By Tripti Vashisth Unlike citrus, peaches are deciduous fruit trees. Deciduous trees shed their leaves during the late fall and early winter and undergo dormancy. During this dormant stage, a certain amount of cold weather (measured by an accumulation of chill units) is needed to resume normal growth in the spring. When the cold weather requirement for dormancy is fulfilled, …
Old Fruit Crops Could Offer New Opportunities
By Kevin Folta Someone walking from Key West to the Carolinas 200 years ago would not likely find any of the crops found in modern produce sections. While there are a few distant cousins of blueberries, onions and tomatoes growing in the wild, the dominant commercial crops grown in the Southeast were brought here from somewhere else. Tomatoes, strawberries, citrus …
How to Prevent Accidentally Infesting Fields When Moving Equipment
Source: The South Carolina Grower From Clemson Plant Pathologist Tony Keinath Most growers probably have heard that it’s possible to infest a “clean” (pathogen-free) field by moving soil on equipment. The question is how much infested soil is too much. The answer depends on the pathogen and where the soil is deposited. Some pathogens are present in the soil at …
Broadband Access: USDA Invests $167 Million in 12 States
Georgia Included in States Impacted WASHINGTON, Aug. 11, 2021 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing $167 million in 12 states to deploy broadband infrastructure (PDF, 360 KB) in rural areas without sufficient access to high-speed internet. Georgia is one of the states that will benefit from this investment. “Generations …
Sour Ending for Watermelon Season
By Clint Thompson Southeast watermelon producers prefer weather conditions to stay as dry as possible during harvest time. Needless to say, this summer has been anything but ideal for growers in Florida, Georgia and Alabama. Persistent rains, increased disease pressure and diminishing market prices have added up to a challenging couple of months, says Josh Freeman, University of Florida/IFAS Associate …
High Volume, Prices for Melon Growers Heading Into Fourth of July Weekend
By Clint Thompson Vegetable and specialty crop prices are down for most commodities, except watermelon. Tim Coolong, associate professor in the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, said he heard last week that watermelon prices were holding at about 20 cents per pound. That’s encouraging news for producers heading into this week’s Fourth of July weekend. “Mid-June, …
Rainy February Key During May Dry Period
By Clint Thompson A rainy February provided excessive moisture that’s been a saving grace for vegetable and specialty crop producers during the dry period in May. “The winter was very unusual because we had a La Nina. Normally when we have a La Nina, we don’t get a lot of soil moisture recharge in the winter. But February, because it …
South Florida Still Abnormally Dry
According to the latest release of the US Drought Monitor, recent rainfall has alleviated some of the dry conditions felt in central parts of Florida. There are still abnormally dry conditions in South Florida. Those extend northward to Hendry County, Martin County and Palm Beach County. A moderate drought is still being experienced in the southern part of Collier County, …
Crops Update: Clemson Extension Agents Provide Updates Across State
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 4-5-21 Coastal Zack Snipes reports, “Temperatures checked in at 28 degrees Fahrenheit at the northern end of Charleston County one night this past week. Strawberries were covered, but some blossoms are showing damage. …
Heritage Orchard Reclaiming Georgia’s Forgotten Apples
By Michael Terrazas for CAES News The names tick off like racehorses or colors from some fancy catalog: Carolina Red June, Duchess of Oldenburg, Hewe’s Crab and Rabun Bald, Limbertwig and Nickajack and Parks’ Pippin and many more. They’re apples, hundreds of varieties that thrived in orchards across North Georgia a century ago, before an evolving apple industry swept them …