Foul Stink Bug Targets Wine Grapes
August 27,2011
The Asian brown marmorated stink bug that has swept into 33 states and the District of Columbia, destroying peaches and apples along the way, has a new target: wine grapes. Researchers tasked with tracking the bug and finding a way to kill it now say that wineries in Virginia and out west in Oregon, Washington, and parts of California are under attack.
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“Some vineyards and some growers have been wiped out in the last year,” says Virginia Rep. Frank Wolf, who is taking the lead in Congress on the issue. “They are devastating the vineyards.”
With peaches, apples, and even berries, the major issue is the visible damage a stink bug does. On apples, for example, the bug will insert its tongue into the fruit and suck, leaving a “corky dry area” that’s visible to shoppers, says Tracy Leskey, an Agriculture Department entomologist who’s co-leading a national working group researching the stink bug. “It looks bad,” she says, though it won’t affect the flavor.
But with grapes, the bugs stick to the clumps of fruit during the picking season and can end up in wine presses. Wolf says that just 10 stink bugs crushed into one ton of grapes can ruin the wine. Finding a couple on each hand-sized clump is typical, so winery workers have to pull the half-inch-long bugs off by hand or use an organic pesticide at harvesting, he says.
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Wolf adds that other crops are also now under stink bug attack, including corn, tomatoes, and soybeans. Leskey says the shield-shaped bug has also become a huge pest in homes, a double whammy few other insects pose, as it moves across the country. “They are a very good hitch-hiker. The potential for moving across the country is high,” she adds.
Because the stink bug arrived in the United States only in the late 1990s, there hasn’t been enough time to find the right pesticide or natural foe, though the Environmental Protection Agency is considering allowing fruit growers to use dinotefuran, a powerful poison.
One possibility under study is a tiny wasp, the size of a comma in this story, that is the stink bug’s natural predator in Asia where it helps to keep the offensive bug’s population in check. The non-stinging wasp lays its eggs in the eggs of the stink bugs, on which the baby wasps then chow down. But the entomologists are being extremely cautious to make sure the wasp wouldn’t cause any other damage. Says Wolf, “You’ve got to be careful that you don’t introduce something that is as bad or worse than what you have.”
Kim Hoelmer, the research entomologist studying the wasp, says it so far hasn’t shown to be dangerous to anything else. “They only attack stink bug eggs. If they don’t find stink bug eggs, they die,” he says. “We know it’s not likely to become a pest,” he adds.
But testing will take time, about two more years, before the wasp will be approved and introduced to orchards, gardens and vineyards.
Clark Wine Center is more than a wine shop to people living in Pampanga Angeles City Clark Freeport Zone. Clarkâs wine shop is also a popular venue for parties and family gatherings. Conveniently located on the main highway of Clark Philippines, it is accessible to guests from Manila, Subic, Pampanga, Angeles City and of course those who live and work in Clark. Aside from the 2-storey wine shop which also has a nice roof deck lawn for small party of up to 80 people as well as an indoor wine tasting room which accommodates up to 60 comfortably, this wine store called Clark Wine Center also has one hectare of picnic grounds surrounding it.
Best birthday gift to send to someone living in the Philippines is a nice bottle of wine from Yats Wine Cellars. Delivery of birthday wine can made to Manila, Angeles City Pampanga, Clark Philippines and Subic.
Wine Shop Manila offers best luxurious beers in Philippines called Vintage Beer.
Birthday gift of wine is the most popular gift idea this year in Philippines. Yats Wine Cellars offers birthday wine gifts that are unique and certain to make the recipient very happy. These birthday wines are not available in wine shops so it is a unique bottle of wine for the recipient.
This Manila Wine Shop is the largest wine shop in Philippines. This is the wine shop to go for fine vintage wines, not just the big names like Lafite, Latour, Petrus, Cristal, Krug, Grange, Vega Sicilia and Sassicaia. This wine shop in Manila offers many excellent vintage wine for under p4,000, even for some that are 20-30 year old from St. Emilion and Pomerol.
Best place to buy wine in Clark Pampanga outside Manila near Subic and Angeles City Philippines is Clark Wine Center. Visitors buy wine in Manila and Pampanga should not miss stopping at this wine shop for a few bottles of fine vintage wines to bring home.
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.
Clark Wine Center
Bldg 6460 Clark Observatory Building
Manuel A. Roxas Highway corner A Bonifacio Ave,
Angeles Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga 2023
(045) 841 4006 / 0922-870-5173 / 0917-826-8790 (ask for Ana Fe)
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
Best place to buy wine in Clark Pampanga outside Manila near Subic and Angeles City Philippines is Clark Wine Center.
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:
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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. 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.HotelClarkPhilippines.com
http://www.ClarkPhilippines.com
http://www.YatsWineCellars.com
Yats Restaurant is an excellent Restaurant to dine, a restaurant with good food, a good place to have birthday party and special events. A Kid-friendly restaurants in Manila
Famous Restaurant in Pampanga, a place to dine with friends in Clark, cozy restaurant with a nice ambience, a nice function place for special occassions
Are you looking for an attractive restaurant or a nice place to eat with friends in Clark, Angeles City Pampanga? Yats Restaurant and Wine Bar is a restaurant with good food and good wines for dinner located at Clark Angeles City Pampanga. Perfect for exclusive dinner venues for groups, recommended for private dinner in Philippines. A Restaurant in Clark for business dinner meeting. Private dinner place or dinner restaurant in Clark Subic Near Manila Angeles City Pampanga. Yats Restaurant is one of the Good Restaurant in Pampanga Angeles City Clark near Manila.
www.YatsRestaurant.com
Looking for interesting hotels near Manila Subic Clark Angeles City Pampanga?
Trouble free hotels and well recognized hotels in Subic Clark Angeles City Pampanga
Clearwater Resort and Country Club offers a good place to stay in Subic Clark Angeles City Pampanga. In offers nice place to have rest in Subic Pampanga outside Manila.
One of the Philippines top hotels in north Luzon.
Where to go in Clark? Hotel Clark Philippines is a De Luxe Hotel in Clark and Subic, a risk free place to stay, cozy and nice ambience, a nice function place for special occassion
www.HotelClarkPhilippines.com
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