Sweet Potato Studies: Team Studying Guava Root-Knot Nematode

Web AdminNorth Carolina, Sweet Potatoes, Top Posts

By Clint Thompson North Carolina’s top vegetable crop will be under the microscope as part of a $5 million, four-year research project funded by USDA-NIFA’s Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI). Craig Yencho, sweet potato breeder at N.C. State University, is part of an 18-member team studying management solutions for the guava root-knot nematode. He said it was introduced into North …

Sweetpotato Sustainability: N.C. State Using Grant to Study Crop Pest

Web AdminNorth Carolina, Sweet Potatoes, Top Posts

Sweetpotato acreage in the U.S. has increased in recent years, particularly in North Carolina, America’s largest producer. North Carolina State researchers were awarded a grant to ensure sweetpotato remains a sustainably viable crop for years to come. NC State’s Craig Yencho, a William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor of Horticulture, leads a team of university scientists that have been awarded a $5 …

Chlopyrifos Ban to Impact Onion, Sweet Potato Farmers

Web AdminAlabama, Georgia, Onion, Sweet Potatoes, Top Posts

By Clint Thompson The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) recent decision to ban the use of the pesticide chlorpyrifos on all food means onion and sweet potato producers will need to find alternatives in six months. While those options exist, they are not nearly as effective. “There’s a reason all the growers use chlorpyrifos,” said Stormy Sparks, University of Georgia Cooperative …

Sticker Ban: French Legislation Threatens Millions of Dollars to Produce Exports

Web AdminCitrus, Exports/Imports, Sweet Potatoes, Top Posts

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service, a new French ban on the sales of fruit and vegetables with identifying stickers could threaten future exports of U.S. sweet potatoes and grapefruits. The ban is slated to be implemented on Jan. 1, 2022. The report states that most U.S. grapefruits and some sweet potatoes shipped overseas have stickers …

Severe Drought in Alabama Having Little Impact on Produce

Web AdminAlabama, Corn, Fruit, Produce, Sweet Potatoes, Tomatoes, Top Posts, Vegetables, Watermelon

By Clint Thompson A severe drought in Mobile County, Alabama and Baldwin County, Alabama is not negatively influencing fruit and vegetable production, says Joe Kemble, Alabama Extension vegetable specialist. “Most of the veggies down there are irrigated,” Kemble said. “I don’t know anyone that doesn’t irrigate, frankly, in that area.” Irrigation is important in that area right now. In the …

Nutsedge Management Key to Vegetable Production in South Carolina

Web AdminSouth Carolina, Sweet Potatoes, Top Posts

By Clint Thompson Weed management in vegetables is critical for growers in South Carolina, says Matthew Cutulle, Clemson Extension vegetable weed specialist. Especially for sweet potato growers, yellow nutsedge is a problem in South Carolina fields. It will rob sweet potatoes of essential water and nutrients if growers don’t successfully manage it.. “What makes a weed so successful is that …

The Day South Florida Agriculture Changed

Web AdminCorn, Cucurbits, Florida, Fruit, General, Grains, Grapes, Industry News Release, Leafy Vegetables, Mangos, Mushrooms, Onion, Organic, Peaches, Pecan, Pomegranates, potato, Produce, Stone Fruit, Strawberry, Sugar, Sweet Potatoes, Tomatoes, Top Posts, Tropical Fruit, Vegetables, Watermelon, Wheat

Submitted by Gene McAvoy, Regional Vegetable Extension Agent IV Emeritus with UF/IFAS “Up to the end of Feb our growers were having a banner year and it looked like this season would be one of those homeruns that come around every 5-6 years.” Here is a report that I prepared on the state of S Florida ag and shared with …

FDACS Agricultural and Seafood Availability Notice

Web AdminAvocado, Berries, Citrus, Corn, Cucurbits, Florida, Fruit, Grains, Grapes, Industry News Release, Leafy Vegetables, Mangos, Mushrooms, Nuts, Olives, Onion, Organic, Peaches, Pecan, Pomegranates, potato, Produce, Stone Fruit, Strawberry, Sweet Potatoes, Tomatoes, Tropical Fruit, Vegetables, Watermelon, Wheat

(HCCGA) — FDACS has created the attached form for producers to fill out with their product availability. Once submitted, FDACS will utilize to forward to their Fresh From Florida contacts, as well as the Florida Department of Corrections, food banks and make connections with other State Departments of Agriculture in hopes of providing market opportunities to move product during the Coronavirus …

USDA Invests $11M In Research That Will Support Specialty Crop Farmers

Web AdminAvocado, Berries, Fruit, Grapes, Hemp, Hops, Horticulture, Industry News Release, Leafy Vegetables, Mangos, Mushrooms, Nuts, Olives, Onion, Organic, Peaches, Pecan, Pomegranates, potato, Produce, Stone Fruit, Strawberry, Sugar, Sweet Potatoes, Tomatoes, Tropical Fruit, Vegetables, Watermelon

WASHINGTON (USDA-Oct. 3, 2019) — U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Deputy Under Secretary Scott Hutchins announced that the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) has invested $11 million in research that will support specialty crop farmers. “This collaborative public-private research effort will focus on applying innovative solutions to pest management problems that often are otherwise not available to specialty …

Watch Out for Sweet Potato Weevil

Web AdminPests, Sweet Potatoes, Top Posts

By Breanna Kendrick What’s small, black, has six legs and causes a lot of damage to sweet potato crops? The sweet potato weevil. Once this pest is present and fields become highly infested, it’s very difficult to control. The weevil causes unsightly effects to the outside and inside of the sweet potato, making it hard to move the product through …