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Below you'll see everything we could locate for your search of “freeze events”
By Clint Thompson Chill hours are no longer a concern for fruit tree growers across the Southeast. The main worry now is with potential late-season freeze events following recent warming temperatures, according to Pam Knox, University of Georgia Extension agricultural climatologist. “I would say probably right now the fruit farmers are the No. 1 concern that I have because they’ve …
By Clint Thompson Two straight seasons of spring freeze events has one Alabama blueberry farmer ready to modify how he manages his blueberry crop. Jimmy Ferguson said this year’s late-season freeze impacted between 30% and 40% of his rabbiteye crop and about 20% of his highbush. That followed the freeze in 2023 that completely wiped out his 25-acre farm. “We’ve …
By Clint Thompson Crop insurance is a necessity that all growers need to utilize. Alabama’s specialty crop producers need only to look back at March to see how one weather event changed the outlook for an entire crop. Blake Thaxton, executive director of the Alabama Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association (AFVGA), said the sub-freezing temperatures over multiple days especially impacted …
By Clint Thompson Peach lovers already know there will be slim pickings with this year’s crop. Unfortunately, that equates to about 5% in middle Georgia, estimates Jeff Cook, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension agriculture and natural resources agent for Peach and Taylor counties. “We really don’t have anything to harvest. If we have peaches, they’re going to be mid-June to …
By Clint Thompson The impact on Georgia peaches from two March freeze events is still under review, though trees were negatively affected. There was no way they couldn’t have been, especially with the unseasonably warm temperatures in February. “It’s been bad as far as the cold. It’s not what we need, it’s what I was afraid was going to happen. …
By Clint Thompson Florida’s conventional blueberry growers dodged the proverbial disease bullet this past season following a late January freeze event that impacted the Southeast. Georgia’s producers were not so fortunate with a mid-March freeze event, says Phil Harmon, professor and Extension plant pathologist at the University of Florida. “The big story early in the year was the late freeze. …
By Frank Giles and Clint Thompson The freeze that struck Florida in late January and early February brought the coldest air to the state in more than a decade. Freezing temperatures caused significant damage to specialty crops across the state. In many areas, the frigid temperatures held for hours, exacerbated by high winds that thwarted freeze-protection efforts many growers tried …
By Clint Thompson Florida’s tomato industry was one of many crops impacted by the recent freeze events. Preliminary estimates of losses to the tomato industry reported by Ag Commissioner Wilton Simpson were $164.2 million. But it should not take long before the crop rebounds this year, according to Robert Guenther, executive vice president of the Florida Tomato Exchange. “I came …
The Georgia citrus industry now has a better grasp on the extent of damage to the state’s crop following the recent freeze events in February and January. Dieback is present in both younger and older trees, says Mary Sutton, University of Georgia (UGA) assistant professor and citrus Extension specialist. “For most of the older, established trees that have gotten some …
By Clint Thompson Alabama peach growers have enough chill hours to make a crop this year. Now comes the hard part; avoiding a late-season freeze event that could devastate a crop. Edgar Vinson, assistant research professor and Extension specialist in the Department of Horticulture at Auburn University, discussed that unfortunate scenario with AgNet Media during the recent Alabama Fruit and …
