New SARE Fact Sheet Available on Tomato Grafting

Growers and researchers around the world using tomato grafting demonstrate that grafting can protect plants against a variety of soil-borne diseases in various climates and conditions. SARE has a new fact sheet, Tomato Grafting for Disease Resistance and Increased Productivity that helps farmers and agricultural educators learn how to graft tomatoes to fight disease and improve the health and vigor of tomato crops.

Grafting is particularly useful in High Tunnel culture where crop rotation options are limited. Grafting has been successfully used to battle diseases like Verticillium and Fusarium wilt, corky root rot and bacterial wilt, among others. Along with maintaining high fruit quality, tomato grafting can also help overcome crop stressors such as salinity, excess moisture and soil temperature extremes, and extend the growing season and increasing total marketable yield.
- Wes Kline and Jack Rabin

Fresh Market Green Bean Company Seeking NJ Growers

C&E Farms is a grower packer shipper of fresh market green beans, based on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. They partner with over 45 growers in Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, covering 3500 acres.

C&E Farms has decided to expand their program in NJ. They are specifically looking for irrigated acres. The requirement of irrigation is to have consistent quality and supply of green beans for sales.

C&E Farms has contacted South Jersey Rutgers NJAES Cooperative Extension Agricultural Agents to disseminate information to growers about this new opportunity. A meeting with C&E Farms will be held on December 15th at the Woodstown Diner in Salem County.
For more information email: Justin Colson justincolson@cefarms.com

Posted by Michelle Infante-Casella, Agricultural Agent

Should you offer price discounts or coupons to increase retail vegetable sales?

Coupons versus offering price discounts at retail; which is likely to be more effective at increasing consumer purchase behavior of fruits and vegetables? The USDA ERS recently asked this marketing question. The answer has implications for Jersey produce grower and retail marketing strategies.
-Jack Rabin