A tiny, voracious fly called the swede midge, which already has eaten its way across eastern Canada's cabbage and broccoli fields, now is threatening to descend on crops in states along the northern U.S. border. On Feb. 11 an educational session on the swede midge will be held for registered growers at the 2003 New York State Vegetable Conference in Liverpool, N.Y
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has granted a one-year approval for a novel plant protectant that has been tested at Cornell University as a seed coating for onions. This new treatment promises to help save New York's onion crop, providing that it can gain full approval for use beyond 1996.