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June 24, 2016 CapitalPress.com 7 State ines Washington Potato Company for safety violations Company marked as ‘severe violator’ By DON JENKINS Capital Press Sean Ellis/Capital Press An onion ield near Nyssa, Ore., is irrigated in this July 2015 photo. Onion thrips, which can transmit a virus that can devastate onion ields, have made another early appearance in the Treasure Valley area. Devastating onion thrips appear early in Treasure Valley region By SEAN ELLIS Capital Press NYSSA, Ore. — Onion thrips were found in com- mercial ields in the Treasure Valley region in late April this year, much earlier than nor- mal. Thrips are a vector for the iris yellow spot virus, which can severely reduce onion yields. The virus was detected in onion plants the last week of May and researchers said they were likely infected in mid-May. Onion growers in this area historically haven’t been con- cerned about thrips until about Memorial Day and the virus in past seasons has made its ini- tial appearance in July or ear- ly August, said Oregon State University Cropping Systems Extension Agent Stuart Reitz. The virus was detected the irst week of June last year, which was an extremely early appearance, he said. “They’re just coming ear- lier every year,” Reitz said, a development he contributed to the recent warmer than normal winters and early springs. “I think more of their popula- tions survived over the winter so they were out spreading the virus around earlier than we’ve seen in past years.” There are no good biolog- ical methods for controlling onion thrips in the Treasure Valley area of Southwestern Idaho and Eastern Oregon, which produces about 25 per- cent of the nation’s fresh bulb onion supply. The only effective way to control them is by spraying. With their earlier appear- ances, that means growers have to spray more to control them. “If growers are having to spray another month of the season, that’s another huge cost for them,” Reitz said. Thrips, and the virus they transmit to onion plants, will devastate an onion ield if not controlled and not spraying is not an option, said Oregon farmer Bruce Corn. “Sometimes you have to close your eyes to the cost be- cause you won’t have a crop if the virus gets in early and you don’t spray for it,” he said. “As a grower, if you expect to have a crop, you have to be very vigilant and proactive on it.” Spraying for thrips costs between $20 and $100 an acre, depending on what chemical is used, according to Corn and Paul Skeen, president of the Malheur County Onion Grow- ers Association. Because there is a limited number of chemicals available to growers that effectively control thrips, rotating them is critical to avoid the insects building up resistance to them, Corn said. That means growers also have to use the more expen- sive chemicals. Skeen es- timates the average cost of spraying at about $50 an acre. “If you’re spraying eight times, that’s a lot of money,” he said. But, he added, “You won’t have a crop if you don’t.” To try to ind a solution to the thrips problem, OSU re- searchers in Ontario last year started a ield trial with some experimental onion varieties to see if they offer some re- sistance to thrips and the iris yellow spot virus. Some of the varieties showed promise, Reitz said, but it will take several years to test them more, then isolate the beneicial traits and breed them into commercially ac- cepted varieties. Bill would remove population targets for predator ish By TIM HEARDEN Capital Press TURLOCK, Calif. — Con- gress is giving a boost to mo- mentum for leaders to address the predatory ish problem that farm groups believe has led to stricter controls on pumping from the Sacramento-San Joa- quin River Delta. A bill by U.S. Rep. Jeff Denham, R-Calif., that would eliminate population require- ments for striped bass in the Central Valley Project Im- provement Act is headed to the loor of the House of Rep- resentatives. The legislation passed the House Natural Resources Committee unanimously on June 15, and Denham believes its bipartisan support will enable it to sail through Con- gress and be signed by Pres- ident Barack Denham Obama. “It is the congressman’s hope the bill can be passed by the House and Senate soon, especially since the Obama administra- tion supports” the legislation, Denham chief of staff Jason Larrabee said in an email. In an effort to boost ish populations, the 24-year-old CVPIA mandated population doubling for both native spe- cies and non-native predator ish, including striped bass. As a result, millions more acre- feet of water has been lushed through the Delta and out to the ocean rather than being used for other purposes, Den- ham argues. The Turlock lawmaker’s bill comes as the Califor- nia Farm Bureau Federa- tion and Western Growers are among a broad coalition that has petitioned the state Fish and Game Commission to ease or remove ishing controls on several types of bass. The farm groups believe that solving the predator prob- lem could lead to the easing of pumping restrictions that have deprived growers of needed surface water in recent years, Western Growers spokesman Cory Lunde has said. Denham argues that re- moving predator ish from the doubling requirement will also give native ish species a bet- ter chance to repopulate while saving water and money. Since its introduction in February, his bill, the Save Our Salmon Act, has gained support from 15 water agen- cies and irrigation districts throughout California as well as from the U.S. Department of the Interior. “Reclamation and the De- partment appreciate the inter- est in reducing threats to the survival of listed ish in the Bay Delta,” Deputy Assistant Interior Secretary Tom Iseman said in written testimony to the House Natural Resources Committee. A potato processor has been ined $213,160 for repeated safety violations, including one that led to a worker being seriously in- jured, the Washington De- partment of Labor and In- dustries announced June 14. The state initiated an investigation in early De- cember after a worker at the Washington Potato Com- pany in Warden caught his arm in a piece of machinery, an L&I spokeswoman said. Another worker started the equipment without realizing the other worker was clean- ing it. The company had previ- ously been cited three times for not having safety proce- dures to prevent machinery from being started during maintenance, according to L&I. In all, state investigators reported inding ive serious and three general safety vio- lations that the company had previously been cited for, along with 15 other serious violations. The plant is owned by the Oregon Potato Compa- ny, which does business in Washington under the name Washington Potato Compa- ny. L&I has identiied the company as a “severe vio- lator” because of the repeat violations. About 20 busi- nesses have been classiied as severe violators since 2011, the spokeswoman said. The designation could lead to more inspections at the company’s other plants. Efforts to reach the com- pany June 15 were unsuc- cessful. The company can appeal the ine. Other violations cited by L&I included: • In two instances, rotat- ing shafts weren’t equipped with safety guards. • Two employees used a 6-foot aluminum ladder with two broken steps for two months. • An unprotected pul- ley and drive belt exposed workers to broken bones and cuts. • A 15-foot deep waste- water well was uncovered, exposing workers to the risk of drowning. • The company did not properly manage pits, vaults, boilers and other conined spaces that workers must enter. The company did not develop a complete written program to control access and to train workers in safe- ty and rescue procedures. • A loor did not have guardrails to protect workers from a 15-foot fall. • The employer did not cover all electrical wiring and did not ensure extension and power cords were in good condition. L&I conducts about 4,600 safety inspections a year and about eight result in ines of more than $200,000, the spokeswoman said. www.CapitalPress.com 31st Annual Capital Press Ag Weekly Publishes Friday, August 19 th , 2016 Don’t Miss The Chance to Reach 1000’s of Customers! Take advantage of our guide to the Pacific Northwest and California nursery industry. Our special edition will reach our print and online readers one week before the Farwest Nursery Show which runs Aug. 25th - 27th in Portland, OR. If you are an exhibitor at the show or a provider of equipment or services for the nursery industry, let us deliver your advertising message to the perfect audience. Ad space reservation is Friday, July 22 nd . PO Box 2048 • Salem, OR 97308 (503) 364-4798 (800) 882-6789 Fax: (503) 364-2692 or (503) 370-4383 www.capitalpress.com rop-26-4-1/#13 SIXTEENTH ANNUAL SAGE Fact #132 The Columbia River Basin supports the best onion yields of any growing area on earth. 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