KEYNOTE SPEAKER PROVIDES WAKE-UP CALL

Author, speaker and TV personality Larry Winget, known as the “Pit Bull of Personal Development,” will serve as keynote speaker for this year’s Cracker Breakfast at FFVA’s 64th Annual Convention. And it promises to be a real wake-up call.

Winget has written two well-received books, Shut Up, Stop Whining & Get a Life, which teaches universal principles that can work for anyone and It’s Called Work for a Reason! which drives home the point that “your success is your own damn fault.” Winget also hosts an in-your-face A&E network TV reality show, Big Spender.

The Cracker Breakfast takes place Tuesday, Sept. 18, at 7:30 a.m.

FFVA HOSTS FUMIGANT TOUR

FFVA’s Environmental & Pest Management Division hosted a tour for federal and state regulators on Aug. 9 and 10 with James B. Gulliford, assistant administrator for the Office of Prevention, Pesticides and Toxic Substances, as special guest. The group toured horticulture, tomato and strawberry operations in Avon Park, LaBelle and Plant City to get a firsthand look at Florida’s efforts to come up with workable alternatives to methyl bromide. They also met with growers and researchers to discuss how the industry is combating a variety of pests and diseases.

Methyl bromide has been used for years as an agricultural soil and structural fumigant to control a wide variety of pests. However, because it has been named as an ozone-depleting substance, the amount produced and imported in the U.S. was incrementally reduced until the phaseout took effect on January 1, 2005, except for allowable exemptions. These exemptions include the Critical Use Exemption (CUE), designed for agricultural users with no technically or economically feasible alternatives.

Bob Hartman of Classic Caladiums discussed various trials the company is conducting on some of its 300 acres. It will take years to come up with the right alternative to methyl bromide, he predicted. “There are a thousand little questions about other chemicals,” he said. “We know so little about them compared to what we know about methyl bromide.”

Later in the day, Wes Roan of Six L’s Farm explained the process of fumigation as the group watched workers inject raised beds in preparation for planting tomatoes.

Members of the group represented agencies with oversight responsibility on important chemicals and issues facing growers, including EPA’s Special Review and Reregistration Division, the Health Effects Division, the Biological and Economic Analysis Division, and the Environmental Fate and Effects Division.

Representatives from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Service’s Environmental Services Division also were part of the group.



COMPOUND FOUND IN FRUIT MAY HELP PREVENT SPREAD OF COLON CANCER

Researchers at Ohio State University say they were able to increase cancer-fighting properties of a pigment compound that gives dark-colored fruits and vegetables their red, blue and purple hues.

The researchers found that colon cancer cells in rats and in lab experiments on human cells grew at much slower rates after the researchers changed the molecular structure of the pigment, called anthocyanin. The scientists presented their findings August 19 at the American Chemical Society's national meeting in Boston.

The scientists said they will now work on ways to further modify the pigment so that it can be even better absorbed by the body. Anthocyanin can be found in grapes, radishes, purple corn, purple carrots, chokeberries, cranberries, carrots and elderberries.