(UF/IFAS) — From Florida to Virginia, farmers are enjoying the fruits of Sanjay Shukla’s labor. His compact-bed geometry system allows growers to plant crops in tall soil beds, and the result is thousands of dollars in annual savings. New research by Shukla and his team shows that with savings of up to $102,000 per crop, annually, for a typical, 250-acre …
Florida Blueberry Growers Association Updates
By Karla Arboleda On Oct. 25, the Florida Blueberry Growers Association (FBGA) hosted its annual short course and trade show. Researchers and growers joined the FBGA in sharing blueberry industry news. HALL OF FAME In addition to hosting a platform for updates in the Florida blueberry industry, the FBGA announced the first members of the new Florida Blueberry Hall of …
Growers Should Manage Tomato Bacterial Spot While Seedlings Are in Transplant Facilities
New findings from University of Florida scientists could help tomato growers nationwide in their battle against a damaging disease. With 37,000 acres, Florida’s tomato industry is a $520 million-a-year crop, so it’s critical to find sources of diseases so growers can avoid or treat them to sustain their yields. But a bacterium called Xanthomonas can cause bacterial spot in tomatoes, …
Strawberry Advisory System Helps Growers Cut Costs
Protecting crops from pathogens is always top-of-mind for growers, but crop protection products can quickly burn a big hole in a grower’s wallet. A researcher-developed strawberry advisory system aims to keep that from happening, while still ensuring the crop gets the care it needs. According to Adrian Zuniga, a doctoral student in Natalia Peres’ lab at the University of Florida, …
USDA to Survey Fruit Growers about Chemical Use
Athens, GA (USDA/NASS) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will survey fruit growers in 11 states, including Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, for its biennial Fruit Chemical Use Survey. The survey will collect information on bearing acreage, pest management practices, pesticide application, acres treated and rates applied for more than 12 fruit crops. “Pesticide data …
‘Florida Farmers Are Going to Be the Best Hemp Growers in the Country’
by Ernie Neff “Florida farmers will eventually overtake the rest of the country” in hemp production, predicts Holly Bell, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) director of cannabis. In an interview with Citrus Industry Editor Tacy Callies, Bell summarizes her talk at the general session of Citrus Expo. Bell says “Florida farmers are going to be the best …
U.S. Tomato Growers Applaud the New Suspension Agreement
Commerce Department Commits to Strong Enforcement of U.S. Unfair Trade Law Washington, D.C. (FTE) – After 23 years of suspension agreements that never worked to protect American tomato growers from injurious dumping of Mexican tomatoes, the Mexican tomato industry agreed to a strong new suspension agreement, which U.S. growers support. The agreement establishes unprecedented measures and enforcement provisions that will …
New UF Extension Specialist Aims to Assist Small Fruit Growers
By Karla Arboleda Southwest Florida growers can expect help from new small fruit Extension specialist Sriyanka Lahiri. At the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Gulf Coast Research and Education Center (GCREC), Lahiri works with strawberries and blueberries to develop a pest management program that uses less broad-spectrum insecticides. Appointed in February, Lahiri helps the small …
What’s Keeping Growers From Adopting Technology?
By Karla Arboleda Precision agriculture technologies are not as widely used as they are available, and researchers want to figure out why this is the case for Florida growers. Tara Wade, assistant professor at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) in the Food and Resource Economics Department, is studying this issue. She says global positioning …
Florida Tomato Exchange: ‘Mexican Tomato Growers Resort to Blackmail’
Mexican tomato growers and the Mexican government are trying to blackmail the U.S. government into backing down on President Trump’s commitment to strong and aggressive enforcement of U.S unfair trade law. They claim the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) isn’t negotiating fairly in talks for a new Tomato Suspension Agreement, and that they are being forced into an unreasonable agreement. …