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By Clint Thompson Grafted plants provide watermelon growers a costly solution in their fight against fusarium wilt. Josh Freeman, regional sales manager with TriEst Ag Group, estimates the added costs to double what a normal watermelon plant would be. While the added expense is not ideal, it provides farmers a guaranteed solution in their fight against the annual plant disease. …
By Clint Thompson The harvest/marketing window for North Florida’s watermelon crop is not open for very long. That is why it is imperative that growers in the Suwanee Valley maximize their crop potential every year. They plant early and harvest the crop before the watermelon industry moves north to Georgia. It is the same scenario for watermelon-producing states up and …
By Clint Thompson Christmas season has come and gone. Homeowners are busy taking down the lights, packing up the decorations and cleaning up the mess following the annual holiday celebration. They must also decide on what is to be done with the Christmas trees. Artificial ones are stored again for another year. Real trees must be dealt with differently. Fortunately, …
By Clint Thompson Chill hours are up across the Southeast region, which is a positive development for fruit tree producers who need chill hours to produce a crop. Edgar Vinson, assistant research professor and Extension specialist in the Department of Horticulture at Auburn University, provided an update on chill hours in Alabama. “I think we’re doing pretty good. We’re about …
By Clint Thompson An Alabama Extension Christmas tree field research trial produced positive results pertaining to fertilizer management. It also yielded trees for military troops stationed across the country. Jeremy Pickens, Alabama assistant Extension professor in horticulture at Auburn University, and his research team at the Gulf Coast Research and Extension Center in Fairhope, Alabama, used a three-year Specialty Crop …
Plant City, FL – Chuck Hollenkamp, Wish Farms Director of Strawberry Grower Relations, was honored with the Florida Strawberry Growers Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award at its annual gala. This prestigious recognition celebrated Hollenkamp’s four decades of leadership and dedication to the Florida strawberry industry. “Chuck’s ability to build lasting relationships and his steady leadership have been instrumental to our success,” …
By Clint Thompson Neopestalotiopsis (Neo) management has taken center stage in recent years for Southeast strawberry growers. Producers must still be mindful of other disease issues that could arise this production season. Phil Brannen, University of Georgia (UGA) Cooperative Extension fruit disease specialist, highlighted phytophthora during an interview with AgNet Media. “We’ve gotten so concentrated on Neopestalotiopsis, we forget about …
By Clint Thompson One group, one shared message. That is what makes a 38-group coalition, including the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association (GFVGA), stand out. It continues its unified pursuit for a fair and reasonable adverse effect wage rate (AEWR) within the H-2A. “There’s so much good work going on in this space by various groups across the industry, …
WASHINGTON – Beginning in late December, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will spend several months gathering information about farm economics from farmers and ranchers throughout the United States, as the agency conducts the third and final phase of the 2025 Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS). “The data will help inform decisions on local and federal …
By Clint Thompson Strawberry production is progressing in Alabama. Growers who received their plants and put them in the ground in a timely fashion have an advantage over those who didn’t, according to Edgar Vinson, assistant research professor and Extension specialist in the Department of Horticulture at Auburn University. “The earlier that you can get the strawberry plants in the …
