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June 26, 2015 CapitalPress.com 9 Idaho Subscribe to our weekly Idaho email newsletter at CapitalPress.com/newsletters 6SXGFRPPLVVLRQUHMHFWVUHTXHVWWR¿UHHPSOR\HH By SEAN ELLIS Capital Press BOISE — Idaho Potato Commission board members unanimously voted to support IPC employee Pat Kole June 17 and rejected a request to terminate him. Members of the Idaho PCN Group asked for Kole’s imme- diate resignation or termina- tion during the IPC’s regular monthly meeting in May. Kole is the IPC’s vice pres- ident of legal and government affairs. The request to IPC com- missioners was made during a conference call with growers affected by a federal pale cyst nematode quarantine in East Idaho. They accused Kole of working behind the scenes to support the eradication pro- gram, which they oppose in its current form. The request for Kole’s ter- mination caught IPC mem- bers by surprise and the call was discontinued after com- missioners said they weren’t comfortable continuing the conversation without legal advice. Members of the PCN JURXS LQ$SULO ¿OHG D IHGHUDO lawsuit targeting the quaran- tine and accompanying erad- ication program, which they say is unreasonable and has cost them millions of dollars. Idaho State Department of Agriculture and USDA’s Ani- mal and Plant Health Inspec- tion Service are defendants in the lawsuit, but IPC is not. PCN group members say Kole exceeded his responsi- bilities by attempting to elicit industry support for the con- tinuation of the current eradi- cation program. But IPC commissioners said Kole did nothing wrong in discussing the lawsuit with another industry organization. IPC members approved the following motion: “The IPC has completed its inves- tigation as to the claims made by some members of the PCN group on May 29 against Pat Kole and have determined that (Kole), as vice president of legal and government af- fairs, did not exceed his re- sponsibilities in talking to the National Potato Council about the pending lawsuit against USDA and ISDA.” Iris virus detected early in Treasure Valley onion fields By SEAN ELLIS Capital Press ONTARIO, Ore. — The iris yellow spot virus, which can se- verely impact onion yields, has made an early appearance in the John O’Connell/Capital Press Treasure Valley. Arbon Valley, Idaho, dryland farmer Hans Hayden looks over experi- Southwestern Idaho and PHQWDOSORWVRQKLVIDUPGXULQJD-XQH8QLYHUVLW\RI,GDKR¿HOGGD\ Eastern Oregon produce about Hayden said heavy rain in May helped his crops recover from lack of 25 percent of the nation’s fresh moisture and barley yellow dwarf virus, and though test weights may bulb onion supply and the virus be affected, he’s optimistic he’ll have at least an average crop. QRUPDOO\DSSHDUVLQRQLRQ¿HOGV in this region later in the summer. But it was detected in com- PHUFLDO EXOE ¿HOGV LQ 3D\HWWH County, Idaho, June 12 and in Malheur County, Oregon, last week, said Oregon State Univer- sity Cropping Systems Extension By JOHN O’CONNELL moisture in May, enabling them Agent Stuart Reitz. Capital Press to outgrow the virus damage, The advanced symptoms Marshall warned symptoms, seen on some of the infected ARBON VALLEY, Idaho LQFOXGLQJ \HOORZDQGUHG ÀDJ onion plants suggests they were — Heavy May rainfall has en- leaves, will return at heading. SUREDEO\LQIHFWHGDURXQGWKH¿UVW abled cereal crops infected by Some yield losses and reduced of June, he said. Idaho’s widespread barley yel- test weights are still expected. “That would be really early,” low dwarf virus outbreak to re- “Before the rain, I was pre- said Oregon farmer Bruce Corn, cover, thereby minimizing yield dicting 30 to 50 percent dam- who said the virus can devastate losses, according to University age,” Marshall said, adding RQLRQ¿HOGV of Idaho cereals pathologist Ju- losses should be greatest on dry- ³,WFDQWDNHDZKROH¿HOGRXW liet Marshall. land farms. “I still think we’re in a pretty short amount of time,” Furthermore, Marshall said going to have 10 to 30 percent he said. stripe rust infections haven’t damage.” The virus is transmitted to on- been nearly as rampant as she Marshall anticipated stripe ion plants by thrips and growers initially feared, given the abun- rust would be abundant this are being encouraged to aggres- dance of May moisture and the season, too, but has found only sively manage the tiny insects. disease’s early arrival through- isolated cases, including in Soda “Keep vigilant about watch- out the West Coast. Springs, Magic Valley and Ririe. ing what’s happening in your Marshall began warning of a She believes the combination ¿HOGV´ 5HLW] VDLG ³'RQ¶W ZDLW high potential for problems with of growers moving away from until you get a full-blown infec- the virus last fall, when heavy susceptible varieties, such as WLRQDFURVV\RXU¿HOG´ August rains shattered grain Brundage, and growers apply- Reitz said thrips populations heads and resulted in more vol- ing fungicides along with their didn’t experience their normal unteer plants to support disease herbicides kept stripe rust in die-off rate this year because of a and insects, including the aphid check. relatively mild winter and he be- vectors of barley yellow dwarf. Arbon Valley dryland grow- lieves that is a factor in the early This spring, she said yellow er Hans Hayden said stripe rust appearance of the virus. dwarf was rampant from Trea- hasn’t been a problem in his The mild weather also per- sure Valley to Utah, with the grain this season, even on some mitted the survival of more vol- heaviest infections in Filer, Twin ¿HOGVKHGLGQ¶WVSUD\ZLWKIXQJL- unteer onions, which allow thrips Falls and Buhl. She advised a cide. He believes he minimized to over-winter, he said. few growers to destroy crops his yellow dwarf damage by The region faced less virus and replant. spraying insecticide last fall, but pressure than normal last year Marshall said yellow dwarf he still feared his crops were a and a big reason for that was stunts roots and hinders a plant’s lost cause until rains arrived in onion farmers sprayed for thrips ability to absorb water, so the May. earlier and more often, said Nys- problem was exacerbated by ex- “It’s had so many things pick sa farmer Paul Skeen, president tremely dry weather from Feb- on it,” Hayden said, “but I think of the Malheur County Onion ruary through April. it will be at least an average Growers Association. Though crops had ample crop.” Skeen said it’s critical that Grain rebounding from barley yellow dwarf Sean Ellis/Capital Press $QRQLRQ¿HOGQHDU2QWDULR2UHLVLUULJDWHG0D\7KHLULV\HOORZVSRWYLUXVZKLFKFDQVLJQL¿FDQW- ly reduce yields in onion plants, has appeared in the region earlier than normal. Growers are being encouraged to aggressively manage thrips, which transmit the virus. growers stay on top of their thrips management programs. Skeen, who has farmed for 43 years, used to never spray before WKH¿UVWRI-XQHEXWVSUD\HGWZR times before that date this year. “If people are not staying on top of their spraying, they’re go- ing to get in trouble” he said. 6NHHQVDLGKLV¿HOGVDUHIUHH of the virus but he’s also spraying a lot, which raises his production costs substantially. “We’re at the point now where we’re spending more PRQH\ WU\LQJ WR ¿JKW EDFN WKH thrips than we do on fertilizer,” he said. Plant health plays a major role in controlling the impact of the virus, Reitz said, since health- ier plants are less susceptible to it. Growers can minimize the stress on their onion plants by ensuring they have adequate moisture and fertility levels, he said. “It’s every bit as important to try to minimize the stress on your plants,” said Corn. “If you can keep your plants healthy, (the virus) seems not to be as devas- tating.” Hail causes damage in Pleasant Valley By JOHN O’CONNELL Capital Press ABERDEEN, Idaho — Growers in the Pleasant Val- ley area of southeast Idaho say potatoes and sugar beets are beginning to rebound from a June 15 hail storm, but wheat losses will be more acute. According to the National Weather Service’s Pocatel- OR RI¿FH WKH VWRUP EURXJKW pea-sized hail 8 miles west of American Falls at 5:11 p.m. and quarter-sized hail south- west of Aberdeen by 5:39 p.m. A meteorologist said hail in the Aberdeen area was ab- normally large for the area, and hail completely covered the ground. Aberdeen grower Dirk Driscoll said his potatoes, sugar beets and wheat all sustained damage. Driscoll is waiting for his insurance DGMXVWHU WR ¿QLVK D UHYLHZ RI his potatoes and wheat, which are both covered by crop in- surance. Estimated damage to his wheat ranges from 15 percent to 40 percent. He said spuds should re- cover, but he might lose a few tons in yields. Aberdeen grower Alex Tiede said in two of his potato ¿HOGV WKH KDLO ³WRRN SODQWV down pretty much to stems.” Tiede said he was fortunate WKDWWKH¿HOGVZHUHSODQWHGLQ Ranger Russets, which are known to recover from dam- age better than many other va- rieties, and he’ll watch them closely to see if they yield odd-shaped tubers. “I was pretty pleasantly surprised when we dug they hadn’t dropped any sets,” Tie- de said. Tiede said his sugar beets should have time to recover, 26-1/#4X but he lost up to half of his ZKHDWLQRQHJUDLQ¿HOG Tiede said the storm cov- ered a roughly 3-mile-wide swath near Aberdeen in hail, with the heaviest hail limit- ed to about a half-mile-wide area. ³6RPH ¿HOGV KDOI ORRNV good and the other half you’ve got hardly anything left,” Tie- de said. 26-7/#4x