Crop Protection

Red Tomato rebrands apples, expands EcoCertified distribution

In time for the 2024 apple season, Red Tomato has rebranded and expanded distribution of its EcoCertified line of products. In addition to the redesign of Red Tomato’s EcoCertified fruit totes and pouches, Red Tomato... more »

MSU Plant & Pest Diagnostics names new director

Jan Byrne has been promoted to lead Michigan State University’s (MSU) Plant & Pest Diagnostics department. She succeeds Ray Hammerschmidt, who plans to retire. Byrne, who holds a doctoral degree, has worked at MSU as... more »

Melons hosts for cucurbit downy mildew detected in New England

Melons are hosts for cucurbit downy mildew (CDM), a disease that harms cucurbits, has been spotted in New England. CDM was reported the week of Aug. 5 on cucumber crops by growers in Franklin County,... more »

Marion Ag and Columbia Seeds form supply and marketing consortium to enhance agronomic solutions

Marion Ag Service Inc. and Columbia Seeds have announced a new supply and marketing consortium, merging their strengths to offer a comprehensive suite of agronomic solutions. The partnership combines Marion Ag’s advanced fertilizer technology and... more »

Grand Rapids tree fruit update from MSU

Cooler temperatures in the Grand Rapids region this week are aiding fruit reddening, with nighttime lows dipping into the 50s and 60s. While Tuesday morning brought rain and potential thunderstorms, the rest of the week... more »

Unconventional Fruit Working Group hosts virtual meeting on nutrition management

The Unconventional Fruit Working Group is hosting a free virtual meetup on Aug. 28, 2024, from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. This session, organized by Michigan State University, focuses on “nutrition management” for fruit farmers... more »

Drone franchise introduced by SweetWater Technologies

SweetWater Technologies aims to revolutionize farming practices through advanced drone technology, and has introduced its first group of independently-owned and operated franchises. The new franchise partners include Bill Pirkl in Byron, Minnesota; Nathan Janz in... more »

Atticus EcoCore Division expands

Atticus, a company that offers branded-generic herbicides, insecticides and fungicides, has added Ty Ferraro to its team. Ferraro will serve as senior business director and will report to Nate Dahlman, executive vice president, EcoCore Division.... more »