According to the South Florida Pest and Disease Hotline, whiteflies continue to be problematic for some Florida farmers. Around SW Florida, whiteflies continue to bounce up and down, as heavy rains and cool nights slowed them down a few days in most places. Population numbers and nymphs are building in a number of mature fields. Growers should increase monitoring efforts as pressure …
Asian Bean Thrip Scouting Report in Florida
Here is the weekly scouting report of the Asian Bean Thrip (ABT) in various counties in Florida. According to UF/IFAS, outside of Miami-Dade County, high population densities of ABT continue to be in isolated occurrences only. The highest instances of ABT continues to be in eastern Palm Beach County. Populations are as high as 4.0 per bloom. However, it has …
Fruit Drop Weighs Heavily on Florida Growers
Numerous Florida citrus growers are experiencing heavy fruit drop this fall. “For some growers, it’s the worst fruit drop they have experienced; 50%-plus,” says grower Lee Jones with Cross Covered Caretaking. Grower Jim Snively, with Southern Gardens Citrus, said he is hearing talk of around 30 to 50%-plus fruit drop. “I’m hearing pick-outs that are 20% to 70% below last …
Potential Frost in Forecast for Areas in Florida
In an email, Gary England, UF/IFAS Extension Agent IV Emeritus, cautions Floridians about potential frost that could linger in some areas throughout the week. Lows in South Georgia and along the I-10 Corridor are expected to bottom out in the low-to-mid 30s tonight and mid-to-upper 30s in the Hastings area and further south. “NWS/JAX is including patchy frost as Tuesday …
Freeze Warning Tonight for Parts of Florida
University of Florida/IFAS is warning its vegetable and specialty crop growers of low temperatures expected tonight in some parts of the state. In an email sent by Gary England, UF/IFAS Extension Agent IV Emeritus, he reminds growers that the National Weather Service has issued free warnings for all north Florida locations west of the St. Johns River tonight. The warning …
Why Beck Bros. Believe in the Future of Florida Citrus
Planting and confidence in a strong back-to-basics production plan pave the path forward.
University of Florida Citrus Faculty Highly Sought After As Research Partners in Fight Against Greening
(UF/IFAS) — University of Florida citrus researchers continue to be sought out as partners in ground-breaking research projects to fight Huanglongbing, also known as citrus greening disease. The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), recently awarded nearly $4.5 million in grants to UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences faculty to find novel ways to fight the disease. But UF/IFAS researchers are serving leadership roles in four other multi-million-dollar grants awarded to colleague institutions from …
Eta Impacts Florida’s Sugar Industry
The sugarcane industry in Florida was impacted by Hurricane-turned-Tropical Storm Eta last week. Farmers like Keith Wedgworth in Belle Glade, Florida continue to feel the effects of the rain-driven storm. As of earlier this week, Wedgworth still couldn’t get into fields to harvest his crop following Eta, which made landfall on the heels of an already wet fall. “We were …
Following Eta, Florida Farmer: Squash is Melting on the Plant
An already challenging year for Florida vegetable farmer Sam Accursio was made worse this week following the impact of Hurricane Eta on his squash crop; hundreds of acres but no production following heavy rainfall and strong winds. “The heaviest impact is going to be to our squash crop. The beans, they were hanging on the plant and they’re up off …
New Disease Threatens Florida Strawberries
By Natalia A. Peres Pestalotiopsis is not necessarily new to strawberry. A strawberry fruit rot caused by Pestalotia longisetula (or Pestalotiopsis) was reported for the first timein Florida in 1972. However, the fungus has always been considered a secondary pathogen. But this was not the case during the past two strawberry seasons (2018–19 and 2019–20), when severe outbreaks were reported …