A new University of Florida (UF)-developed web-based tool will help growers reduce risks that come with climate variability. It is called the “climate indicators tool,” the newest addition to AgroClimate, a web-based platform designed 15 years ago by Clyde Fraisse, a UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) professor of agricultural and biological engineering. Growers can use the new …
Specialty Crop Grower Magazine: Southeast Producers Convene for Annual Conference
By Clint Thompson The Southeast Regional Fruit & Vegetable Conference drew a large attendance in early January. The annual gathering provides a plethora of educational breakout sessions focused on key fruit and vegetable crops. Here’s a few highlights from those sessions. Peach Presentations Fungicide preservation is the key for Southeast peach producers in managing brown rot disease long term. Demethylation …
Attention Blueberry Producers: SWD Spotted on Multiple Central Florida Farms
Florida blueberry producers should be wary that spotted wing drosophila (SWD) has been spotted on multiple farms in central Florida, which is earlier than normal compared to previous years. The Florida Blueberry Growers Association issued an alert to its members on Monday, including recommendations from University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension personnel that producers scout for …
Florida Blueberry Grower: Roller Coaster of Warm, Cold Temperatures
By Clint Thompson Weather challenged Florida blueberry production this year. It continues to disrupt harvest plans for growers who have already started picking this year’s crop. “It’s been a roller coaster of warm and then cold; warm and then cold. By the time it gets going, it gets shut down,” said Gary Smith, producer located in Winter Haven, Florida, who …
Labor, Trade Highlight FFVA Letter to USDA
The Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association (FFVA) is urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to strengthen Florida’s specialty crop industry. The FFVA submitted a letter to the USDA last week, outlining recommendations on how it could better support the state’s specialty crop industry, through the USDA’s Specialty Crop Competitiveness Initiative. The recommendations stemmed from the current challenges Florida growers …
Blueberry Field Day: Helping Growers Remain Sustainable Now, Into the Future
By Clint Thompson Florida blueberry producers hope to remain sustainable now and into the future. That is why Thursday’s Florida Blueberry Growers Association spring meeting and field day at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Plant Science Research and Education Center in Citra, Florida, was so important. UF/IFAS researchers and graduate students provided vital information …
How’s It Looking? Clemson Extension Agents Provide Crop Updates
Weekly Field Update Clemson Extension agents provide updates in The South Carolina Grower this week about the status of various crops being produced throughout the state. Coastal Region Zack Snipes Midlands Phillip Carnley Sarah Scott Pee Dee Brittney King Upstate Briana Naumuk Sponsored ContentNew Syngenta Varieties Offer Grower SolutionsFebruary 1, 2026Attribute® II Technology Adds More Flexibility and Strength to Sweet …
New Agricultural Technology for the Blackberry Industry
By Maegan Beatty Last week, the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) hosted an online program to discuss new technologies in commercial crop production. Gilad Freund is an Extension faculty member located in Mop Hahar, Israel. Freund discussed new innovative technologies that are being utilized in the blackberry industry throughout Israel. These new technologies are meant …
What’s Happening? Clemson Extension Agents Provide Crop Updates
Clemson Extension agents provide updates in The South Carolina Grower this week about the status of various crops being produced throughout the state. Midlands Phillip Carnley Rob Last Sarah Scott Pee Dee Brittney King Upstate Andy Rollins Sponsored ContentNew Syngenta Varieties Offer Grower SolutionsFebruary 1, 2026Attribute® II Technology Adds More Flexibility and Strength to Sweet Corn Pest ManagementJanuary 1, 2026Nuseed …
Not Going Away: UGA Entomologist Cautions Blueberry Producers Against SWD
By Clint Thompson Spotted wing drosophila (SWD) remains a threat to Georgia blueberry production. If growers stray from their spray programs, it could have devastating results, believes Ash Sial, University of Georgia (UGA) entomologist. “Some growers, if they don’t see populations or don’t see activity in the field, especially when the weather is hot and dry, (they think) these flies …


















