By Clint Thompson
Watermelon harvests have started across the Suwanee Valley Region of North Florida.
Bob Hochmuth, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Regional Specialized Extension agent in Live Oak, Florida, pointed out in his weekly email that harvesting has begun across multiple farms.
“I think by the time we get to the end of the week it’ll be nearly everybody. I can’t swear that it will be everybody,” Hochmuth said. “There’s a couple of farms that plant late anyway, but I think for all practical purposes, just about everybody will have started by the end of this week.
“It’s on par with recent years. With all that they went through early in the season, I actually am a little bit surprised that we have as many fields that were started in the last few days. I thought we would be pushed back a little bit more as we actually were.”
Mid-March Freeze
The most challenging part of this year’s season was the cold event in mid-March, a few weeks after some of the crop in the Suwanee Valley was planted. But it did not deter the crop’s growth for the rest of the season.
“I think the recovery from the cold damage was just more rapid than we might have thought. The watermelon, even though it had to start over in some cases, physiologically, it was ready to start setting fruit, which it did,” Hochmuth said. “Even though the plants were pushed back, the fruit set was probably not pushed back at the same level.”
Hochmuth emphasized that growers should be aware that spider mites and yellowing plants related to squash bugs have been observed. Few instances of powdery mildew disease, gummy stem blight and Alternaria leaf blight have also been observed. Producers do not need to spray for downy mildew year as it has yet to be confirmed as of May 15.