St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
April 5, 2012
A new online tomato resource for field and greenhouse growers, consultants, master gardeners, community supported ag groups, and other professionals has been launched by the Plant Management Network.
This resource, called Focus on Tomato (http://www.plantmanagementnetwork.org/fot),
features webcasts to help users protect and manage their tomato crops more profitably and effectively.
The central feature of Focus on Tomato is its 24/7 on-demand educational webcasts.
These audio-visual presentations are authored by university professors and extension specialists recognized for their expertise and research on tomato management practices.
Current webcasts include the following titles and are accessible through the Focus on Tomato homepage at http://www.plantmanagementnetwork.org/fot.
- Methyl Bromide Alternatives by Dr. Josh Freeman, Virginia Tech University
- Managing Fertility in Drip-Irrigated Processing Tomatoes by Dr. Tim Hartz, University of California at Davis
- Pre-harvest Food Safety Practices for Tomato by Dr. Jeri D. Barak, University of Wisconsin, Madison
- Antibody-Based Diagnostic Tools for Identifying Tomato Diseases by Dr. Christine D. Smart, Cornell University
- Tomato Grafting Technique by Dr. Cary Rivard, Kansas State University
- Emerging Tomato Diseases in the Southeast and Methods for Their Control by Kelly L. Ivors, North Carolina State University
In addition to the current webcasts, one new Focus on Tomato webcast will be published each month. Each new webcast will be open access for a period of at least 60 days. As long as users visit the site bi-monthly, all webcasts can be viewed without a subscription. Those who do wish to purchase a subscription can access PMN's entire collection of 13 resources for just $45 yearly.
To get alerts of the latest Focus on Tomato webcasts, sign up for PMN's free online newsletter, PMN Update, at http://www.plantmanagementnetwork.org/update/default.cfm.
Or, sign up via RSS feed from the Focus on Tomato homepage.
Webcast topics are based on growers' interests and needs. Topics are suggested through a technical advisory committee and grower surveys. Topic speakers are nominated by committee, based on their expertise on the topic and their ability to communicate with growers.
Focus on Tomato's advisory committee includes eight tomato crop scientists representing various disciplines, including plant pathology, weed science, entomology, seed science, breeding, and horticulture. They include Dr. Mike Davis, University of California at Davis (co-chair); Dr. Tom Zitter, Cornell University (co-chair); Dr. Hasan Bolkan, Hb Ag Consulting; Dr. Jay Scott, University of Florida; Dr. Tom Kuhar, Virginia Polytechnic Institute; Dr. Dr. Chris Wien, Cornell University; Dr. Robin Bellinder, Cornell University, and Dr. Tom Lanini, University of California at Davis.
Focus on Tomato is a publication of the Plant Management Network (PMN), a nonprofit online publisher whose mission is to enhance the health, management, and production of agricultural and horticultural crops. It achieves this mission by producing applied, science-based resources for growers, consultants, and other practitioners.
PMN is jointly managed by the American Society of Agronomy, American Phytopathological Society, and Crop Science Society of America.
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