A shortage of a major fungicide could have a significant impact on fruit producers in the Southeast. University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Fruit Disease Specialist Phil Brannen confirmed that Captan is in short supply right now. This is a major development for growers of strawberries, peaches, apples and grapes. It is one of the products that strawberry producers use for …
Winter Weather Conditions Challenging for Alabama Vegetable Producers
A cold and rainy winter has been challenging so far for Alabama vegetable producers. Joe Kemble, Alabama Extension vegetable specialist, cautions growers that though it may be chillier, that does not eliminate certain diseases that can be problematic. “I will say on the vegetable side, things are a bit slow. Weather’s been not exactly ideal. The rainfall we’ve been having, …
Georgia Blueberry Disease Management Update
By Jonathan Oliver In 2020, mild winter conditions followed by a wet spring contributed to the development of significant disease issues on Georgia blueberries. Among other issues, growers faced difficulties with preharvest and postharvest fruit rots and continuing problems with spring blueberry leaf rust epidemics. The fruit pathology program at the University of Georgia (UGA) in Tifton conducts trials to …
Clemson Extension Agents Provide Crop Updates
Clemson Extension agents provided updates in The South Carolina Grower this week about the status of various crops being produced throughout the state. Weekly Field Update 11/30/20 Coastal Zack Snipes reports, “After a long Thanksgiving nap, I was able to waddle out in the fields and look at some strawberries. We have had some really good strawberry growing weather especially considering most folks …
Neopestalotiopsis Disease Confirmed on Georgia Strawberry Plants
Georgia strawberry producers need to be wary of Neopestalotiopsis; a disease that has already devastated Florida production and could have wide-ranging impact on Georgia’s crop if farmers are not proactive. Phil Brannen, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Fruit Disease Specialist, cautions farmers that while the disease has been found in just one Georgia location and only as leaf spotting, there …
Plethora of Plant Diseases Following Rainy Season for Alabama Producers
A wet 2020 has had Alabama vegetable and specialty crop producers fending off plant diseases. Even before the state encountered a couple of hurricanes, including Sally in mid-September and Zeta in late October, it had already received its share of rainfall. Not surprisingly, the excess moisture led to numerous plant diseases, according to Ed Sikora, professor and Extension plant pathologist …
New Disease Threatens Florida Strawberries
By Natalia A. Peres Pestalotiopsis is not necessarily new to strawberry. A strawberry fruit rot caused by Pestalotia longisetula (or Pestalotiopsis) was reported for the first timein Florida in 1972. However, the fungus has always been considered a secondary pathogen. But this was not the case during the past two strawberry seasons (2018–19 and 2019–20), when severe outbreaks were reported …
Citrus Advisory System Alerts Growers So They can Stem Post-Bloom Fruit Drop
October 22, 2020 By: Brad Buck, bradbuck@ufl.edu Beep. Beep. Beep. That’s the sound of the alert, telling a citrus grower it’s time to spray fungicide to help prevent fruit from falling off the tree. When the new fruit fall off a citrus tree, post-bloom fruit drop (PFD) can cause major losses for citrus growers. Infection of flowering citrus by the …
Clemson Extension Agents Provide Crop Updates
Clemson Extension agents provided updates in The South Carolina Grower this week about the status of various crops being produced throughout the state. Weekly Field Update – 10/19/20 Posted on October 19, 2020 by Justin Ballew Coastal Rob Last reports, “As we approach the time where strawberry plants will be delivered, I would urge all growers to inspect plants before planting. …
Clemson Extension Agents Provide Crop Updates
Clemson Extension agents provided updates in The South Carolina Grower this week about the status of various crops being produced throughout the state. Weekly Field Update 10-5-20 Coastal Zack Snipes reports, “The cooler weather and lots of rain have brought out the diseases. I saw some watermelon diseases last week including gummy stem blight. We need to protect our foliage …