By Clint Thompson The excessive wet weather associated with El Niño this winter has provided ideal conditions for blueberry diseases to pop up. Phil Harmon, professor and Extension plant pathologist at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS), highlighted the two disease concerns growers should be wary of heading into harvest season. They are botrytis gray …
Georgia Vegetable Growers to Vote to Continue Marketing Order
Georgia’s vegetable growers are voting this month on whether to continue the Georgia Vegetable Commission marketing order which allows assessment of one cent per marketing unit of vegetables as described in the current marketing order. The marketing order applies to producers with at least 50 acres of the total annual production of vegetable crops. These include beans, bell pepper, specialty …
Under the Microscope: Melon Growers Should Consult Extension When Diagnosing Disease
By Clint Thompson Anthracnose and downy mildew provide similar disease symptoms in watermelons. Producers should be careful in self-diagnosing the potential disease in their crops this season. Bhabesh Dutta, University of Georgia Extension vegetable plant pathologist, implores growers to consult Extension personnel when deducing what problem they might have. A wrong diagnosis could have financial repercussions. “What we recommend is …
Digital Twin Technology Helps Scientists Simulate Problems, Provide Solutions for Growers
Farmers should benefit greatly from digital twin technology, which leverages significant advances in big data, computing power and artificial intelligence to generate virtual representations of the physical world. A digital twin is a virtual model designed to accurately reflect a physical object, process or system. At least two University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) scientists are …
Anxious Season Ahead for North Florida Watermelon Growers
By Clint Thompson An exciting but anxious season awaits watermelon farmers in the Suwanee Valley region of North Florida. That is the mindset shared by one industry expert who is concerned about what a potential increase in acres will mean for the market in the spring. Bob Hochmuth, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Regional Specialized …
UF/IFAS Research: Is Calabaza the Next Great Gourd for Southeast Growers?
If you have eaten at various Caribbean, Central or South American restaurants, you might be familiar with a specialty pumpkin called the calabaza. It is the center of the plate for a team of University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) researchers hoping the gourd is ripe for a new industry in the Southeast. With two years …
Florida Bamboo Growers Association Hosts Second Annual Meeting
The Florida Bamboo Growers Association (FBGA) recently held its second annual meeting at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Gulf Coast Research and Education Center in Wimauma. The meeting was well attended and provided educational content for its burgeoning membership. The association is growing quickly, expanding its membership by 63% from the first year. FBGA …
Attention Florida Blueberry Growers: What to Remember During Freezing Weather
By Clint Thompson University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) experts caution Florida blueberry growers about the potential for low temperatures this time of year and what management options they need to be concerned with. Doug Phillips, UF/IFAS blueberry Extension coordinator at the Gulf Coast Research and Education Center, emphasizes the importance of eyeing weather forecasts every …
Support for Young, Beginning and Small Growers
By Frank Giles Last month, we celebrated National Farmers’ Day. The day was recognized with the expected expressions of gratitude on social media and other platforms. But I also noted that a few used the day to raise the topic of the aging population of growers. The graying of the audience (myself included) doesn’t go unnoticed at the farm meetings …
USDA AFRI Grant to Allow Researchers to Help Southern Blueberry Growers in States Like Alabama
A nearly half-a-million-dollar grant will allow Auburn University professors and Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station researchers to help blueberry growers in states like Alabama where growing the fruit has its challenges. Funded by a $497,827 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI), the project is titled, “Expanding Southern highbush blueberries to underserved regions of the …



















