Penn State Extension is blow up a program that extend educational kiosks at produce auctions across the state . These stall provide growers with well-timed , relevant information on the disease and pest designation and management , invasive species , and food safety .
Beth Gugino , prof of vegetable pathology in Penn State ’s College of Agricultural Sciences , and her colleagues on the veggie , small fruit , and mushroom extension team , have guided the developing and implementation of this program .
Pennsylvania has 16 wholesale green goods auction locations where growers can sell in - time of year garden truck , flower , and other good in volume to local market range , farm marketplace stores , and independent retailer .
“ In the past , buyer would have to go from farm to farm to buy large sum of money of produce , chiefly from Amish and Mennonite growers , ” Gugino say . “ With the auctions , everything is in one home . They are an important securities industry for growers who are not wholesaling directly to enceinte retailers . ”
“ This residential district does not get at technology the same path that other agriculturalist with broadband memory access would , ” Gugino enjoin , noting that the booth provide a way to distribute current data about pest and disease direction .
Initial funding for the project come from the Plant Health Resource Center , which is part of the Ag Resource Centers initiative between Penn State and the state Department of Agriculture . Penn State Extension continues to support the effort .
Glass - enclosed panel on the kiosks allow information to be displayed and update easy . Informational folder are uncommitted for growers to take home . A few old age ago , the team add loaning library to some of the green goods auction bridge for agriculturist to adopt intemperate - transcript resources .
Each year , the squad designs five or six new bill sticker based on issues they see in the field . This yr ascertain new post-horse on cucurbit virus , corrode on sweet corn , strawberry crownwork - ancestor diseases , high - soluble common salt levels in mellow burrow soils , the Food Safety Modernization Act , and postharvest wintertime squash rot . The poster are designed to turn on the team to update or recycle them as involve .
Another new feature of speech is the “ PA Produce Grower ” newssheet distribute every other week that summarizes issues prolongation educators are ascertain on green goods farms and nursery across the state . The newssheet get over product issues pertain to insects , diseases , and plant sustenance and consist of one sheet of paper with info print on both side . Each issue come out on different colored newspaper to help raiser recognize a new variant .
For more information : Penn State814-865-4700www.psu.edu
