As Northern New York farmers begin checking their fields for signs of brown root rot (BRR) this spring, Cornell University researchers are preparing to overcome a weather-related setback to developing regionally-adapted alfalfa varieties resistant to the soil-borne fungus Phoma sclerotioides.

Ice sheeting in 2012 killed both older and younger generations of alfalfa plants and caused the loss of significant data from the field trials at the William H. Miner Agricultural Research Institute at Chazy, NY.

Since 2008 with funding from the farmer-driven Northern New York Agricultural Development Program, Cornell researchers have managed a trial to test the resistance to BRR in currently available alfalfa varieties.

Cornell plant breeders Don Viands and Julie L. Hansen are hoping an agronomist’s loss will become a plant breeder’s gain in that the trial results were lost to winterkill, but the surviving plants may be genetically improved for winter stress, perhaps including resistance to BRR.

In 2013, the research group grew out stem cuttings from surviving plants from Cornell-developed alfalfa varieties. Seed was produced and is now ready for planting at Chazy in the 2014 BRR-resistance trials on a field with a high concentration of BRR.

BRR-resistant alfalfa grown in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, where BRR has been a long-term problem for alfalfa production, has shown up to 65 percent higher yields, however, says Cornell Plant Pathologist Gary C. Bergstrom, “Unfortunately for New York alfalfa growers, the BRR-resistant variety that does well in Saskatchewan and Alberta performs poorly here as it is susceptible to other alfalfa root rots common in New York.”

Brown root rot was first identified in the eastern United States in Clinton County in northern New York in 2003. It has since been confirmed in Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and Ontario. The fungus impacts alfalfa, other perennial legume crops, and overwintering grass crops. BRR persists in soil year-round, becoming primarily active in winter and early spring, causing slow crop emergence, stand decline, and yield loss.

The latest Brown Root Rot of Alfalfa: Challenges and Opportunities research report is posted in the Field Crops section on this website.

The farmer-led Northern New York Agricultural Development Program has posted a new report on establishing New York’s first Juneberry research nursery. The planting at the Cornell Willsboro Research Farm in Willsboro, NY, will be one of the largest nurseries of its kind for studying this ‘superfruit.’

Juneberry, scientifically known as Amelanchier, has the potential to be a major novel fruit crop in northern New York, and perhaps the Northeast, say researchers Michael H. Davis, Cornell Willsboro Research Farm Manager, and botanist Michael B. Burgess of the State University of New York at Plattsburgh.

“The announcement of this project last summer and earlier this year has generated a lot of interest from commercial fruit farmers,” says Davis.

Read more

Click here for more information on juneberry research

Click here for more details on the April 11, 2014 juneberry workshop

Peru NY Dairy Owner Jon Rulfs Named Northern New York Agricultural Development Program Co-Chair

Northern New York – Jon Rulfs, co-owner of Adirondack Farms in Peru, NY, has been named as a Co-Chair of the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program, a farmer-driven research and technical assistance program serving Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties.

Rulfs, who serves on the Northeast Dairy Producers Association Board of Directors and is active with Clinton County Farm Bureau and other agricultural organizations, is one of three Co-Chairs for the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program. He joins dairyman Jon Greenwood of Madrid and dairyman Joe Giroux of Plattsburgh to lead the farmer-member advisory committee and commodity-focused subcommittees of the Northern New York Agricultural Development Program.

Rulfs owns the 2,500 milking cow dairy operation in Peru in partnership with Jake Swyers and Rocklyn Giroux. The operation raises all its own crops on the 5,000-acre farm. The farm was established in 1996. Adirondack Farms welcomed more than 500 visitors to “A Day on the Farm” event last fall. Jon is also co-owner of Rulfs Orchard, a 200-acre diversified fruit and vegetable farm in Peru, NY, with his father, Bob Rulfs.

The Northern New York Agricultural Development Program recently released its 2013 economic impact report and announced 27 farm research projects underway across the NNY region in 2014. The projects range in focus from dairy, field crops, fruit and vegetable production to livestock and crop pest and disease control and agricultural environmental stewardship.

 

Adapt-N Training Webinar: Cloud Computing Technology for Precision Nitrogen Management in Corn
When: Thursday, April 3, 2014. 11:00am – 3:30pm Eastern/10:00am – 2:30pm Central
Where: Multiple Host Locations in the Northeast & Midwest, or online from your personal computer

Program:
• N concerns and Adapt-N results
• Adapt-N inner workings
• How to use Adapt-N effectively
• Complementary technologies (cover crop interseeder; VRT; etc)
• Overview of all-new 2014 interface and model improvements
• Hands-on training on Adapt-N

Who should attend: Workshop targeted toward agricultural professionals and corn growers. CCA Credits in Nutrient Management will be offered.

To Attend: Updated information and host locations are available on the Adapt-N website (http://adapt-n.cals.cornell.edu/webinar/index.html)

Registration: To register for the Webinar now, click here <https://cornell.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_00ttRYosK15ltE9> .

This spring, with Northern New York Agricultural Development Program funding, New York’s first Juneberry research nursery will be established at the Cornell University Willsboro Research Farm in Willsboro, NY.

Click here to read more about this exciting new crop project.

Click here for the 2013 Juneberry Nursery Year One Report, NNYADP, March 2014

 

 

 

Cornell Cooperative Extension and Sollecito Landscaping Nursery will hold a Juneberry production workshop as follows:

Juneberries for the Home and Small Farm
Friday, April 11, 2014
9:30 AM – 12 Noon
Sollecito Landscaping Nursery
4094 Howlett Hill Road, Syracuse, NY 13215

This class is a complete, in-depth introduction to juneberry cultivation in Upstate New York, covering site selection, natural history, planting, pest control, and harvesting. Juneberries are primed to become a common high-value crop in the coming years. Landowners can plant and cultivate juneberries as part of their home landscape and they have excellent marketability as a you-pick, wholesale, or direct retail crop. In this class, we will also review other minor edible berries that can be a good fit for a small farm or home landscape.

Fee: $10.00 per person includes the complete workshop and samples of juneberry products. To register, please contact Erin Hull at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Onondaga County at 315-424-9485 ext. 224. Learn more about the workshop site at www.sollecito.com.