops.   In addition, much of our work deals with developing non-chemical commodity treatments and integrated management systems which will reduce the use of chemical pesticides.

Dr. Dave Obenland attended the American Society for Horticultural Sciences Conference in Palm Desert, California on July 22-25, 2013 where he chaired a postharvest working group, moderated two working groups, and presented a poster.

In July Dr. Spencer Walse attended a meeting in Manhattan, Kansas, on phosphine as an alternative to methyl bromide. He then traveled to Miami to meet with APHIS regarding fumigation. Later in the month he traveled to Chile for fumigation related research there. Also, Spencer gave a talk on July 9 at SJVASC to the participants of the 2013 California Specialty Crops Tour.

Recent

Staff

Publications      

Bellamy, D. E., M. S. Sisterson, and S. S. Walse. 2013. The development of a host potential index and its postharvest application to the spotted wing drosophila, Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae)

Yin, Y. N. and C. L. Xiao. 2013. Molecular characterization and a multiplex allele-specific PCR method for detection of thiabendazole resistance in Penicillium expansum from apple

Obenland, D., S. Collin, J. Sievert, and M. L. Arpaia. 2013. Mandarin flavor and aroma volatile composition are strongly influenced by holding temperature