 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
By Clint Thompson North Florida and South Georgia watermelon producers must be aware that fusarium wilt disease is showing up across North Florida. Bob Hochmuth, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Regional Specialized Extension agent in Live Oak, Florida, said in his weekly email that the disease has also been observed in UF/IFAS research trials. Symptoms …
The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) has issued management strategies that blueberry growers should implement for April. Diseases For disease management, producers should apply suggested fungicides in rotation for control of disease threats like anthracnose and/or Alternaria fruit rot. Prompt harvests and cooling of ripe fruit is also important. One tool that growers should also …
Drought continues to wreak havoc in the Southeast region. In the April 16 release of the U.S. Drought Monitor, conditions are worsening across North Florida, South Georgia and Southeast Alabama. Florida Exceptional drought is being observed over a large portion of the North Florida area, starting in Gulf, Calhoun and Jackson counties, spreading eastward to Alachua, Union and Baker counties. …
By Kevin Barley As growers seek alternative crops, bamboo has been considered, especially on ground fallowed after citrus greening has taken out groves across the state of Florida. Researchers at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) have been searching for viable alternative crops. In 2016, a small bamboo farming industry began developing in Florida, gaining …
Strawberry growers pour roughly $130 million a year, nationally, into a surprisingly stubborn problem: a part of the plant that sabotages fruit production. These fast-growing offshoots – called “runners” – stretch out from the mother plant, siphoning energy that would otherwise go into plump, market-ready berries. University of Florida doctoral student Kaitlyn Vondracek wants to help farmers solve this costly …
(Lansing, MI) — U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins announced the availability of more than $275 million in grant funding in FY2026 for the specialty crop industry in the United States through the Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI), the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP), and the Specialty Crop Multi-State Program (SCMP). Thanks to the Working Families Tax Cuts, …
By Clint Thompson Count Alabama’s strawberry growers as one ag group benefiting from the current hot and dry weather conditions. David Lawrence, regional Extension agent in central Alabama, explains why. “It’s good for the strawberries. The strawberry guys are loving it,” Lawrence said. “Not a lot of berries are going to waste being as dry as it is.” Extreme drought …
By Clint Thompson An increase in temperatures throughout Georgia makes for challenging working conditions for farmers having to maintain crops this time of year. They are, however, favorable growing conditions for watermelon plants in the region. Watermelons prefer to grow under hot and dry conditions, says Tim Coolong, professor and Extension specialist in the University of Georgia College of Agricultural …
By Clint Thompson Neopestalotiopsis (Neo) disease in strawberries has garnered much of the headlines in recent years for Southeast producers. But other diseases can still leave a mark on production if growers are not careful. One, in particular, is a huge concern, says Phil Brannen, University of Georgia (UGA) Cooperative Extension fruit disease specialist. “Phytophthora is still a problem. Not …
By Clint Thompson Not to have hurricanes or tropical storms to impact the Southeast last year was good news in that extensive damage was avoided in the region. But it was bad news in that the region missed out on rainfall which has spawned the current drought conditions in Florida, Georgia and Alabama. “In the summer in Georgia, I think …
