By Clint Thompson
This year’s Suwanee Valley Watermelon Institute meeting brought together experts and Extension agents from the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) with North Florida producers to highlight the industry and certain trends that will impact production next season.
Mark Warren, UF/IFAS Extension agent in Levy County, discussed the meeting that was held on Dec. 5 in Fanning Springs, Florida.
“I think this is a great event, and it grows every year. It’s probably the premier watermelon event, at least for Florida, if not the South Georgia, North Florida region, as far as the number of participants. As much as anything, I think the producers being able to make contact with the vendors that they deal with and make sure they’re building new relationships with new people and new products,” Warren said.
“As far as the research, we like to brag on ourselves and say it’s a great way to deliver new research to them and it is. It does give us a great opportunity to let them know where the research money is going and what kind of things to be looking for on the horizon.”
Some of the research that was highlighted included grafted plants and their importance against fusarium wilt, a growing problem in the region; paper mulch and its effectiveness against nutsedge; and irrigation automation, a topic discussed during a farmer panel.