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Election Day Commentary: Career Politicians or Dedicated Public Servants?

Web AdminAgri-business, Fruit, Labor, Tomatoes, Trade, Vegetables, Watermelon

By Gary Cooper, Founder/President AgNet Media Sometimes the timing of events can really make us think. Over the weekend, our nation lost one of its greatest public servants. Senator John McCain was nothing less than a statesman his entire adult life. Not once in all the recent news media coverage did I see him referred to as a “career politician.” …

The State of Organic Vegetable Production in Southern Georgia

Web AdminOrganic, Top Posts, Vegetables, VSCNews magazine

By Timothy Coolong Southern Georgia is a powerhouse for wholesale fresh-market vegetable production. The vegetable industry in Georgia was valued at over $1 billion in 2015, with more than 170,000 acres in production, according to the University of Georgia’s 2015 Georgia Farm Gate Value Report. SIZE AND SCOPE The vegetable industry in southern Georgia is also extremely diversified, with more …

Citrus Expo’s Expanded Program Exceeds Expectations

Web AdminIndustry News Release, Top Posts, Vegetables

Citrus Expo’s broadened program brought new faces and additional learning opportunities to Florida’s leading agricultural event. Held in North Fort Myers, Florida, on Aug. 15–16, Expo attracted its largest and most diverse audience ever of growers, industry professionals and vendors. The event included a sold-out trade show of nearly 200 exhibitors and an educational program themed “Planting Tomorrow’s Profits.” Kicking …

Research Team Targets Whiteflies

Web AdminPests, Top Posts, Vegetables

By Breanna Kendrick and Abbey Taylor The University of Georgia whitefly team is made up of research and Extension entomologists, plant pathologists and horticulture specialists. All of these professionals are involved in whitefly research across commodities such as peanuts, soybeans and vegetables. The team is doing research and education on whiteflies and the diseases that they vector. “It’s really just …

Vegetable and Specialty Crop Seminars Pack a Punch

Web AdminFruit, Produce, Research, Top Posts, Vegetables

The 27th year of Citrus Expo is expected to be the biggest year yet with an added vegetable and specialty crop educational program. AgNet Media has always relied on University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences professionals to help create an informative program for growers. This year, Gene McAvoy, a regional vegetable Extension agent, led the efforts in …

Rid Your Crop of Caterpillars

Web AdminFruit, Pests, Research, Top Posts, Vegetables

Different species of caterpillars can be detrimental to fruit and vegetable crops in the Southeast. Ayanava Majumdar, Extension entomologist with the Alabama Cooperative Extension Service, says although recent storms in the Southeast have slowed down moth activity, pests are still looming due to the heat. According to Majumdar, armyworms seem to be active. Beet armyworms are usually the first insects …

Fusarium Wilt Attacks EAA Lettuce

Web AdminLeafy Vegetables, Research, Top Posts, Vegetables

Lettuce is an extremely important crop in the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA), and now it is facing a new disease. Richard Raid, associate center director and professor of plant pathology at the Everglades Research and Education Center (EREC), says he has been working in the EAA for 30 years and this is the first instance of fusarium to appear in …

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FDACS Begins Efforts to Eradicate Exotic Fruit Fly

Web AdminEnvironment, Fruit, Industry News Release, Produce, Stone Fruit, Vegetables

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) has positively identified the presence of three Oriental fruit flies, Bactrocera dorsalis, in south Miami-Dade County. The initial fly was discovered during routine trapping, and additional flies were discovered during expanded trapping activities. The department, along with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, monitors more than 56,000 fruit fly traps statewide as an …

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UF/IFAS Researchers May Use Fungi to Control Deadly Crop Disease

Web AdminFruit, Industry News Release, Research, Strawberry, Tomatoes, Vegetables, Watermelon

A group of fungi might fight a disease that’s dangerous to tomatoes and specialty crops. University of Florida scientists hope to develop this biological strategy as they add to growers’ tools to help control Fusarium wilt. Tomatoes are the number one vegetable crop in Florida. In 2017, approximately 28,000 acres of tomatoes were commercially harvested, with a production value of …