New Standards List for Squash

Zucchini and yellow summer squash that have been engineered to resist certain plant diseases, including zucchini yellow mosaic virus and watermelon mosaic virus, will now have to be identified as “squash (summer, coat protein mediated virus-resistant varieties).” Before, they were identified solely as “squash (summer),” and the new mandate is designed to be more specific.

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USDA Grants $3.2 Million Toward Whitefly Research | VSCNews

Researchers will focus specifically on vegetable systems and find long-term sustainable solutions to manage whiteflies and whitefly-transmitted virus complexes. There are three whitefly-transmitted viral pathogens, which are known to reduce the quality of vegetable crops, specifically cucurbits: cucurbit leaf crumple virus, cucurbit yellow stunting disorder virus and sida golden mosaic virus.

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