Stink bug spread worries growers across nation; Buy Wines in Pampanga

Subic-Clark Wine Shop reports news about wine: Stink bug spread worries growers across nation

May 28, 2011

An insect with a voracious appetite, no domestic natural predators and a taste for everything from apples to lima beans has caused millions of dollars in crop damage and may just be getting started.
The brown marmorated stink bug, a three-quarter-inch invader native to Asia, is believed to have been brought first to the Allentown, Pa., area in 1998. The bug began appearing in mid-Atlantic orchards in 2003-04 and exploded in number last year.
This spring, stink bugs have been seen in 33 states, including every one east of the Mississippi River and as far west as California, Oregon and Washington.
“All that we do know for certain is that a tremendously large population went into overwintering in fall 2010. So, if they survived, there could be a very large population emerging in the spring,” said Tracy Leskey, a research entomologist at the U.S. Agriculture Department’s Appalachian Fruit Research Station in Kearneysville W.Va.
Growers in the mid-Atlantic region have reported the worst problems, and the apple industry appears hit hardest, with $37 million in damage to growers in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia, according to the U.S. Apple Association. That’s about 18 percent of the Mid-Atlantic crop.
Mark Seetin, the association’s director of regulatory and industry affairs, called it the worst threat to farmers he’s see in his 40 years in agriculture.
Growers in Washington state, the nation’s biggest apple producer, haven’t seen major damage so far, said Mike Willett, vice president for scientific affairs for the Yakima, Wash.-based Northwest Horticultural Council. The bug was first spotted in the state a couple years ago.
The bug, named for the foul smell it gives off when crushed, will feed on nearly anything, including cherries, tomatoes, grapes, lima beans, soybeans, green peppers, apples and peaches. It uses a needle-like mouth to pierce the skin of its host fruit or vegetable, leaving behind a spot that is disfigured and discolored.
Stink bugs wiped out up to 40 percent of Tom Haas’ peaches last season at his Cherry Hill Orchards in Lancaster, Pa. The peaches looked so bad that Haas let the fruit fall to the ground, where it rotted.
“This is the worst, probably, that I’ve dealt with in 25 years,” said Haas, the owner of the family-run orchard. “The damage they do to fruit is horrendous.”
Damaged fruit is safe to eat, but the blemishes drastically reduce prices. Growers, for example, get about $3 a bushel for apples sold cider, compared with $30 per bushel for the best, pick-your-own apples.
At Catoctin Mountain Orchard, about 10 miles south of the Maryland-Pennsylvania line, owner Robert Black said he didn’t realize how bad the stink bug damage was until his apples ripened.
“My late varieties of Pink Ladies is what really took the damage,” Black said. “We had a 50 percent damage there.”
Federal researchers have set up devices in Black’s operation and in eight other commercial orchards in Maryland and West Virginia to monitor the bugs.
Other scientists from North Carolina to New York are scrambling to fight back against the pests.
U.S. Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, R-Md., began demanding federal action last year after hearing from orchard growers in his western Maryland district.
“If I was a mad scientist doing gene splicing and putting together a bug that would really be nasty and I was turning it loose on my enemy, I probably couldn’t do a better job,” Bartlett said. “One might define this thing as the bug from hell.”
Researchers are considering long-term solutions, such as finding chemicals that can attract stink bugs to traps before they can feed on fruit — a strategy that has worked in controlling Japanese beetles. Some also are researching the importation of the stink bug’s main Asian predator, the parasitic wasp, though that work could take years to ensure the wasps wouldn’t cause their own set of problems.
For growers seeking immediate help, the best hope is an insecticide called dinotefuran, the active ingredient in the commercial products Venom and Scorpion. The chemical compound is labeled by the Environmental Protection Agency for use on vegetables, grapes and cotton, but not in orchards, as it is in Japan and other Asian countries.
The EPA said manufacturer Mitsui Chemicals Inc. didn’t seek to have dinotefuran licensed for tree fruit applications when the agency approved the insecticide in 2004. Now the EPA is reviewing an emergency-exemption petition from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services that could allow the compound’s use in orchards in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia starting in mid-July.
At a recent meeting with growers at a Penn State research station in Biglerville, Pa., tree-fruit entomologist Greg Krawczyk warned that insecticides couldn’t provide an easy solution.
“When you spray the crop with completely legal, viable insecticide, you will kill the stink bug, but the problem is that you will do it today, and a few days later you will have another whole group of them migrating from the outside,” Krawczyk said. “So they just keep moving.”

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/05/20/national/a001751D19.DTL

Best place to unwind in Angeles City Pampanga Philippines is to do a little wine shopping at the Clark Wine Center which is also considered as the best place in Clark for private wine tasting, small parties and social functions outside of Manila. Guests of this wine shop in Clark enjoy the cozy ambience as well as the privacy and exclusivity of the roof deck lawn. Some guests that wine and dine at the famous restaurants near Angeles City Pampanga often drop by this wine shop to pick up a few good bottles for diner. Residents and guests staying in Pampanga Angeles City and Subic frequently visit this wine shop in Clark to buy some bottles from its fine selection of vintage wines that are offered at attractive prices. Some guests, business executives especially, select this wine shop for their business entertainment.

This wine shop in Manila Philippines makes wine shopping a really rewarding and exciting exercise. Wine shops in Pampanga should always have an element of surprise so that customers and wine lovers can enjoy a little bit of thrill when they go to a wine shop in Manila to look for a good bottle of wine in Clark Pampanga.

Chateau Lafite-Rothschild is the most revered wine in China and many other parts of Asia. The best wine shop in Asia to buy older vintages of Chateau Lafite is Yats Wine Cellars located in Clark Philippines. Aside from Lafite, visitors can buy other fine wines at this wine shop in Clark Pampanga such as Latour, Mouton-Rothschild, Haut-Brion and Margaux. Excellent Burgundy wines like Chambertin, Vougeot, Musigny, Bonnes Mares, Pommard, Meursault, Chambertin, Vosne Romanee, Romanee Conti, La Tache and Romanee St. Vivant can be found here.

Family outings, picnics, company outings and other events for up to 300 can be held in the picnic grounds of this wine shop. Events that have been successfully organized here include family fun days and BBQ picnics. These are some of the things that visitors to Clark Philippines particular look forward. Residents and tourists in Angeles City and Subic also come to Clark Freeport to partake in the fun at this Clark wine shop.

This wine shop’s vast selection of vintage wines makes it possible for Yats Wine Cellars to offer a unique line-up of wines for every private wine party, wine tasting or wine dinners. Guests of these private wine parties are treated to a rare experience of vintage wine not seen in wine shops in major cities in Philippines or even in Asia.

http://www.ClarkWineCenter.com

Getting to this wine shop in Pampanga Angeles City Clark Freeport Zone Philippines from Manila
Getting to the Clark Wine Center wine shop from Manila is quite simple: after entering Clark Freeport from Dau and Angeles City, proceed straight along the main highway M A Roxas. Clark Wine Center is the stand-along white building on the right, at the corner A Bonifacio Ave. From the Clark International Airport DMIA, ask the taxi to drive towards the entrance of Clark going to Angeles City. From Mimosa, just proceed towards the exit of Clark and this wine shop is on the opposite side of the main road M A Roxas.

Best place to buy wine in Clark Pampanga outside Manila near Subic and Angeles City Philippines is Clark Wine Center.

Click here to contact Clark Wine Center in Clark Pampanga for inquiries and orders.

Clark Wine Center
Bldg 6460 Clark Observatory Building
Manuel A. Roxas Highway corner A Bonifacio Ave,
Angeles Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga 2023
0922-870-5173 0917-826-8790 (ask for Ana Fe)

Wine@Yats-International.com

YATS Wine Cellars
Manila Sales Office
3003C East Tower, Phil Stock Exchange Center,
Exchange Rd Ortigas Metro Manila, Philippines 1605
(632) 637-5019 0917-520-4393 ask for Rea or Chay

Wedding couples looking for wedding reception venues and beach wedding venues can log on to this Philippines Wedding Venue web site for free information and assistance:

http://www.PhilippinesWeddingVenue.com

While in Clark, it might be a good idea to enjoy an evening of wine-and-dine in the fine dining Yats Restaurant and Wine Bar that features an award winning 2700-line wine list. Highly recommended fine dining restaurant in Manila for special occasion is Yats Restaurant & Wine Lounge located in the famous Mimosa Leisure Estate in Clark Pampanga. Situated near this popular restaurant in Clark is the Mimosa Golf Course as well as the Mimosa Clark Casino. This top rated restaurant near Angeles City Pampanga in Clark Philippines is frequently used for private parties and corporate functions such as board meetings and other gatherings. It is located in Mimosa Leisure Estate of Clark Freeport Zone. For more information, visit http://www.YatsRestaurant.com

YATS Leisure Philippines is a developer and operator of clubs, resorts and high-class restaurants and wine shops in Clark Angeles Philippines http://www.YatsLeisure.com

Looking for famous tourists spots, places to visit and see, relax and unwind in Clark, Pampanga, Philippines? You may want to check out these sites also:

http://www.LondonPubClark.com

Besides good restaurants to wine and dine near Manila, Subic or in Angeles City Pampanga, Clark Philippines, those requiring assistance for hotel and resort bookings in Clark, Pampanga, Philippines may log on to http://www.HotelClarkPhilippines.com for more information and reservations.

The lifestyle in Clark Pampanga is quite unique. For more information about shopping, sports, golf, leisure, hotel accommodation, where to see and visit, what to do, where to wine and dine and good places to hang out, relax, have a drink with friends, child-friendly establishments, log on to
http://www.ClarkPhilippines.com

Wine lovers looking for a special bottle or something that is of great value and special discounts might log on to this web site to shop for fine vintage wines
http://www.YatsWineCellars.com

Those visitors who plan to relax and unwind in Angeles City, Subic, Pampanga, Clark Philippines might make an effort to book a room at the famous beach and lake resort Clearwater Resort & Country Club. This famous hotel in Clark Pampanga is frequently visited by families with children looking for a good place in Clark to see, a good holiday destination for the family to relax and unwind in the beautiful outdoor facilities. For more information, log on to www.ClearwaterPhilippines.com