New York Farm Viability Institute Website Press Releases 

PRESS RELEASE: November 6, 2006
Contact: Brian A. Nault, NYS Agricultural Experiment Station, 315-787-2354

Snap Bean Growers, NYFVI-Funded Cornell Researchers Working to Fight Virus; National Processor, Other Crop Producers Interested in Results

Syracuse, NY -- In Batavia, NY, grower Pete Call plants every day for eight weeks starting in the spring and hopes to harvest his 2500 acres of snap beans from late July to the first of October, with the later harvests usually producing the best yield and the best quality. But since 2000 cucumber mosaic virus has steadily hurt New York’s snap bean crop that is worth about $12.8 million for processing and $23 million for fresh market sales.

“We need help. This virus has become a catastrophe, ruining mid and late season yield and quality. If we don’t do something, it will put us out of business,” Call says.

With funding from the New York Farm Viability Institute, Inc., Cornell University entomologist Brian A. Nault and plant pathologist Denis A. Shah are working with Call and other Western New York growers to learn how to predict when cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) is most apt to occur and to equip growers with tools for combating its costly effect. Currently, none of the commercial varieties of snap beans are CMV-tolerant.

The research team that includes Cornell Horticulture Professor Alan Taylor, virologist Marc Fuchs, and Cooperative Extension Vegetable Specialist Julie Kikkert is focused on determining which varieties of snap beans are most affected by CMV and, more importantly, which beans are the most tolerant. Tolerant beans may become infected, but without dramatic losses in yields.

“If we can anticipate that a certain variety could lose yield to the virus based on when it is planted, we can provide growers and Bird’s Eye with a risk model to help adjust their acreage and variety selections accordingly, particularly for late season plantings,” Nault says.

Not only are New York’s growers concerned about the threat of cucumber mosaic virus, so is Bird’s Eye Foods, which contracts 20,000 acres of New York-grown beans for processing. Michael Gardinier, agricultural operations director for Bird’s Eye Foods, Rochester, NY, estimates losses of snap beans to CMV and other viruses since 2001 to be $5.7 million. He
says Bird’s Eye looks forward to learning about CMV-tolerance levels in the snap beans evaluated by this NYFVI-funded project. The results will help guide decisions concerning contracted acreage devoted to these varieties.

Because CMV affects melons, cucumbers, some squashes, tomatoes, dry beans and peppers, the growers of those crops are also watching this project closely.

The New York Farm Viability Institute, Inc. is a farmer-led, nonprofit corporation that invests in innovative research, education and technical assistance for NY’s agricultural producers. Projects emphasize direct producers involvement and focus on practical business goals. Contact: NYFVI, Inc., 159 Dwight Park Circle Suite 104, Syracuse, NY 13209, 315-453-3823, www.nyfarmviability.org. # # #