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By Clint Thompson North Florida watermelon producers should be wary of increased potential for fusarium wilt disease with planting season looming. The current El Niño weather pattern is offering cooler temperatures and wetter conditions, says Nick Dufalt, a plant pathologist with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. “I think being cooler always promotes fusarium wilt. Having …
By Clint Thompson Rainfall is important this time of year for pecan production in the Southeast. On the heels of another harvest season, trees can use the rain during the winter months – just like what occurred across the region on Tuesday – to sustain high production during the following season. Lenny Wells, University of Georgia Extension pecan specialist, speaks …
AUBURN UNIVERSITY, Ala. — The Alabama Cooperative Extension System is hosting the second annual Spray Drone End-User Conference on Feb. 26-29 at The Lodge at Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores, Alabama. The first conference was held virtually in 2023, with 220 people in attendance. This year, Steve Li, an Alabama Extension weed scientist, and his team are offering the conference …
By Julien Beuzelin and Anna Mészáros Maggots feeding on silks, kernels and sometimes the cob of sweet corn ears harvested in Florida represent the greatest insect pest threat to the state’s fresh market sweet corn industry. These maggots are the larvae of three fly species known as corn silk flies. What to Look For Although the maggots of the three …
By Calvin Odero Weed management is essential in sweet corn production to maximize yield and quality. Effective weed management practices minimize competition for nutrients, water and sunlight and help prevent diseases and pests that often thrive in weed-infested fields. Sweet corn weed management programs in South Florida are mainly comprised of chemical weed control, which includes pre-emergent herbicides applied after …
By Clint Thompson Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr is imploring the Department of Labor (DOL) to explain the Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR) and pause the scheduled increases producers are saddled with this year. In a letter addressed to Julie Su, Deputy Secretary of Labor, and Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture, Carr stressed that the DOL’s updated rule would have …
By Clint Thompson The Alabama Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association (AFVGA) reminds those interested in attending its annual conference, scheduled for Feb. 14-16 in Gulf Shores, Alabama, that the registration deadline is just around the corner. Blake Thaxton, executive director of the AFVGA, provided an update on registration numbers with the deadline just days away. “(Registration) is scheduled to close …
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced loan interest rates for January 2024, which became effective Tuesday, Jan. 2. USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) loans provide important access to capital to help farmers start or expand their farming operation, purchase equipment and storage structures or meet cash flow needs. “I encourage our lenders and borrowers alike to work with our local offices …
Drought-like conditions still persist across areas in the Southeast, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Alabama has the most drought, including extreme conditions in the northwest corner of the state in Colbert and Lauderdale counties; and parts of Franklin, Lawrence and Limestone counties. Extreme drought is also reported in Northeast Alabama in Shelby, Talladega, Saint Clair, Blount, Calhoun, Etowah and …
By Frank Giles Georgia is the third-largest fresh market producer of sweet corn in the United States with about 27,000 acres per season. Sweet corn is also the second-most valuable vegetable crop produced in the state. Consumers love sweet corn, but so do corn earworms (CEW), which have become increasingly problematic. With virtually zero tolerance for CEW in fresh sweet …
