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The 27th year of Citrus Expo is expected to be the biggest year yet with an added vegetable and specialty crop educational program. AgNet Media has always relied on University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences professionals to help create an informative program for growers. This year, Gene McAvoy, a regional vegetable Extension agent, led the efforts in …
By Breanna Kendrick Tom Beckman, a research horticulturist with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service located in Byron, Georgia, is primarily responsible for developing new rootstocks for the Southeastern peach industry. Beckman spoke at the Stone Fruit Field Day in Citra, Florida, about peach diseases and how they influence rootstock development for the Southeast industry. He …
By Doug Phillips With rising costs and declining availability of harvesting labor, blueberry growers are increasingly interested in considering machine harvesting for their crops. Cost is a particularly important factor because of declining profit margins due to competition from lower-cost areas of production. PROS AND CONS Hand harvesting produces high-quality fruit, but can cost between $0.70/pound and $0.90/pound for local …
By Breanna Kendrick With the heavy rains during the 2018 watermelon season, Georgia growers in the Colquitt County area have seen an increase in gummy stem blight in their melons. Jenna Kicklighter, a University of Georgia vegetable agent in Colquitt County, spoke with many growers this year about their season. “Gummy stem blight is the number-one disease growers had the …
Before returning to Washington, D.C., U.S. Congressman Ted Yoho stopped by AgNet Media’s Gainesville office to discuss the farm bill. The House and the Senate both passed their versions of the farm bill. Now, an appointed committee will hammer out the details of the separate bills to combine it into one. There is a massive amount of crucial policies for …
Different species of caterpillars can be detrimental to fruit and vegetable crops in the Southeast. Ayanava Majumdar, Extension entomologist with the Alabama Cooperative Extension Service, says although recent storms in the Southeast have slowed down moth activity, pests are still looming due to the heat. According to Majumdar, armyworms seem to be active. Beet armyworms are usually the first insects …
Microbial communities are at the center of Sarah Strauss’ presentations during the Citrus Expo educational program. Strauss, an assistant professor of soil microbiology at the Southwest Florida Research and Education Center, will speak in the vegetable and specialty crop session at Citrus Expo. Strauss will focus on microbial communities in vegetable crops. She will discuss how manipulation of these communities …
By Breanna Kendrick Cabbage is inflicted with numerous insect pests and plant diseases, but black rot has been the leading threat to the Georgia cabbage industry for years. Black rot is caused by the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris. Bhabesh Dutta, vegetable Extension pathologist at the University of Georgia, has been focusing his research on this disease. One reason for …
Fusarium wilt has been a problem in watermelon for several years. A new race of the disease makes it even more of a struggle to deal with. Nicholas Dufault, assistant professor and Extension specialist in the Plant Pathology Department at the University of Florida (UF), says race three fusarium wilt was recently found in the United States. According to Dufault, …
The White House on Tuesday backed Florida’s effort to secure federal funding for a reservoir intended to move water away from Lake Okeechobee and reduce discharges that residents blame for repeated toxic algae outbreaks spreading on both coasts. The request by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to include funding for the roughly $1.6 billion Everglades Agricultural Area Reservoir, approved …
