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October 6, 2017 CapitalPress.com 5 Court Growers get latest Cosmic Crisp horticultural tips reverses expanded insecticide label in California By DAN WHEAT Capital Press By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press The expanded use of a controversial pesticide in Cal- ifornia has been reversed by a state appeals court due to insufficient review by state regulators. A three-judge panel of the California Court of Appeal has agreed with an environ- mental group that the Califor- nia Department of Pesticide Regulation didn’t adequately scrutinize the effects of di- notefuran before approving increased usage in 2014. Dinotefuran is a type of neonicotoid, a class of pes- ticides that are considered less harmful to humans, mammals and birds than tra- ditional organophosphate in- sect killers. In recent years, though, neonicotinoids have been blamed for the health prob- lems of honeybees and other pollinators. Two types of dinotefuran — Venom Insecticide and Di- notefuran 20SG — were ap- proved by the agency in 2014 to be applied in larger quan- tities and on additional types of crops. The Pesticide Action Net- work North America, or PAN- NA, sought an injunction against the decision but a state judge denied the environmen- tal group’s motion. The Court of Appeal has now reversed that rul- ing, ordering the California Department of Pesticide Regulation to rescind the pesticide label amendments permitting expanded use of dinotefuran. The agency didn’t live up to the review requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act because it didn’t explore alternatives to ex- panding the use of dinotefu- ran, the ruling said. The agency argued that such an alternatives analysis wasn’t necessary because the approval didn’t have signif- icant environmental effects. However, the court said it was “perplexed” as to how the department could reach such a conclusion, since neon- icotoids in general are being re-evaluated by the agency in response to data showing the chemicals can build up to tox- ic levels in bees. The department also ne- glected to study the cumula- tive effects of the expanded usage and did not establish a “baseline” of ongoing neon- icotinoid use in California, which is necessary to measure the environmental impacts, the ruling said. ROCK ISLAND, Wash. — Me- chanical pruning works well on Cos- mic Crisp apple trees by the fourth year and cutting the tips of one-year- old limbs controls growth better than limb bending. Those were main points growers learned at a Washington State Univer- sity field day at Sunrise Research Or- chard south of Rock Island, Sept. 27. Cosmic Crisp is the new WSU- bred apple tree the industry is starting to plant in a big way with plans for the first apples to hit grocery stores in the fall of 2019 and quickly ramp up thereafter. Promoters say Cosmic Crisp is a great eating apple with great flavor and good crispness and firmness that consumers will love more than Hon- eycrisp, one of its parents. It stores well without storage disorders such as water core, internal browning and superficial scald that hampers other varieties. Perhaps its only negative is vigor- ous growth causing too much spac- ing between fruit, called blind wood, resulting in fruit on the outer edges rather than closer to tree trunks where desired. Stefano Musacchi, WSU tree fruit physiologist, “now believes that’s better controlled by cutting the tips of one-year-old limbs and cutting tips in subsequent years rather than by bend- ing limbs down,” said Karen Lewis, WSU Extension tree fruit special- ist. Musacchi calls it click pruning. Dan Wheat/Capital Press Stefano Mussachi, WSU tree fruit physiologist, shows growers a Cosmic Crisp apple tree in spindle tree style at the WSU Sunrise Research Orchard near Rock Island, Wash., in spring of 2016. Growers are keen on learning horticultural aspects of what the industry hopes will be a great new variety. Bending limbs down actually creates more blind wood, according to a tip sheet the scientists wrote for growers. Apple trees produce the plant growth regulator auxin in their stems and shoot tips, inhibiting bud forma- tion. Cutting limb tips or girdling or notching every foot of a trunk on two- year-old trees interrupts auxin flow allowing more buds to form where desired. The tip sheet gave equal credence to spindle and biaxial (two trunks off one) tree structure for good fruit coloring and automation and mecha- nization of pruning and harvest while European V is more problematic for mechanized pruning and harvest. “At the end of the day, Cosmic Crisp responds well whether vertical or angle (V),” Lewis said. “Growers need to put the math to it (what’s profitable) and their ability. They’ll do what they know.” Musacchi is now experimenting with a fourth tree structure, what he calls top grafting which is grafting Cosmic Crisp onto stumps of other varieties above their rootstocks to de- velop three trunks, she said. Lewis has focused a lot on me- chanical pruning, also called hedging. Mechanical pruning in June elimi- nates blind wood by producing buds closer to stems and produces higher quality fruit, she said. “We’ve also noticed that in the first couple of years when hedging the tree responds vigorously (more growth), but in the fourth year it settles down and gives you the tight narrow canopy you’re looking for,” she said. But it can result in smaller fruit, which is something to consider, she said. LEGAL IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE STATE OF OREGON COUNTY OF MARION Probate Department IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF Katina Elizabeth Hatzantonis, Deceased No. 17PB06169 NOTICE TO INTERESTED PERSONS NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that Rocco Faren has been appointed Personal Representative of the above entitled estate. All persons having claims against the estate are required to pre- sent them to the Personal Representative in care of the below named attorney within four months after the date of the first publication of this notice as stated below, or such claims may be barred. All persons whose rights may be affected by the proceedings in this estate may obtain additional information from the records of the Court, the Personal Representative, or the attorney for the Personal Representative. Attorney: L. E. ASHCROFT 510 SW Fiftth Ave, 6th Flr Portland, OR 97204 legal-40-4-1/999 DATED and first published this 6th day of October, 2017. Personal Representative: ROCCO FAREN ROP-40-2-1/102
