ANNUAL BAR-B-QUE & EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM

As you may have noticed, we did not meet as we have for the past decade for our typical June BBQ and educational program. But so you won't go hungry for nutrition and knowledge, our Pecan Growers' Association has scheduled this event for Tuesday, July 16, 2002.

The Annual BBQ and Educational Program will be held at the newly dedicated Victoria County 4-H Activity Center, 259 Bachelor Dr. This is located two blocks north of the Extension office located in the Victoria Airport complex. The program will start at 7:00 p.m. with registration and touring of the facility at 6:30 p.m. Our Pecan Growers' Association has donated money towards the building of this facility over the past 5 years. Also, several of our pecan growers have donated money too! Come see our great facility.

Bill Ree will be our guest speaker. (Yes, he promised to really come this year and you don't have to listen to me again.) Bill Ree is a County Extension Agent - IPM stationed at College Station. Bill works the entire state and is in charge of pecan insect pests. He'll address what he was supposed to address last year only with one more year of knowledge behind him. His main topic will be the results of the Pecan Nut Casebearer Traps and the Pecan Scouts in DeWitt, Lavaca and Victoria counties. He will also address the ever increasing problem of the stink bugs and leaffooted bugs in pecans. His program will be worth one hour of IPM credit for pesticide applicators.

A barbeque dinner will be provided free to all Victoria pecan grower members (dues are due now and are only $5.00 per person), or anyone else may attend by calling our office at 361-575-4581 and paying $5.00 for the meal. Everyone, please call by July 12 to reserve a meal for this event.

TEXAS PECAN BOARD TO HOLD ELECTION

The Texas Pecan Board will hold elections in August to elect three board members where current members' terms are expiring. The Board was established in 1998 after pecan growers throughout Texas voted into effect a one-half-cent-per-pound pecan assessment to provide funds for promotion and research.

Nine pecan producers serve on the board. When the initial board was elected in 1998, the nine directors drew lots for two-, four- and six-year terms. Board members whose four-year terms are expiring in 2002 are: Glenn Honaker of Fort Stockton, Peggy Haney of Stephenville and LeRoy Olsak of San Angelo. Also currently serving on the board are Errol John Dietze of Cuero, Mike Adams of Henderson, Craig Ivey of El Paso, Paul Leonard of Fort Worth, Kinley Sorrells of Comanche and Rodney Myers of Brownwood.

Nomination forms for candidates who wish to have their names included on the ballot may be obtained from Texas Pecan Board, PO Box 5976, Bryan, TX 77805. Nomination forms may also be obtained from county Extension agents. Nomination forms will be available after June 26, 2002 Nomination forms must be filed with TPB no later than July 24, 2002.

Any eligible voter-producer may place his or her name in nomination to serve as a director on the TPB. Nomination forms must be signed by the applicant and 10 other eligible voters. Eligible voters are those pecan producers in Texas who are subject to the one-half cent pecan assessment; i.e. pecan producers with at least 15 acres on a minimum of 15 acres.

For more information on the election or the assessment program, contact the Texas Pecan Board at PO Box 5979, Bryan, TX 77805-5979 or call tole-free 877-873-2267.

CROW AND BLUE JAYS

(Edited from Texas Animal Health Commission letter)

Crows and Blue Jays are making the news and it's not in the pecan orchard although pecan growers need to aware of what's going on. West Nile Virus (WNV), a form of "sleeping sickness," was confirmed June 18 in two dead blue jays found on the northwest side of Houston. Veterinarians at the Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC), the state's livestock health regulatory agency, are urging owners of horses, mules, donkeys and other equids to ensure that their animals have been vaccinated against not only West Nile Virus (WNV), but also against Eastern and Western Equine Encephalitis (EEE) and (WEE), two common forms of "sleeping sickness."

Dr. Conger said that the cycle of disease for WNV requires two key players: birds, such as crows, blue jays or hawks, that act as a reservoir for the virus, and mosquitoes that become capable of transmitting disease after they take a blood meal from an infected bird. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia, there have been no documented cases of person-to-person, animal-to-person or animal-to-animal transmission of WNV. "We consider humans and equids to be 'dead-end' hosts, because they can become ill but haven't been shown to spread infection. "Late last summer, infected birds were detected in Louisiana and Arkansas,"said Dr. Conger. "Now with the confirmation of infected birds in our state, the Texas Department of Health will probably find infected mosquitoes through their surveillance activities."

"To help reduce the possibility of WNV transmission, don't give mosquitoes a place to breed," said Dr. Conger. "Keep only fresh water in birdbaths and troughs and maintain optimal chlorination in swimming pools. Drain any flowerpots or other containers that hold stagnant water and keep roof gutters clean. Control puddles that collect around stables. "Dr. Conger commended the TDH on its WNV disease surveillance, which includes testing mosquitoes, dead crows, blue jays, hawks and sampling zoo birds. He said "freshly" dead crows, blue jays or hawks can be submitted for laboratory examination, by calling the nearest regional Texas Department of Health office or the Texas Department of Health in Austin at 1-512-458-7255." Always wear gloves when handling a dead bird, and wash your hands thoroughly afterward," warned Dr. Conger. "The bird could have had parasites or other illnesses, and precautions are always advisable when handling animals that have died of unknown causes."

Dr. Conger reminded livestock owners that, as always, the TAHC operates a 24-hour hotline for taking reports of unusual signs in livestock, including: 1. staggering, falling, or inability to rise 2. illness affecting a large percentage of animals 3. sudden death loss 4. blistering around an animal's lips, teats or hooves 5. unusual ticks or maggots. Watch for these signs and report them immediately to us at 1-800-550-8242. Additional information about the West Nile Virus can be accessed on the internet at:

http://www.tdh.state.tx.us/zoonosis/disease/arboviral/westnile/westnile.asp.

PECAN WEB SITES

While on the subject of web pages, take a minute and check these out. Try the USDA/ARS Pecan Breeding and Genetics Lab at http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/carya/tamuhort.html. Also try the Texas Pecan Growers Association (TPGA) at http://www.rtis.com/reg/tpga. The TPGA was formed in 1921 and was incorporated in1967. The association serves as a spokesperson on behalf of it's members on subjects pertaining to the pecan industry. The TPGA is engaged in many activities to promote the pecan industry.

I love this name for the National Pecan Shellers Association http://www.ilovepecans.org. They too have a neat web page. This is your industry. Check them out. Do a search for "pecans" and see what you get! Maybe build your own pecan web page.

FALL WEBWORMS

(From Bill Ree's Pecan Newsletter)

Fall webworms (FWW) are quite common on pecans across the state with the heaviest infestations in towns. Most of the time in commercial orchards they are not an economic problem. Earlier this month I made some observations on a FWW infestation in a pecan orchard in Brazoria county where we had an insecticide trial for pecan nut casebearer. Insecticides evaluated in this PNC test were Lorsban 4E, Confirm 2F, SpinTor 2SC and an untreated check. I made a follow up observation in the treatment plots for FWW on June 11, 2002. Each tree in a block of trees 5 rows by 8 trees were examined for the presence of FWW webs. The following table shows infestation rate and density. Webs observed in the Confirm and SpinTor treated trees were much smaller, usually only one compound leaf rather than entire terminals as observed in the untreated check and Lorsban treatment.

	Webs Per Tree
Treatment 1	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
Check	22	7	3	4	2	1	0	0	0	1
Lorsban 4E	21	9	3	1	0	4	0	1	1	0
Confirm 2F	35	4	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
SpinTor 2SC	38	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

1/ Treatments applied May 7 - 10, 2002 for PNC. Lorsban 4E@ 2 pts/acre; Confirm 2F @ 8 ounces /acre; SpinTor 2SC @ 4 ounces/ acre.

Sincerely,

Joseph D. Janak, Jr. Sam Womble

CEA - AG CEA - AG/NR

Victoria County Victoria County

JDJ:SW:vaf

cc: Lin Wilson