It may be the end of the season for many South Florida vegetable and specialty crop producers, but preparations should already be made for the upcoming fall season. According to the South Florida Pest and Disease Hotline, field sanitation is one of the most important management tools that producers utilize. It’s essential that growers clean up crop residues after harvest. …
New Blueberry Cultivar Selection Tool
A new University of Florida (UF)/IFAS tool can help blueberry producers decide what cultivars are best for their farming operation. The UF/IFAS blueberry breeding program has developed a new cultivar module of the UF/IFAS Blueberry Growers Guide, available for download at: iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/uf-blueberry-growers-guide/id1535258711 Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=co.austn.ss.blueberry The app includes a scouting guide that can help farmers scout their fields for diseases, …
Thrips Infestations Causing Damage in Central Florida
According to the South Florida Pest and Disease Hotline, vegetable producers in West central Florida report that chili thrips are wreaking havoc in pepper and watermelon fields. Thrips are causing serious damage to watermelons and peppers in the Plant City area of Hillsborough County. It’s been a carry-over effect in most cases. Thrips have moved over from the strawberry crops …
Georgia Farmer: Every Week’s a Different Challenge
By Clint Thompson The hits just keep on coming for vegetable and specialty crop producers across the Southeast. If it’s not fuel prices skyrocketing, it’s a pallet shortage sweeping across the country. If it’s not high labor costs or having enough labor availability, it’s having to contend with increased imports. “Every week’s a different challenge, it seems like, something; either …
Nematode Issue: Pest Still a Problem for Vegetable, Specialty Crop Producers
By Clint Thompson Nematodes were not any less of a problem this year for Florida producers. But they weren’t any worse, either, said Johan Desaeger, Assistant Professor of Entomology and Nematology at the UF Gulf Coast Research and Education Center. “They’re always bad in Florida. But if they were worse this year or not, it’s hard to tell. When I …
Disease Alert: Downy Mildew Observed in North Florida Watermelons
University of Florida/IFAS Extension agents in the Suwanee Valley area are confident downy mildew disease is in the region’s watermelon crop. Producers need to spray for this disease, also known as “wildfire.” Spray programs especially need to be initiated in the southern parts of the Suwannee Valley region, including in Levy and Gilchrist counties, where the first reports of the …
Florida Blueberries: Best Year in a Long Time
By Clint Thompson What a difference a year made for Florida blueberries. A year ago amid the early onset of COVID-19 and consistent imports from Mexico, prices were down for most of the season, about 50% of the historical average farmers would normally get, according to producer Ryan Atwood. This year’s crop, though, was helped by consistent prices for most …
Potential Benefactors: Broadband For Rural America Act Would Aid Precision Ag
By Clint Thompson The Broadband For Rural America Act, introduced Thursday by Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson, Republican Leader of the Agriculture Committee, would vastly improve farming operations. Precision agriculture concepts have become more widespread in their use. They improve the efficiency and profitability of producing and harvesting a crop by working the different parameters that affect that crop’s growth. These techniques …
Fertilization Keeps Watermelons ‘Happy’
By Clint Thompson Fertilization remains a vital part of the watermelon production season up until harvest time, says Bob Hochmuth, UF/IFAS Regional Specialized Extension agent in Live Oak, Florida. “One harvest, every five to seven days let’s say, it’s the second and the third and the potentially fourth harvest that we need to make sure we’re taking care and keeping …
South Florida’s Vegetable Production Ends With a ‘Whimper’
By Clint Thompson South Florida’s vegetable season started off strong but ended with a “whimper,” according to Gene McAvoy, associate director for stakeholder relations at the University of Florida/IFAS. “It was pretty strong there in January and February. Then Mexico started coming in with more product, especially in April,” McAvoy said. “It varies by crop. Sweet corn had probably the …