By Clint Thompson The dawn of another strawberry season brings added concern of Neopestalotiopsis Fruit Rot disease. The disease that has devastated the state’s strawberry crop since the 2018-19 season is the top concern for producers heading into the season. What can be done to manage the disease, which can cause leaf spots on strawberry plants? Natalia Peres, a Professor …
Wet Summer to Impact Fall Crops
By Clint Thompson Persistent rainfall in summer and early fall may favor conditions for foliar and soil-borne diseases in vegetable crops, particularly those that are caused by water molds or oomycetes, says Bhabesh Dutta, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension vegetable plant pathologist. “Saturated soils can promote damping off, seedling blight and root rot in transplanted vegetables, especially in low lying …
Downy Mildew Disease Detected on Watermelon in Georgia
According to the University of Georgia Extension vegetable blog, downy mildew disease has been detected on watermelon in Ben Hill County, Georgia. Downy mildew is among the top diseases of cucurbit crops, like cucumbers, watermelon, squashes and pumpkins. It can destroy plant foliage and cause the leaves to curl and die. This leaves the plant vulnerable to blisters and sunscald …
Fall Season Means Increased Risk for Florida Vegetable Producers
By Clint Thompson The dawn of another fall vegetable season in Florida means increased risk for producers, especially when compared to spring production. “The fall generally has more risk exposure than the spring does,” says Josh Freeman, University of Florida/IFAS Associate Professor in Horticultural Science. “You worry about whiteflies, you worry about tropical weather. You have all these things to …
Automation: Future of Farming Today
By Clint Thompson The future of vegetable and specialty crop farming is now – or at least it needs to be. With labor a major concern, Southeast producers’ future may rest with automation, says Wes Porter, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension irrigation and precision agriculture specialist. “Labor prices are going up. Labor is getting harder and harder to find,” Porter …
Updates in South Carolina: Clemson Extension Provides Timely Information
Clemson Extension agents provide updates in the The South Carolina Grower this week about the status of various crops being produced throughout the state. Weekly Field Update 7-19-21 Statewide Dr. Tony Keinath’s remarks on fungicide stewardship: Growers who are applying newer fungicides that are pre-mixes of two active ingredients do not need to add another fungicide to the tank mix. …
Citrus Achievement Award Winner Talks New Varieties and COVID-19 Lessons Learned
See what Larry Black of Peace River Packing Company has to say in Part 1 of this exclusive Q&A series.
Sweet Future for Papayas in Florida?
By Clint Thompson University of Florida/IFAS research yielded profitable options for tropical fruit producers yearning to produce a new crop. That crop is papaya. “It’s about more options and de-risking the process,” said Alan Chambers, plant geneticist at UF/IFAS Tropical Research and Education Center. Chambers conducted research at the UF/IFAS Tropical Research and Education Center in Homestead and featured various …
Wet Summer Expected to Stay That Way
By Clint Thompson A wet summer is expected to stay that way for the foreseeable future, according to the National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center. Pam Knox, University of Georgia Extension Agricultural Climatologist, discusses the impact. “So, last year was wet from all of the tropical activity. We’re just at the beginning of this tropical season this year, so we’ve …
Time to Overhaul U.S. Agricultural Policy
By Zhengfei Guan Since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) renegotiation, the U.S. produce industry has been actively pursuing policy changes to counter increasing foreign competition. This competition, particularly from Mexico, has caused great challenges to the sustainability of the domestic industry. I have participated in policy discussions and testified at two recent hearings. The first was on seasonal …