By Clint Thompson Certain areas of the Southeast continue to feel the sting of lingering dry conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. The Florida Panhandle is especially abnormally dry. Conditions are worsening in Northwest Florida where Escambia County and Santa Rose County are classified in a moderate drought. Abnormally dry conditions stretch eastward to Nassau County and Duval County …
Better Now Than Later: Vidalia Onions Should Recover After Wind Damage
By Clint Thompson High wind speeds a week ago bruised some of Georgia’s Vidalia onion plants. Fortunately, it happened now as opposed to two months later closer to harvest. That’s the feeling shared by Chris Tyson, University of Georgia Extension Area Onion Agent at the Vidalia Onion & Vegetable Research Center in Lyons, Georgia. “That bruising where the onions got …
UGA Extension Pecan Production Meeting Sites Announced
University of Georgia Cooperative Extension has announced upcoming pecan production meeting sites for January through March. All meetings are slated to be lunch meetings unless noted otherwise. Here is a list of the scheduled meetings: Jan. 27, Cook County; Feb. 1, Laurens County; Feb. 3, Grady County; Feb. 8, Appling County; Feb. 15, Peach County; Feb. 16, Pierce County/Ware County; …
Insecticide Rotation Key in Long-Term Management of Whiteflies
By Clint Thompson Insecticide rotation when managing whiteflies remains key to long-term success in the Southeast. It has to be if growers want to avoid insecticide resistance developing. Stormy Sparks, University of Georgia (UGA) Cooperative Extension vegetable entomologist, believes farmers have improved in recent years in protecting their insecticides for the future. “The same chemistries that we rely on, primarily …
Southeast Regional Fruit and Vegetable Conference Produces Excitement, Big Crowd
By Clint Thompson The return of the Southeast Regional Fruit and Vegetable Conference yielded a huge crowd and excitement among farmers reuniting again for the first time in two years. Chris Butts, executive vice president of the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association, said on Friday the attendance was about 2,700 with pre-registration between 1,600 and 1,700. “Our attendance numbers …
Avoid Fungicide Resistance Development in Peaches
By Clint Thompson Avoiding fungicide resistance in peach production is front and center of Phil Brannen’s presentation this week at the Southeast Regional Fruit and Vegetable Conference in Savannah, Georgia. The University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Fruit Disease Specialist cautions producers about overusing products like Miravis to protect against peach scab disease. “The thing about Miravis that’s tempting is it’s …
Rains Alleviate Some of Dry Conditions in Southeast
By Clint Thompson Recent rains alleviated some of the dry conditions being felt across the Southeast region, especially in Georgia and Alabama, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Only a small part of North Georgia remains abnormally dry, including Union County, Fanning County, Gilmer County, Dawson County, Towns County and Lumpkin County. Only a couple of counties in South Georgia …
Blooming Problem: Warmer Temps Leading to Early Blueberry Blooms
By Clint Thompson Warmer temperatures in previous months led to earlier blooms for blueberry plants in the Southeast. That’s not good news for farmers, says Georgia producer Russ Goodman, co-owner of Cogdell Berry Farm in Clinch and Lanier counties. “We’ve got a lot more bloom right now than we would want I can tell you that. It’s not a good …
Georgia Pecan Estimate: Diminished Crop Compared to 2020
By Clint Thompson Georgia’s final pecan total this season is estimated to be less than half of its total in 2020. While that’s not a surprise to growers and industry leaders, it’s still a tough pill to swallow following last year’s 142 million pounds of production. “I don’t think it’s going to be much over 50 million pounds, if that,” …
Algal Stem Blotch Becoming Widespread in Georgia
By Jonathan Oliver Wet weather during 2021 contributed to the development of several significant disease issues on Georgia blueberries. Throughout the summer of 2021, rainfall across Georgia’s blueberry production belt was considerably above normal, and issues with phytophthora root rot and algal stem blotch were widely reported across southern Georgia during late summer and fall. Phytophthora root rot is one …