By Elizabeth Little Organic vegetable production has been steadily increasing in Georgia. Growers offer a wide variety of high-quality produce, especially during the cooler months from October to June. However, summer production can be challenging due to the proliferation of pests and diseases on non-adapted crops. Both summer and winter squash can be plagued by many pests and diseases, and …
Sneak Peek: September VSCNews Magazine
The September issue of VSCNews magazine is packed with harvest-related information. University of Florida (UF) researchers Jeff Brecht and Steve Sargent provide the best methods for tuning up your packing and cooling facilities. The authors share some tips to ensure your product can flow smoothly through your facility. Florida watermelons faced a tough season, but higher market prices may save …
Citrus Expo’s Expanded Program Exceeds Expectations
Citrus Expo’s broadened program brought new faces and additional learning opportunities to Florida’s leading agricultural event. Held in North Fort Myers, Florida, on Aug. 15–16, Expo attracted its largest and most diverse audience ever of growers, industry professionals and vendors. The event included a sold-out trade show of nearly 200 exhibitors and an educational program themed “Planting Tomorrow’s Profits.” Kicking …
UF Names Evans New Director of Tropical Research and Education Center
Edward “Gilly” Evans, a longtime agricultural economist at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS), has been named director of the UF/IFAS Tropical Research and Education Center in Homestead. Evans, who served as interim director for almost two years, has overseen the hiring of five new faculty members. The new hires bring expertise in everything from …
Research Team Targets Whiteflies
By Breanna Kendrick and Abbey Taylor The University of Georgia whitefly team is made up of research and Extension entomologists, plant pathologists and horticulture specialists. All of these professionals are involved in whitefly research across commodities such as peanuts, soybeans and vegetables. The team is doing research and education on whiteflies and the diseases that they vector. “It’s really just …
Selecting Herbicides for Stone Fruit
By Breanna Kendrick With perennial crops such as stone fruits, growers are limited in their weed management options because they can’t choose practices like crop rotation. Therefore, selection of proper herbicides is critical for effective weed control. Peter Dittmar, assistant professor with the Horticultural Sciences Department at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, specializes in weed …
Cowpea Curculio Wreaking Havoc in the Southeast
By Breanna Kendrick One of the toughest insect problems to deal with in the Southeast is cowpea curculio. It has been very difficult to control because it becomes resistant to insecticides. Cowpea curculio is a weevil that can be very destructive to the crops it attacks. This pest is just as destructive to southern peas as the boll weevil is …
The Buzz on Hollow Heart
By Breanna Kendrick A lot of watermelon growers have had to deal with hollow heart this season. It’s not known for certain what causes hollow heart, but research is pointing toward pollination deficiency. Hollow heart is a separation of the cells in the flesh of the fruit, which causes a fissure to form. A fissure can form from stem to …
Rootstock Addresses Peach Disease Issues
By Breanna Kendrick MP-29 is a hybrid plum-peach rootstock that was created to give peach growers another weapon in the disease-fighting toolbox. Tom Beckman, a U.S. Department of Agriculture research horticulturist, discussed MP-29 at the recent Stone Fruit Field Day in Citra, Florida. MP-29 is the most recent rootstock release from Beckman’s breeding program. Beckman created MP-29 because growers needed …
University of Florida Has High Hopes for Hemp
By Breanna Kendrick The University of Florida will be researching hemp to determine its potential to be grown as a crop in the Sunshine State. Industrial hemp is Cannabis sativa, which is the same species as marijuana. However, there is a very important difference. Industrial hemp is required to have less than 0.3 percent tetrahydrocannabinol (THC, a psychoactive substance). The …
















