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US Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack To Serve Second Term

By , Farms.com

The U.S. Department of Agriculture and White House officials announce that Tom Vilsack will be staying on as Agriculture Secretary for a second term under President Obama.

Vilsack is a former Iowa Governor and will likely be spending the next several months lobbying Congress to pass the five-year $500 billion Farm Bill.

"The secretary has been made aware that the president would like him to continue to serve," Matt Paul, USDA's director of communications, said.


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LALEXPERT: Sclerotinia cycle and prophylactic methods

Video: LALEXPERT: Sclerotinia cycle and prophylactic methods

White rot, also known as sclerotinia, is a common agricultural fungal disease caused by various virulent species of Sclerotinia. It initially affects the root system (mycelium) before spreading to the aerial parts through the dissemination of spores.

Sclerotinia is undoubtedly a disease of major economic importance, and very damaging in the event of a heavy attack.

All these attacks come from the primary inoculum stored in the soil: sclerotia. These forms of resistance can survive in the soil for over 10 years, maintaining constant contamination of susceptible host crops, causing symptoms on the crop and replenishing the soil inoculum with new sclerotia.