Three new natural products that are as effective as fungicides against two citrus diseases are being marketed in the United States, Central America and the Caribbean Basin. The products—KeyPlex 250- DP, 350-DP, and 445-DP—are effective against greasy spot (Mycosphaerella citri) and postbloom fruit drop (Colletotrichum acutatum). The KeyPlex products stem from a cooperative research and development agreement between ARS and Morse Enterprises Limited, Inc., Miami, FL. The original products were micronutrients to make plants healthier. ARS scientists added other naturally occurring compounds that increase plant resistance by causing them to produce more disease- fighting proteins. These start working when an outside enemy--like an insect or a disease-causing pathogen-- invades the plant. Growers apply KeyPlex on citrus, bush beans and tomatoes and are testing it on limes, bananas, bell peppers and cotton. Future tests will include squash and other cucurbits, and the label list is being extended to include most vegetable and fruit crops. Since they're made from naturally occurring compounds, KeyPlex products don't require registration by the Environmental Protection Agency. The products don't kill pests, but enhance the plant's ability to repel them.
U.S. Horticultural Research Laboratory, Orlando, FL
Richard T. Mayer, (407) 897-7300, rmayer@ix.netcom.com

Large, sweet, aromatic blackberries called "Triple Crown" may begin showing up in supermarkets within the next few years. This new ARS variety gets its name from its three crowning attributes: flavor, productivity and vigor. It ripens from about mid-July to about mid-August. Test plantings indicate it is well adapted to the Mid-Atlantic and Pacific Coast states. Researchers also expect Triple Crown to flourish in the lower Midwest and New England. Sakuma Brothers Farms, Inc., Burlington, WA, and Cedar Valley Nursery, Inc., Centralia, WA, offered Triple Crown plants for sale for the first time this spring. Indiana Berry & Plant Co., Huntingburg, IN, plans to sell Triple Crown this fall. In 1999, Nourse Farms, Inc., South Deerfield, MA, and Weeks Berry Nursery, Keizer, OR, expect to have a supply. ARS scientists tested Triple Crown, formerly known as US 1638, for a decade before releasing it in 1996. In Oregon trials, 8-year-old Triple Crown plants yielded an impressive 30 pounds or more of berries per plant. In ARS and Oregon State University tests, Triple Crown rated equal to the popular Chester Thornless and Marion blackberries in color, flavor and overall quality for use in pies, preserves and other processed foods.
Fruit Laboratory, Beltsville, MD
John L. Maas, (301) 504-7653,jmaas@asrr.arsusda.gov

Homeowners, landscapers and others can create more visually exciting yards and landscapes with designer pine straw mulch now on the market. Colored mulch is one of the latest advances in pine straw technology developed by ARS researchers. Recent ARS studies showed the colored mulch is environmentally safe and doesn't change soil pH. Pine straw is gaining in popularity as a mulch for landscaping projects. Adding colorants to pine straw enhances its attractiveness and marketability. Colored pine straw generates 30 to 50 percent more profit for farmers who harvest it. The colored mulch decomposes much more slowly than mulch without added color, making it more efficient and economical. Coloring pine straw and selling it as a mulch offers pine tree farmers another profitable use for this crop.
Dale Bumpers Small Farms Research Center, Booneville, AR
Catalino A. Blanche, (501) 675-3834, cblanche@yell.com

Cooperative Research and Development Agreements

...With Protein Sciences Corp. of Meriden, CT, to produce poultry vaccines effective against avian influenza (AI). ARS worked with Protein Sciences on three vaccines against forms of AI, including one to guard against Hong Kong H5N1. When the Hong Kong AI outbreak occurred, Protein Sciences, with ARS scientists, responded by producing a vaccine that has been shown to be 100 percent effective at preventing death in chickens from the Hong Kong viruses. Scientists from the Hong Kong Department of Agriculture and Hong Kong zoo officials are testing the new vaccine's efficacy in chickens and other bird species there. The Protein Sciences vaccines are being evaluated for approval in the United States in case of another outbreak. An important advantage: When these vaccines are used, regulatory agencies can readily distinguish healthy vaccinated birds from those actually infected with disease-causing influenza.
Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory, Athens, GA
Mike Purdue, (706) 546-3433, mperdue@asrr.arsusda.gov

...With Bayer Corp., Watkinsville, GA, to find ways to prevent older hens from becoming infected with Salmonella during molting. Hens lay fewer eggs as they age. By temporarily feeding the aging birds a restricted diet, U.S. producers can induce molting in the birds and typically restore them to 85 percent of their original egg-producing capability. But the technique gives Salmonella enteritidis bacteria a fresh chance to take hold and contaminate the hens' eggs or chicks. European farmers are less likely to molt their birds, but S. enteritidis can still be a problem. To treat it, their veterinarians can prescribe Enrofloxacin. This drug is reinforced by another, Avigard, to prevent the bacteria's return. In the U.S., the drugs are approved to treat poultry for E. coli , but not Salmonella. ARS scientists are testing the effectiveness and safety of both drugs for S. enteritidis to see if the approach would work in the U.S. ARS scientists are also testing low-tech, natural ways to make molting safer. They've found that putting hens on a low-calcium, reduced-calorie diet instead of restricted feeding reduces S. enteritidis levels up to 100- fold.
Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory, Athens, GA
Peter Holt, (706) 546-3442, pholt@ix.netcom.com

...With Foss North America of Eden Prairie, MN, to refine an ARS-developed technique that is a faster and cleaner method for measuring saturated fat in meat. That's good news for companies complying with the food labeling laws on fat analysis as well as for health-conscious consumers who want to keep a close eye on their fat intake. It's also a plus for the environment, since current analysis methods use chemical reagents that pose a disposal problem. The scientists developed a non-chemical alternative--a technology called NIRS, or near-infrared spectroscopy. Near-infrared light waves are just beyond the visible part of the light spectrum. The NIRS approach can measure fat levels as low as 1 percent, well within the U.S. Food and Drug Administration requirements for precision. The NIRS measurements take less than two minutes, compared with chemical methods that take up to three days. Foss North America is an international supplier of automated rapid-analysis tools for the food and agriculture industries.
Quality Assessment Research Unit, Richard B. Russell Research Center, Athens, GA
William Windham, (706) 546-3513, bobw@athens.net

...With Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., Johnston, Iowa, and Mycogen Corp., San Diego, CA, to explore a gene called cah as a new tool in plant genetic engineering experiments. Tests by ARS researchers with wheat showed that the cah gene seems well suited as a marker that enables scientists to tell whether they've succeeded in moving new genes into a plant. Tests at Pioneer Hi-Bred and Mycogen Corp. may expand use of this promising marker to other crops. Marker genes can speed biotech experiments because they are usually easier and faster to detect--in experimental plants--than the useful gene with which they are paired. Useful genes might include ones that could boost the plant's nutritional value, bolster its resistance to attack by insects or disease, or give the plant other valuable new traits. ARS is seeking a patent for this use of the cah gene. (PATENT 08/873, 001)
Wheat, Sorghum, and Forage Research, Lincoln, NE
J. Troy Weeks, (402) 472-9640, tweeks@unlinfo.unl.edu

..With CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, to publish a reference book on the world's economically important plants.The project stems from a revision of the former USDA Agricultural Handbook 505, A Checklist of Names of 3,000 Vascular Plants of Economic Importance. First published in 1977 and revised in 1986, the handbook has been a valuable reference on economically important plants to many scientists in agriculture. The new revision will provide essential reference data for about 8,500 plants of economic importance throughout the world. Each plant's entry includes the the plant's accepted scientific name, important synonyms, common names, economic uses and geographical distribution. The botanical and economic coverage will include plants or plant products that are traded, regulated or are otherwise directly or indirectly important to international commerce. The list includes plants with a negative economic impact, such as weeds and poisonous plants. Data for the revision comes from more than two decades of research by ARS plant taxonomists. The project arose from the need to provide accurate information on economically important plants to the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN) of the USDA-ARS National Genetic Resources Program.
Systematic Botany and Mycology Laboratory, Beltsville, MD
John H. Wiersema, (301) 504-9181, jwiersema@ars-grin.gov

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