Purdue Ag News Roundup

Apple harvest looks good despite cold spring

The crop is expected to offer average yields, but the Red Delicious crop will be down in some regions. In Indiana the total yield should be approximately 1.3 million bushels.

"In Indiana the apple crop yields look to be about average or slightly down from recent years, except for Red Delicious, which really took a hit from the April freeze in some places," Hirst says. "Not only did the cold kill flowers, it also caused some russet damage, with quite a lot of damage showing up in some places. The cold injury varied greatly from orchard to orchard, though, so some orchards still have great looking crops of Reds and other varieties."

The apple crop outlook in other states:

• Washington state is forecast to be down slightly, at 85-95 million bushels of fresh market apples, because of poor bloom on Red Delicious.

• The Michigan crop is estimated at 25 million bushels, which is about the average for the last five years, but up dramatically from last year's crop of 17.3 million bushels.

• California is expected to produce 7.6 million bushels, down slightly from last year.

• New York and New England crops are forecast to be about average or slightly above average.

• Crops in the Appalachian regions are about average except for the Red Delicious variety, which is forecast to be down due to cold damage.

CONTACT: Peter Hirst, (765) 494-1323

National Healthy Beaches symposium set for Indiana Dunes

Sponsored by the Inter-Agency Task Force on E. coli, the one-day symposium will include presentations by nationally known experts on storm water runoff, health concerns related to swimming in contaminated waters, monitoring, septic systems, sanitary discharges from boats and new E. coli analysis methods. High E. coli levels are frequently the cause of summer beach closings, including five in Indiana this year through July 4.

"This symposium brings together scientists and policy makers from around the nation," said Leslie Dorworth, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant aquatic ecology specialist. "Workshop participants will have an opportunity to learn the most recent information available on this very important issue."

An afternoon panel discussion by experts from Indiana, Ohio and California will address progress in those states toward solutions of problems created by E. coli.

Opening remarks will be delivered by Larry D. Macklin, director of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, and Phillip E. Pope, director of the Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant Program.

Although E. coli is found in human and animal digestive tracts and in itself isn't considered dangerous to healthy individuals, its presence increases the possibility that other bacteria may be present. E. coli is a worldwide problem and is of great concern to public health and the economy, according to Richard Whitman, chief of the Lake Michigan Ecological Research Station. Whitman has been studying E. coli for about 10 years and will be a symposium presenter.

Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant funds research on E. coli and other Lake Michigan water quality concerns, and is a partner in the Inter-Agency Task Force on E. coli. The Task Force brings together local, state and federal agencies to share information and address E. coli pollution.

Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. at the Dunes Pavilion. The fee is $30 and includes lunch and written materials. To register, or for more information, contact Leslie Dorworth, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant, at (219) 989-2726.

Compiled by Chris Sigurdson, (765) 494-8415; E-mail, sig@ecn.purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@purdue.edu

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