domingo, 29 de noviembre de 2015

No special labels needed for GM FOOD according to the FDA - Los ALIMENTOS modificados genéticamente (GM) no necesitan llevar etiquetas especiales de acuerdo a la FDA

Photo from http://blogs-images.forbes.com

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has refused to consider requiring the labeling of biotech foods, affirming its longstanding policy that there's no legal basis for mandating such disclosure on products that are essentially the same as their conventional versions. The FDA decision came in denying petitions filed by the Center for Food Safety, an advocacy group that has long fought to stop or restrict the commercialization of agricultural biotechnology, and the Truth in Labeling Coalition.

The FDA action comes as lawmakers are nearing agreement on legislation that would bar states from requiring the labeling of GMO foods while possibly requiring disclosure through smartphone codes and on the Internet. Appropriators say they are open to including the legislation in a fiscal 2016 omnibus spending bill that they are writing. “The petition does not provide evidence sufficient to show that foods derived from genetically engineered plants, as a class, differ from foods derived from non-GE plant varieties in any meaningful or uniform way, or that as a class, such foods present any different or greater safety concerns than foods developed by traditional plant breeding,” FDA said in its 35-page response to the Center for Food Safety. We are a marketing, branding & digital agency with an uncommon expertise in agriculture.

The agency separately denied petitions asking it to require labeling of genetically engineered salmon, which the agency approved on Thursday. “The FDA announcement shows that there is a clear path forward for bipartisan compromise in support of consistent, science-based, factual food labeling and ends any chance of a federal mandatory on-package labeling requirement,” said Claire Parker, spokesperson for the Coaliton for Safe Affordable Food.

Pamela Bailey, president and CEO of the Grocery Manufacturers Association, said FDA “made the right decision for the right reasons.” “We look forward to continuing to work with Congress to enact a uniform national standard for food labeling that would prevent a costly and confusing patchwork of state labeling mandates,” she said. The first state GMO labeling law is set to take effect in July in Vermont, which is adding urgency to the congressional effort to pass a preemption measure. 

“We're getting close” to agreement on the labeling legislation, said Sen. John Hoeven, a North Dakota Republican who has been working with the top Democrat on the Senate Agriculture Committee, Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, on the issue. The Agriculture Department has been assisting in developing the electronic disclosure plan, Stabenow has said. However, Stabenow's staff issued a statement late Thursday cautioning that no deal had been reached yet. “Stabenow believes that for any solution to pass the Senate, it must establish a national system of required disclosure that would ensure consumers get the information they want about their food, while also solving the problem of a 50-state patchwork of regulations. Senator Stabenow is willing to play a leadership role on this issue but only if it can be done in a bipartisan way and if stakeholders are willing to step up and engage in meaningful ways," the statement said.

Also on Thursday, the FDA released draft guidance for voluntary labeling of salmon and final guidance  for voluntary labeling of products from GMO plants, such as corn, soybeans or sugar. Are you following food labeling issues? Agri-Pulse is the place for the latest news on the topic. Sign up for a four-week free trial subscription. The documents include advice on how non-GMO foods should be labeled. For example, non-GMO statements that would be OK with the agency include: “Not bioengineered;” “Not genetically modified through the use of modern biotechnology,” and “We do not use ingredients that were produced using modern biotechnology,” and “This oil is made from soybeans that were not genetically engineered.”

GMA spokesman Brian Kennedy said the guidance would provide a “more consistent framework” for companies to follow in deciding how to label products. The Center for Food Safety petition had argued that the use of biotechnology amounted to a “material” difference that merited mandatory labeling, "if it results in a change to a food at the molecular or genetic level” and a “significant share of consumers would find it relevant to their purchasing decisions.” The group's senior attorney, George Kimbrell, said it was reviewing its legal options. “FDA has robust authority to require the labeling of GE foods and any decision to the contrary is legally wrong and contrary to good governance and the overwhelming public will."
Source: Philip Brasher (http://www.agri-pulse.com)

sábado, 7 de noviembre de 2015

Differential effect of summer pruning on 'Emerald' and 'Jewel' BLUEBERRY varieties - Efecto diferencial de la poda de verano en las variedades de ARÁNDANO 'Emerald' y 'Jewel'

Jewel blueberry (http://www.fallcreeknursery.com)

Blueberry (Vaccinium spp.) summer pruning can increase yield by promoting healthy fall foliage to support the reproductive development. However, there has been little research to examine the effects of timing and intensity of summer pruning in subtropical conditions. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of summer pruning timing and intensity on reproductive traits of mature ‘Jewel’ and ‘Emerald’ southern highbush blueberry (SHB) plants (V. corymbosum L. interspecific hybrid) in subtropical Florida. The effect of pruning time was evaluated by removing 30% of the canopy in June or July. The effect of intensity was evaluated by pruning either 30% or 60% of the canopy in June, followed by removal of the upper 5 cm of regrowth (“tipping”) in July. Both timing and intensity used nonpruned plants as a control. The same plants were evaluated over three consecutive seasons (June 2011–May 2014). Main effects of pruning time, intensity, and tipping were evaluated. Tipping did not affect the reproductive traits evaluated. ‘Emerald’ reproductive traits were unaffected by either summer pruning time or intensity over the 3-year study. ‘Jewel’ yield was unaffected in the first year, but was increased by 48% and 65% in years 2 and 3, respectively, in the 30% pruning treatment compared with the nonpruned control. Lack of pruning in ‘Jewel’ decreased inflorescence bud number compared with moderate pruning likely due to more diseased foliage that increased defoliation. Thus, pruning effects on reproductive traits were cultivar dependent. Leaving ‘Jewel’ plants unpruned for two or more seasons reduced inflorescence bud number and yield.
Source: http://hortsci.ashspublications.org. Effects of Timing and Intensity of Summer Pruning on Reproductive Traits of Two Southern Highbush Blueberry Cultivars. 2015. By Alisson P. Kovaleski, Rebecca L. Darnell, Bruno Casamali and Jeffrey G. Williamson.

lunes, 2 de noviembre de 2015

"Monterey" STRAWBERRY cultivar performs well under walk-in tunnel in Colombia. La variedad de FRUTILLA (FRESA) "Monterey" se adapta bien al cultivo en macrotunel en Colombia

Photo source: http://www.larepublica.co

In Colombia, high-tunnel systems may be a viable alternative for increasing the yields of strawberry crops due to their ability to prevent fruit losses and plant damage caused during periods of high precipitation. This study aimed to compare the yield and its relationship with vegetative and reproductive components of Albion and Monterey strawberry cultivars, established in open-field and high-tunnel systems in Cajica (Colombia), at 2,562 m a.s.l. and 4°56´N, 74°00´W. ‘Monterey’, a cultivar with more vigor, presented a higher yield that ‘Albion’. The growth conditions in the high-tunnel system promotedrapid vegetative growth in the ‘Monterey’ plants, with an increase in yield and a decrease in losses. The ‘Albion’ cultivar plants in the high-tunnel system presented a decrease in fruit losses; however, these plants did not present differences in yield compared to plants in the open-filed system. Despite the benefits of a decrease in fruit losses due to rot seen in the high-tunnel system, this system had an increase in powdery mildew and calcium deficiency.
Source: Carlos Mario Grijalba, María Mercedes Pérez-Trujillo, Diana Ruiz and Ana María Ferrucho. 2015. Agronomía Colombiana 33:147-154.
http://revistas.unal.edu.co/index.php/agrocol