By Clint Thompson Planting season is under way for Florida’s tomato producers. Hopefully, farmers have done their due diligence and planned for whiteflies with proper sanitation of previous crops. That is one of the best management tactics growers can implement, says Hugh Smith, Associate Professor of Entomology and Nematology at the University of Florida Gulf Coast Research and Education Center. …
Wet Summer Effect: Sanitation Key in Protecting Fall Crops From Diseases
By Clint Thompson A wet summer means plant diseases are rampant across the entire gamut of vegetable and specialty crop production. As Georgia producers prepare for the upcoming fall season, they need to do all they can to protect against disease inoculum that might linger in leftover fruit and vegetable crops. This is especially true for watermelon producers, says Tim …
Alabama Producers Be Wary of Pickleworms
According to the Alabama Vegetable IPM Facebook page, producers need to be wary of pickleworms on squash and cucumbers. This is especially essential for growers with the late-planted crop. Alabama Extension describes pickleworms as large moths with semi-transparent yellowish wings and dark wing borders. Male and female moths have tufts of hair at the end of their dark abdomen. Moths …
Florida Strawberry Producer: We Need to Maximize our Profitability
By Clint Thompson A productive 2020-21 strawberry season could entice Florida growers to increase acreage this year. That’s a concern, though, for fellow producer Matt Parke, farm manager of Parkesdale Farms in Plant City, Florida; especially with input costs rising. “Hopefully, people don’t overplant themselves and flood the market. You know when farmers have a good year, they like to …
Plummeting Prices: Central Florida Groves not as Valuable as Used to be
Central Florida grove land sold for about 30% less per net tree acre in 2020 than the year before, according to a firm that sells Florida land. Brian Beasley, senior advisor at SVN Saunders Ralston Dantzler in Lakeland, reported the sales in the firm’s Lay of the Land 2020 Market Report. “We assume most of this decrease (in prices) is …
South Carolina Rains: Clemson Extension Reports Weather Impacting Crops
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 8-2-21 Coastal Region Zack Snipes reports, “Summer crops like okra are still coming in and looking good. We’ve had a lot of rain, and some fields are soggy. More rain is coming. Some …
Florida Tomato Conference in September
By Clint Thompson Registration is under way for the Florida Tomato Conference, scheduled for Sept. 8 at the LaBelle Civic Center in LaBelle, Florida. The annual format will feature industry and research updates in the morning session. Michael Schadler with the Florida Tomato Committee will speak about the state of the industry. Scientists from the University of Florida/IFAS will share …
Management Tactics for Fall Armyworm Infestations
Fall armyworm infestations continue to be rampant across Alabama. According to the most recent Alabama Extension Pest Monitoring Report, there were 585 moth numbers collected in 19 different trap locations. That is way more than the 114 recorded this time last year. Fall armyworms are dark with a Y-shaped mark on their head and four spots at the tail end. …
Pepper Weevil Pointers
By Gene McAvoy The pepper weevil (Anthonomus eugenii) is a key pest of all pepper varieties grown in Florida. Populations build throughout the season and often reach unmanageable numbers in South Florida in the late spring (early fall in North Florida), resulting in crop loss. In South Florida, it is not unusual for growers to terminate older plantings where weevils …
Tomato Producers Be Wary of Fall Diseases
By Clint Thompson Tomato season is here for producers in Florida. Diseases like bacterial leaf spot and target spot should be on the mind of growers preparing their fungicide programs, says Josh Freeman, University of Florida/IFAS Associate Professor in Horticultural Science. “In the fall season we really worry about bacterial leaf spot getting established early just because we’re in a …