The Hoosier State has officially created a branding program designed to bring global focus to homegrown produce and production. Indiana Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman announced the launch of Indiana Grown at the Artisan Market at the Indiana State Fair Grounds on March 30.

A new style of retail consumer packs for fresh grapes, which was seen to a limited degree last year, appears to have burst into widespread popularity for the 2012 season. It is a gusseted, often high-graphic stand-up bag with a handle, which some refer to as a grab-and-go bag.

Similar style bags have been used for some time now for various food products, and have begun to find application in other produce commodities as well.

CLOVIS, CA — Onion thrips, a serious onion pest that can also carry a viral disease affecting onions, and the development of resistance to pyrethroid insecticides by onion thrips has become a global problem. "We continue to have a problem with onion thrips, and we are very concerned about iris yellow spot virus," which is transmitted by the thrips, said Robert (Bob) C. Ehn, chief executive officer and technical manager of the California Garlic & Onion Research Advisory Board, here, in an interview with The Produce News.

After two years of late starts for the grape harvest in California's San Joaquin Valley, the 2012 season appears to be on track for a more normal start date, according to growers.

The earliest vineyards in the valley are expected to be ready for the first picking by late June. Many growers with vineyards in the southern end of the valley expected to start a day or two after the Fourth of July. By July 15, early varieties as far north as Tulare and Fresno counties are expected to be ready for harvest.

VINELAND, NJ — It’s difficult to change a name, especially one that is well known and well respected in an industry.

Some people still say they will send a package overnight via “Federal Express,” even though the company officially became “Fed Ex” in 1994. Tell folks you’re driving on the Gov. Thomas E. Dewey Thruway, and they may not know where that highway is until you use the more familiar term, the New York State Thruway. And does anyone really call the tallest building in the United States the Willis Tower? (That’s the former Sears Tower, in Chicago.)