Throughout the fall, as the source of supply for mangos is centered in South America, the National Mango Board will continue to push consumption through promotion and public relations.

All year long, the board creates customized promotion with retailers and also continues its effort to garner publicity for the tropical fruit. Megan McKenna, NMB’s director of marketing, said media outreach is a continual process as is the work its does with social media. Its entire marketing campaign goes by the Mangover moniker with several splinter efforts.

Laura Phelps, president of the American Mushroom Institute in Washington, DC, said that for the third consecutive year, mushroom sales have exceeded $1 billion in value, with sales totaling 896 million pounds, according to the annual U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service mushroom survey. Pennsylvania accounted for 62 percent of the total volume of sales and second-ranked California contributed 13 percent.

Stemilt Growers of Wenatchee, WA, and Lantao of Shanghai, China, have teamed up to be the first marketers of Washington-grown Starkrimson pears in China under the new protocol between the United States and China announced earlier this year.

Just like its name implies, Starkrimson pears have a crimson red color that brightens as its ripens. It has a juicy texture and sweet flavor with a floral essence.

Continuing in its direct-to-consumer marketing campaign, the Colorado Potato Administrative Committee will again dovetail with the U.S. Potato Board’s promotional efforts.

Linda Weyers, assistant director of CPAC, said, “Our goal is to educate consumers on the fact potatoes are very nutritious and also non-fattening, and we will be coordinating our message with the USPB’s ‘Hungry Girl’ campaign starting this fall.”

Attendance and sponsorships soared by more than 20 percent over recent years at the 70th annual Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association convention, Sept. 22-25 at the Amelia Island (FL) Ritz-Carlton. State and industry leaders gathered to discuss topics like labor, pending healthcare reform, new varieties coming from the University of Florida research pipeline and the overall state of the industry.

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AMELIA ISLAND, FL — With the Florida citrus market decimated by HLB, also known as citrus greening disease, to the tune of more than $4.5 billion in crops and some 8,300 jobs lost, a new private-public partnership announced at the 70th annual Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association convention at the Ritz-Carlton resort, here, will provide a significant boost for research.