By Frank Giles The 2022 Citrus & Specialty Crop Expo was held last month in North Fort Myers. Growers from across Florida and beyond gathered for the event that was packed with educational programming and a trade show floor full of exhibitors eager to display their products and services. This year’s general educational session focused on some of the bigger …
Pierce’s Disease Problem for Some Grape Producers
By Clint Thompson Diseases were minimal for grape producers in the Southeast this year, but Pierce’s disease was one that caused problems in some vineyards. University of Georgia Cooperative Extension fruit disease specialist Phil Brannen discussed how widespread the disease has been this year and what growers can do to manage it. “There’s a good bit of Pierce’s disease showing …
USTR Commits to Working Toward ‘Positive Outcome’ for Georgia’s Pecan Growers
U.S. Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA), chair of the Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Commodities, Risk Management, and Trade, received a positive response from U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), Ambassador Katharine Tai, following his recent bipartisan push to the Biden Administration to work to create more favorable trade conditions for Georgia pecan growers and shellers in international markets. In her recent letter to Senator Warnock and the bipartisan …
US Drought Monitor: Minimal Dry Conditions Across Southeast
Thursday’s release of the U.S. Drought Monitor showed minimal drought conditions throughout the Southeast, especially in Georgia and Alabama. Georgia has sufficient moisture with no dry conditions. Alabama’s abnormally dry conditions were restricted to the northwest part of the state including Lauderdale, Colbert, Limestone, Madison, Franklin, Lawrence and Winston counties. Florida’s abnormally dry conditions are isolated to the southeastern part …
Whitefly Research at UGA-Tifton
By Clint Thompson Whiteflies are the basis for Teddy McAvoy’s fall research at the University of Georgia (UGA) Tifton campus. Whether it is testing susceptible varieties or researching alternative methods of whitefly management, the UGA Extension vegetable specialist’s focus is clear this fall; provide growers with better solutions in combating whiteflies. “It’s bad this year. We’re doing leaf counts, and …
Blueberry Growers Support Bipartisan Florida Petition on Mexican Trade Practices
The Florida Blueberry Growers Association (FBGA) added its voice to other agriculture producer groups in support of the Florida delegation’s Section 301 petition to protect the state’s fresh fruit and vegetable farmers from the rapidly rising onslaught of heavily subsidized Mexican produce. “Now is the time to deliver relief to domestic producers under assault from foreign imports, including blueberry growers,” …
Alabama Extension to Host Strawberry Production Meeting
Alabama Extension will hold a strawberry production meeting on Nov. 10 in Jemison, Alabama, beginning at 11 a.m. EST. The meeting will highlight various issues pertinent to strawberry production. Topics include weed management, soil fumigation, disease management, variety selection and budget development. It is a free event and is tailored towards experienced growers as well as beginning farmers. A catered …
Florida Growers Seeing Uptick in Stink Bug Problems
By Clint Thompson The stink bug has increasingly become problematic for Florida tomato growers. Not only must producers scout regularly to see if there are stink bugs in their fields, but they must also decipher what species is impacting their crops. That’s what makes controlling stink bugs such a challenge, says Amanda Hodges, an Extension scientist at the University of Florida …
Farm Bill Conservation Working Group Meetings Scheduled for Florida
Florida’s Local Working Group (LWG) meeting schedule for Fiscal Year 2023 has been announced by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). The NRCS and local Soil and Water Conservation Districts host the LWG meetings, where input and recommendations are discussed to develop solutions using Farm Bill programs. The LWGs provide recommendations to USDA on criteria for conservation activities and programs, and they focus …
Entomologist on the Trail of Invasive Species
The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) has appointed internationally acclaimed entomologist and ecologist Matthew Thomas as director of the new Invasion Science Research Initiative (ISRI). Thomas will establish the framework for ISRI, which will bring together more than 120 UF/IFAS scientists from more than 20 departments currently dedicated to the detection, diversion, tracking and control of nonnative …