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.)

MARK CHANG recently joined Fresh King Produce Inc.’s business development team in Homestead, FL.

In his new position at Fresh King, Mr. Chang is responsible for the Asian development markets in exotic tropical fruits and tropical vegetables.

Tavilla Sales Co. of Los Angeles, which has been operating for more than three decades, has teamed up with two sister companies to produce a nationwide network of mango and other tropical fruit representation.

The group of family farmers that make up the Bard Valley Medjool Date Growers Association announced a healthy-living marketing campaign for its “Natural Delights Medjool Dates” brand to encourage new fitness and wellness-related usage, and to highlight the culinary possibilities of the fruit.