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By Clint Thompson Watermelon harvests are underway in Georgia. It’s not the big, seedless melons, which are still a few days away. Mini melons were being harvested last week. Jaime Patrick, Patrick Family Farms in Omega, Georgia, said his mini melons were being harvested, starting on Thursday, June 6. “We’ll do 15 buses a day, something like that. It isn’t …
By Frank Giles San Jose scale is one of the more problematic pests peach growers in the Southeast must manage. Since the early 2000s, San Jose scale has emerged as a one of the region’s most common and damaging pests. Spread The scale is a prolific breeder. According to the University of Georgia (UGA), the female can produce about 10 …
Florida strawberry growers can use less pesticide and save money as they attempt to control chilli thrips, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) research shows. An invasive pest in the southeastern United States, chilli thrips was introduced to the United States from Southeast Asia. The first report in Florida came in 1991 in Okeechobee County and …
By Clint Thompson The current hot and dry weather conditions have one University of Georgia (UGA) entomologist concerned that whitefly and spider mite pressure will soon intensify in vegetable crops. Stormy Sparks, UGA Cooperative Extension vegetable entomologist, talked about both insects during a vegetable training with Extension agents last week. “Right now, we’re worried about whiteflies building up. They’re very, …
The lack of rainfall continues to be observed in the central and southern regions of Florida, while Georgia and Alabama are mostly enjoying sufficient moisture, according to Thursday’s release of the U.S. Drought Monitor. Moderate and severe drought conditions dominate the central and southern areas of Florida. Severe drought starts as far north as Hillsborough, Manatee, Hardee, Highlands, Osceola and …
Atlanta, Ga – Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper announced on Friday that Georgia citrus growers voted overwhelmingly in favor of the marketing order proposed by the Georgia Citrus Commodity Commission. Established in 2023 to support Georgia’s burgeoning citrus industry, the Citrus Commodity Commission will collect a two-tenths-of-cent-per-pound assessment on marketed Georgia citrus. It will be used to fund research, education …
The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Gulf Coast Research and Education Center hosted a hops field day in early June. The event included a tour of the center’s hops yard and educational presentations on growing the crop. Much of the hops used in brewing beer is grown in Washington and Oregon. Shinsuke Agehara, UF/IFAS associate …
WASHINGTON – The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) have announced appointments to the newly established Seasonal and Perishable Agricultural Products Advisory Committee. Members from Georgia and Florida were selected to the committee, including Chris Butts, executive director of the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association and Mike Joyner, president of …
By Clint Thompson A lack of a spring freeze not only allowed Alabama peach producer Jackson Reeves to field a bumper crop this year, it enabled him to capitalize on early varieties that are usually the most vulnerable to cold damage. “We don’t grow a whole lot of these early varieties because they usually get killed, but we do have …
Peach harvests are currently being held across the Southeast. Like neighboring Georgia, Alabama is experiencing a strong crop this year due to adequate chilling and the lack of a late-spring freeze event. AgNet Media’s Will Jordan spoke with Edgar Vinson, assistant research professor and Extension specialist in the Department of Horticulture at Auburn University, about this year’s peach crop.
