News (Page 218)

by Luisa Cheshire, Fruitnet   A Malaysian delegation has visited Qingdao in Shandong province to talk about exporting Malaysian dragon fruit to the Chinese market.   Chong Sin Woon, one of the Malaysian delegates, said that with a population of over 100m, Shandong province is an attractive export market.  Continue Reading

By Iqbal Pittalwala, UC Riverside University of California, Riverside scientists are using 3-D printing technology to study a beetle that is causing severe damage to avocado and landscape trees in Southern California.   The beetle in question is the polyphagous shot hole borer, an ambrosia beetle that originated in SoutheastContinue Reading

The Dominican Republic government plans to buy bananas directly from growers and resell in domestic markets in a bid to prevent price speculation.   Agriculture Minister Ángel Estévez made the announcement highlighting growers were about to start harvests and would have ample supply despite the impacts of drought and tropicalContinue Reading

by Lara Webster, ABC   As the Queensland mango picking season looms, the industry is forecasting a drop in national production.   Pre-harvest preparations have begun in the Sunshine State, and the Australian Mango Industry Association has anticipated the national crop will be down by about one-and-a-half million trays fromContinue Reading

The Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) has identified a root-knot nematode in Guava cultivated in Dindigul region. The department of nematology has suggested farmers either to take preventive steps or destroy the affected plants.   “In Tamil Nadu, guava is cultivated on a large scale in and around Ayakudi ofContinue Reading

by Brad Buck, News Wise   Asian guava orchards can bring nine times the profit as mango and avocado, all staples of South Florida’s agricultural sector, a new University of Florida study shows.   But Edward “Gilly” Evans, a UF/IFAS associate professor of food and resource economics, cautioned that guavaContinue Reading

by Alahe Izadi, The Bulletin   What’s the biggest enemy to Miami-Dade County’s $1.6 billion agriculture industry? A little fruit fly. Specifically, the Bactrocera dorsalis, or oriental fruit fly.   The flies, described by Florida’s Agriculture Department as one of the industry’s “most devastating pests,” were first spotted in theContinue Reading

by Lara Webster, ABC   A North Queensland watermelon farmer whose farm was hit hard by a devastating virus may finally be able to plant a crop on his farm next year.   In May, biosecurity Queensland confirmed the case of Cucumber Green Mottle Mosaic in Jon Caleo’s 40-hectare melonContinue Reading

Costa Rican pineapple exports were significantly lower in the first half of 2015 compared with the previous year, with adverse weather conditions and unfavourable exchange rates contributing to the decline. Volumes of the tropical fruit shipped between January and June were 15% lower year-on-year, with a total of 933,800 tonnes,Continue Reading

by Mike Knowles, Fruitnet   German fresh produce importer Port International has taken delivery of Europe’s first banana shipments from Haiti for 60 years, according to a report on the Fruchthandel Magazin website.   The consignment of organically grown fruit is understood to have arrived in the Port of AntwerpContinue Reading

by Valerie Tan, Channel News Asia   It may look like overgrown vegetation to some but these plots in Nanning in southern China are gold to Edwin Hooy and his partners.   The 43-year-old Singaporean entrepreneur has invested US$2.3 million in a 200 hectare piece of land to convert itContinue Reading