Sept. 4, 2012
DCNR: Next
South Mountain Lecture to Focus on the Challenges of Keeping Fruit Healthy
Harrisburg – Efforts to keep fruit healthy in the orchards
around the southcentral region will be the topic of the next lecture in the
South Mountain Speakers Series on Saturday, Sept. 8, at the Penn State
University Fruit Research and Extension Center at 290 University Drive, Biglerville,
Adams County.
The
brown marmorated stink bug has caused considerable crop losses for fruit
growers at the same time populations of native pollinators have significantly
declined.
At
1 p.m., David Biddinger, biocontrol specialist and researcher at the PSU Fruit
Research and Extension Center, will discuss some of these challenges, followed
by a tour of the FREC outdoor research facility.
“Fruit
growers are constantly encountering new invasive species and diseases that
threaten the health of the numerous orchards that dot the South Mountain area,”
said Allen Dieterich-Ward, an associate professor of history at Shippensburg
University and the chair of the South Mountain Partnership committee on the
speaker series. “Participants will find out how scientists and growers combat
these threats to the South Mountain fruit belt, and learn more about research
programs during a tour of the center’s grounds.”
Light
refreshments will be served.
Dieterich-Ward
added that Biglerville is a great starting point for the Gettysburg Wine and
Fruit Trail (http://www.gettysburgwineandfruittrail.com).
“Participants
should consider arriving in the area early or staying after the event to
explore the fruit markets, restaurants, vineyards and beautiful scenery of
Adams County’s fruit belt,” he said.
This is the third year for the South Mountain Speakers Series,
envisioned as a revival of the talks given by Joseph Rothrock in the late 19th
century as part of his work to preserve and restore Pennsylvania’s forests and
natural landscape. Rothrock, a Pennsylvania
native, was a pioneer in forest management in the United States and is often
referred to as the state’s “Father of Forestry.”
This event is sponsored by the Penn State FREC, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Penn
State Mont Alto campus, Gettysburg Wine and Fruit Trail and the South
Mountain Partnership.
The South Mountain Partnership, made up of private citizens, bus inesses, nonprofit organizations and government
representatives in Adams, Cumberland, Franklin and York counties, works to protect
and enhance the region’s landscape.
The partnership was sparked by DCNR’s Conservation Landscape
Initiative, an effort to engage communities, local partners, state agencies and
funding opportunities to conserve the high-quality natural and cultural
resources while enhancing the region’s economic viability.
The series will continue at the Go Local For Health Summit
with keynote speaker Gina Calhoun of the Copeland Center. The summit is Sept.
18 in Gettysburg. Calhoun will discuss the link of mental health to
healthy eating, exercise and access to the outdoors. Registration is
required.
For more information about the speaker series, visit http://southmountainspeakers.blogspot.com/
or call the Appalachian Trail Conservancy at 717-258-5771.
Some of the earlier lectures in the speaker series can now be found on
Youtube at http://www.youtube.com/user/SouthMtnSpeakers.
Media contact: Christina Novak, 717-772-9101
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