Downy mildew disease is present in cucurbits like squash and cucumber around South Florida and is getting worse.
University of Georgia/Downy mildew disease can destroy plant foliage and cause the leaves to curl and die. Without healthy leaves and vines, a plant is vulnerable to blisters and sunscald during hot days.
According to the South Florida Vegetable Pest and Disease Hotline, respondents report that the disease is showing up in most watermelons and infections have increased in areas hit hard by rainfall.
“Around Manatee County, respondents report that downy mildew really kicked into high gear after the last rains and has been quite aggressive in some situations,” the hotline report stated.
Downy mildew also remains active on cucumber and some squash on the East Coast.
According to University of Georgia Cooperative Extension plant pathologist Bhabesh Dutta, downy mildew can destroy plant foliage and cause the leaves to curl and die. Without healthy leaves and vines, a plant is vulnerable to blisters and sunscald during hot days. The pathogen thrives in wet, humid conditions and needs moisture on the surface of the plant for successful spore germination and further infection.
Cucurbit crops — like cucumbers, melons, squashes and pumpkins — are susceptible to the disease. Dutta ranks downy mildew among the top diseases in cucurbit crops, along with Fusarium wilt and Phytophthora fruit rot.
How to Recognize Downy Mildew
For those vegetable farmers unfamiliar with what symptoms look like, focus on the leaves themselves. On cucurbits besides watermelon, small yellowish spots appear on the upper leaf surface away from the leaf margin. A yellow coloration later occurs with the internal part of the lesion turning brown. Lesions are usually angular as leaf veins restrict their expansion.
On watermelons, yellow leaf spots may or may not be angular and will later turn brown to black in color.
To control downy mildew, fungicide sprays are recommended for all cucurbits. Spray programs for downy mildew are most effective when initiated prior to the first sign of the disease. Once a plant becomes infected, it becomes more and more difficult to control with fungicides.
Florida vegetable farmers are struggling to manage high whitefly pressure amid trying to produce this year’s crop. According to the South Florida Vegetable Pest and Disease Hotline, tomato growers in central Florida are really struggling with heavy whitefly pressure.
It noted, “Some growers have already experienced whitefly and virus issues in spring crops and have pulled up entire first plantings due to very high incidence of Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl Virus. Respondents indicate that whiteflies are also increasing in melons. Whitefly pressure is also high in green beans.”
Around Southwest Florida, in the Immokalee, Florida area, pressure has been extreme for the acreage that remains to be harvested. These include for watermelons and other cucurbits.
On the east coast, respondents report that whitefly have become out of control in many tomato and eggplant fields. They’re also high in cucumber and pepper.
The South Florida Vegetable Pest and Disease Hotline is in its 23rd year and reaches more than 1500 individuals and businesses and covers more than 120,000 acres representing all major South Florida vegetable production areas.
Already in Georgia
Whiteflies are already a concern in Georgia. University of Georgia Cooperative Extension vegetable specialist Stormy Sparks confirmed the pest has been observed in vegetables in the South Georgia area.
The mild winter is a key reason why whiteflies are already a problem. While colder temperatures don’t eliminate whiteflies, they do kill many of their wild hosts. They also slow population development in cultivated hosts. Warmer temperatures this winter allowed for larger whitefly populations to overwinter and become mobile earlier.
Whiteflies cause feeding injury issues in vegetables and transmit two viruses: cucurbit leaf crumple virus and cucurbit yellow stunting disorder virus. Vegetables like squash, zucchini, cucumber, cantaloupe and snap beans are highly susceptible to these viruses. Commercial cultivars that have resistance or tolerance to these pathogens are not available.
For additional information about whiteflies, see UGA CAES News.
Between natural disasters, a pandemic and unfair trade practices, Georgia blueberry farmers have taken one blow after another the past four years. For some farmers, a hailstorm on April 23 was the ultimate knockout punch.
File photo shows blueberries ready for harvest.
Russ Goodman, co-owner of Cogdell Berry Farm with 600 acres in Clinch and Lanier counties, lost between 60% and 70% of the crop following the storm.
“In 2017, we had Irma and a late freeze. In our 2018, Hurricane Michael and a later freeze. Then we’ve had the deluge of Mexican blueberries that have hit us. Now, we’ve been hit with this coronavirus and now this storm,” Goodman said.
Phillip Mixon’s farm in Waycross, Georgia has about 850 acres with approximately 600 that would have been harvested. Its entire farm was devastated by the hail. The storm knocked a bunch of blueberries off, but what was left on the bush was bruised really bad. They were left unmarketable.
Mixon estimated he lost about 5 million pounds.
“We’ve faced a lot of challenges that are outside of our control. We do everything that we can as far as being good managers. You have no control over a hurricane or storm how trade issues are negatively impacting Southeastern farmers,” Goodman said. “It’s just a lot of things outside of our control.
“We were going to have a good crop. We’re no different than the cotton farmers when Hurricane Michael came through when they were going to pay down some debt and get ahead a little bit. Hurricane Michael came through and destroyed it.”
Unfair Trade Practices?
While farmers can’t do anything about storms and late freeze events, they can continue to raise awareness unfair trade with Mexico.
“If there’s not something done about trade in this country, we’ll be importing all of our fruits and vegetables before it’s all over with,” Goodman said. “How do you compete against 80 cents per hour labor? From my understanding, their minimum wage is 81 cents per hour. But they average about $1 an hour.
“We have automatic labelers that put labels on our clam shells. In Mexico, they can’t even sell labels because they label them all by hand. Labor is so cheap, it’s not even a factor in production.”
In an interview with VSCNews on April 30, Florida farmer Ryan Atwood confirmed that Mexico exported 5 million pounds of blueberries to the U.S. the prior week. The country is still importing produce amid COVID-19 when American farmers are struggling to find buyers.
For more information on how COVID-19 has devastated the blueberry market, see:
Weather conditions are an important factor when it comes to growing peaches in Florida.
Florida’s mild winters and fluctuating temperatures in the fall continue to be challenges for peach production. Because peach trees are deciduous, they require a certain amount of cold weather to become dormant. Once the cold weather requirement for dormancy is met, the warm spring weather ends the dormancy period, resulting in floral bud break.
The number of chill hours needed to end dormancy depends on the peach variety. In the past several years, the required chill hour accumulation to achieve uniform bud break was often not achieved until late January.
“Since our winters are so mild in Florida, we are seeing that the trees are not going into proper dormancy, which means the trees are never sleeping in the winters. You always see some amount of flowering which is a concern because you’re losing those buds and potential fruit, since they won’t be harvested” says Tripti Vashisth, an assistant professor of horticulture at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS).
Hydrogen Cyanamide Trials
Hydrogen cyanamide is a plant growth regulator used worldwide in fruit crops to break dormancy. The chemical is known for promoting uniform flowering, which is beneficial for growers because a uniform fruit set requires fewer passes to plant and harvest the crop. To ensure that hydrogen cyanamide works well for low-chill peach cultivars under Florida conditions, researchers at UF have been testing the effects of hydrogen cyanamide on peach production in Florida over the past three years.
“We have found that hydrogen cyanamide is very effective in Florida conditions,” Vashisth says.
According to Vashisth, most growers are applying hydrogen cyanamide at a rate of 1.2 or 1.25 percent. However, research results have proven that hydrogen cyanamide at a rate of .75 to 1 percent is highly effective in inducing bud break and is also more economically beneficial for growers.
Timing is Key
When using hydrogen cyanamide as a management tool, it is critical to apply it at the right time.
According to Vashisth, from the time of application in North Florida, it took about six weeks for uniform bud break to occur. However, it only took about three weeks in Central Florida.
“Right timing is very critical because if it is applied too late you can lose a lot of crop,” says Vashisth. “It needs to be a very educated decision that growers make.”
Washington, D.C. – May 8, 2020 —The National Organic Coalition (NOC) and Organic Farmers Association (OFA) called on Congress yesterday to include provisions in the next coronavirus relief package to help organic farmers, farmworkers, retailers, certifiers, and other businesses weather the COVID-19 pandemic. Like all sectors of agriculture, organic operations are in crisis.
In a five-page letter, NOC and OFA detailed their recommendations to ensure that organic farms and businesses have the support they need to withstand the challenges they face during this difficult period. Organic farms and businesses are on the front lines and face major disruptions, including loss of critically important markets and labor challenges. These operations are adapting, but in some cases face skyrocketing expenses as they invest in equipment, technology, sanitation, staffing, and transportation to keep employees safe, to access markets, and to provide safe and nutritious food to communities.
NOC and OFA are seeking funding and technical assistance to help operations protect the health and safety of all who are involved in organic agriculture, certification and compliance. In addition, NOC and OFA are advocating for actions that will prevent fraud and protect the integrity of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) organic seal during the crisis.
“Despite the challenges we face, the USDA must move forward without delay on the Strengthening Organic Enforcement and Origin of Livestock rules to provide a level playing field for organic operations,” said Abby Youngblood, Executive Director of the National Organic Coalition. “NOC is calling on Congress to ensure that USDA moves forward in closing loopholes to prevent fraud and to protect organic dairy operations. These regulations are critical to the economic viability of organic farms and businesses and are needed to ensure consumers are getting what they expect when they purchase organic products.”
In addition, the letter conveys concerns that the direct payment mechanism announced by USDA to implement the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act will not reach organic and diversified farms and those serving local markets.
“We are concerned that the payment formulas used by USDA to distribute payments will shortchange organic farmers, particularly small-and-medium-scale diversified operations that have been economically impacted by the pandemic,” said Kate Mendenhall, Director of the Organic Farmers Association. “We are asking Congress, in the next coronavirus response package, to be more explicit about providing direct assistance to organic and diversified farms and to establish oversight procedures to ensure USDA compliance with the requirements.”
As an emergency measure, NOC and OFA are requesting that Congress authorize USDA to reimburse certification agencies directly for organic certification costs during the pandemic, rather than requiring organic operations to pay these costs and then seek partial reimbursement through the organic certification cost-share program.
Farms and food-related businesses have been designated as essential by the Department of Homeland Security and by most states. NOC and OFA agree with that designation, but are seeking federally funded pay bonuses for front line food system and grocery workers and emergency grants to reimburse these businesses for expenses related to personal protection equipment (PPE) and pandemic-related facility, infrastructure, technology, and staffing modifications.
We urge Congress to increase funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), to allow SNAP payments to be made online directly to farms, CSAs, and cooperative and independent grocery stores, and to provide waivers and direction to States to broaden their WIC-approved food lists to allow WIC participants to purchase organic foods.
Funding for the Small Business Administration (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) programs has proven critical to organic farms and businesses. This funding should be replenished, and Congress should direct SBA to expand farmers’ access to both the PPP and EIDL program.
The full letter from NOC and OFA with detailed recommendations is available online:
Potential freezing temperatures this weekend in North Carolina could impact strawberry production. Unless farmers utilize row covers for protection.
According to Mark Hoffmann, North Carolina State small fruits Extension specialist, row covers, which help reduce radiation in the field should provide adequate frost protection from temperatures in the 30s on Saturday and Sunday.
“It looks like in most areas, what’s happening is that if the wind slows down Saturday night to Sunday and we have no cloud cover, that’s probably the most critical time. When it’s Sunday morning and still dark and there’s a lot of radiation, that’s probably the most critical time. With row covers, they will be safe,” Hoffmann said.
Low Temps
According to weather.com, temperatures are forecast to drop to as low as 39 degrees on Sunday morning in Raleigh, North Carolina. Temperatures that low are abnormal this late into May for that part of the world.
“It’s pretty late. I wasn’t expecting it. We were not recommending taking the covers out of the field because we had seen such odd weather patterns this year. It’s very, very late,” Hoffmann said. “Most of the growers had taken their row covers out of the field. They have to put them back in over this weekend.”
Strawberry production is currently in mid-season. If row covers are not used, the low temperatures could harm the open blossoms that are still on plants, which lead to late-season fruit. Temperatures could also harm the actual fruits in popcorn stage and other green fruits.
The drop in degrees this weekend could also impact the state’s grape production.
“This is the third frost event to affect grapes this year already. Usually they grow out of it. This is pretty late in the season again. Unless you have a sprinkler system or wind machine, there’s not a lot you can do, unfortunately,” Hoffmann said.
Adam Brannen, a student worker on the UGA Tifton Campus, weighs tomatoes at the Blackshank Farm.
Clint Thompson
July 16, 2014
Farmers and food processors take routine steps to reduce the likelihood of foodborne pathogens, like Salmonella and E. coli, contacting our food and causing illness. The procedures that our food industry takes on a daily basis are also effective in reducing the chances that the coronavirus responsible for COVID-19 will come in contact with the food we eat.
There is currently no evidence that the coronavirus is spread through contaminated food. This is in part because the virus primarily targets cells in the respiratory tract (lungs) rather than organs in the gastrointestinal tract (stomach and intestines), and because acids in the stomach likely inactivate ingested virus before it can cause harm.
During the current pandemic and other viral outbreaks, there are further considerations that farms and agricultural businesses must take in order to protect their workers and customers despite the usual safety of our food supply.
Farms, packinghouses and food processors
Sick workers should never be allowed to come to work, and they should understand that there is no punishment for them if and when they call in sick.
Encourage distancing of at least 6 feet between workers at all time, including on buses transporting groups of workers to the field and on the packing line when possible. Only one employee should be in the cab of a truck, and frequently touched surfaces like the steering wheel or door handles should be cleaned and disinfected when passengers leave or enter a vehicle.
Frequently touched surfaces within the farm or facility should be cleaned and disinfected throughout the day and between shift changes. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control recommends a list of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-approved disinfectants that are effective against coronavirus. A solution of 5 tablespoons of bleach in 1 gallon of water may also be used.
U-pick operations, farmers markets, farm supply stores and CSAs
Post signs stating rules to be followed at the entrance. Keep them short and easy to read. Rules should include washing hands (or using hand sanitizer if washing is not possible) upon arrival; wearing a mask, bandana or scarf; maintaining 6 feet of distance between other patrons; and requesting vendor assistance to select items instead of handling items themselves.
Indoor markets may consider putting vendors or high-demand items outside so that patrons do not have to enter the building. For items inside, consider posting a price list outside and having an employee retrieve items, or set a reasonable limit on the amount of time each customer may stay inside to do business.
Have one person dedicated to handling payments. Conduct transactions online or over the phone when possible, and require credit or debit cards for in-person transactions, since paper money cannot be sanitized.
U-pick operations should clean and disinfect all picking baskets and equipment between customers. When in the field, customers must only touch fruit they plan to pick.
University of Georgia Cooperative Extension has further guidance, in English and Spanish, including materials for farms, packinghouses, community gardens, farmers markets, food banks, agribusinesses and consumers on its emergency resources page at extension.uga.edu/emergencies.
Picture submitted by Alan Chambers/UF: Shows a collection of different mangoes.
By Clint Thompson
Florida mango lovers will soon be able to sample this year’s crop, according Alan Chambers, University of Florida Assistant Professor/Genetics and Breeding of Tropical Fruits.
“The mangoes are just beginning to ripen now,” he said. “Fresh mangoes from Florida will soon be available. We had multiple mango blooms this year in response to multiple cold spells. As a result, we have fruit at multiple maturity levels on the trees at the same time. This will complicate harvesting.”
Mangoes are grown commercially in Florida in Dade, Lee, and Palm Beach Counties, according to University of Florida/IFAS Extension. Mangoes are grown in tropical and subtropical lowlands throughout the world.
As part of his research responsibilities, Chambers focuses on the quality of the mango. He has mature trees established at the station in Homestead, Florida. He samples individual aroma compounds. He determines how sweet the fruit are, the size they are and how much they weigh. Its essential information for local growers who want to produce a desirable fruit for consumers.
“It really helps our growers who are looking for, ‘Which one should I grow? Which ones are the best that consumers like? Which ones are they willing to pay more for?’” Chambers said. “Most of the domestic mango industry is based on imports. In South Florida, there’s higher costs of production for land, inputs and labor. Our growers make their money based on specialty products, so offering something with a higher quality or that’s safer or that’s different than what you can get in the grocery store.”
Marketing for mangoes is mostly done locally. Chambers said some of the product does get sold and shipped up the east coast.
Written By Chris Gunter, N.C. State Extension Vegetable Production Specialist
Weather predictions for this weekend include clear skies with minimal or calm winds, which are conducive to cold temperatures and could lead to freeze or frost conditions in North Carolina.
On Sunday morning, May 10, low temperatures are predicted to drop into the 30s with some temperatures possibly below freezing in low lying rural areas. Record low temperatures for May 10 are in the lower 30s at the Greensboro and Raleigh-Durham locations, and 39 ºF at Fayetteville. Not only are daily low-temperature records threatened, but the latest spring freeze on record is May 10 for Raleigh (31 ºF) and May 8 for Greensboro (32 ºF).
As cold temperatures are threatening, agents and specialists are getting calls from concerned vegetable growers worried about potential damage on their crops. A frost occurs when temperatures dip to 32 ºF and water starts to freeze on low lying surfaces. If water within the plant cell or between the plant cells freeze, this can result in damage to plant tissue. The following vegetable crops can be grouped according to their cold tolerance based on their physiology. It is important to remember that cold damage results from the actual temperature and the duration of that temperature.
We usually think of frost as occurring at temperatures from 31-33 ºF and this will result in damage or killing the foliage of warm-season plants like beans, corn, cantaloupe, cucumbers, eggplant, okra, southern peas, peppers, potatoes, sweet corn, sweetpotatoes, squash, tomatoes, and watermelon.
When temperatures dip below 26-31 ºF, this is a hard frost or freeze. There are cool-season crops that will tolerate a temperature dip to these temperatures for a limited period of time. These include broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, chard, English peas, lettuce, mustard, onion, radishes, and turnips. They will likely show foliage damage due to the cold and this may result in a yield reduction later in the season, but the plant will survive.
In the event that the temperature drops below 26 ºF during a hard freeze for a longer period of time, there are some vegetables that will survive these temperatures. Cold season crops like Brussels sprouts, beets, collards, kale, parsley, and spinach should survive.
Charlotte Glen wrote a great article about seeds and seedlings surviving cold temperatures. We encourage you to check it out here:
Protecting from these cold temperatures can be a little more difficult to answer. Growers who have solid set irrigation in place and have experience with frost protection using overhead water applications, may be planning to use this method. This requires large volumes of water and continuous applications throughout the cold event. For most vegetable growers however, overhead solid set sprinkler irrigation is less common than drip irrigation or travelling guns and pivot irrigation systems.
Usually maintaining good soil moisture prior to the event can be helpful, as the water in the soil retains heat longer and releases it slowly during the cold event. For this reason, it is also recommended not to cultivate just prior to a frost or freeze, so that as much water can be retained in the soil as possible. The cultivation can damage plant roots and increase stress on the plants. In addition, cultivation opens additional spaces in the soil, allowing cool air to penetrate deeper into the soil profile.
Other methods for frost protection include using row covers, which come in various lengths and thicknesses depending upon the level of protection needed. Growers can also use waxed paper cups, to cover the transplants in the field, during an overnight cold period. These are labor-intensive methods, but may be an option if areas are small enough and the farm has sufficient labor to put on and remove the covers as temperatures warm back up. If coverings are used, it is important to monitor temperatures under the covers. Be prepared to remove the covers before temperatures under the cover rise too high and result in heat stress.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — As University of Florida economists cross the halfway point in their surveys of Florida’s agriculture and marine industries related to the impacts of COVID-19, initial reports indicate that impacts vary widely across industry types in terms of business closure rates, operations changes, and impacts to sales revenues and employment.
In one of the five surveys of the Assessment of COVID-19 Impacts on Florida, 200-plus charter/for-hire marine professionals responded to questions on the effects of the pandemic to their businesses, with 60% reporting business closures. The participants of this survey represent 33 counties around the state, with the largest number of responses so far coming from Monroe County.
For a separate survey on commercial fishing businesses, nearly two-thirds reported a shutdown of operations. More strikingly, nearly all of the 100 business owners representing 26 counties indicated their commercial fishing businesses had been affected by the pandemic and that the average length of that impact goes back to early March, even before many efforts to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 were in full effect.
“We’ve only gotten a glimpse at the impacts so far, but the responses have been telling as to which areas of the economy are largely unable to continue their normal operations,” said Christa Court, an assistant professor of food and resource economics and director of the Economic Impact Analysis Program, who is leading the survey effort.
Court said the survey for agriculture and aquaculture producers, processors, and transporters encompasses a larger variety of commodities and operation types, so it’s harder to give a broad overview at this early stage. Still, nearly one-fifth of the more than 400 respondents, representing all 67 counties, reported no impact to their operations, with only 10% reporting closures.
“Both positive and negative impacts to sales revenues are being reported by different operations across all commodity groups,” said John Lai, a UF/IFAS assistant professor of food and resource economics who is also part of the data analysis team. “As we gather additional data, we can dig into what characteristics seem to be driving increases versus decreases. For example, whether this is dependent on markets served, commodity type, input supply disruptions, or location – we don’t have all the information yet.”
Andrew Ropicki, a UF/IFAS assistant professor of food and resource economics who is leading the marine industry analysis portion of the survey, agrees that more participation is key to getting the best overall view of the impacts to these sectors of Florida’s economy.
“We’ve received a good number of responses overall, but at current response rates, the surveys are not yet able to give us clear insights into each individual segment of the agriculture, aquaculture and marine industries,” Ropicki said. “We encourage business owners involved in any agriculture or marine industry to participate in the survey and help us most accurately illustrate the effects of the pandemic.”
The surveys opened on April 16 and will close on May 15. The five questionnaires are specific to the type of business and include background information about the business (operations, revenues, employment, and market channels); current status (open or closed, business changes if open, or reasons for closure if closed); impacts (change in revenues, employment, customer base, products/services offered); and willingness to participate in potential follow-up or similar surveys related to COVID-19 or other disasters.
