ATLANTA, GA– Nominations are currently being accepted to fill five board positions of the newly created Georgia Agriculture Commodity Commission for Wine and Grapes. Persons nominated must be active producers of wine and reside in the State of Georgia. The deadline for submissions is Friday, Nov. 27, 2020.
The nominees will be vetted and certified to ensure they are active Georgia producers of this commodity in the appropriate geographic areas. Interested producers with questions may contact the Georgia Department of Agriculture at 404-586-1405.
On August 3, 2020, Governor Brian Kemp amended the Georgia Agricultural Commodities Commissions Act by signing HB 1093 to establish an Agricultural Commodity Commission for Wine and Grapes. Georgia Agriculture Commodity Commissions are created by the Georgia Legislature. Furthermore, a market order of each commission is passed by the growers of that respective commodity which allows for assessments on the commodity to be paid by each of the producers of such commodity. These funds are used for research, education and promotion of the commodity. Members of the commissions make decisions on how funds are spent and programs the commission supports.
Georgia pecan prices remain discouragingly low for farmers as harvest season is in full swing across the state. According to the USDA Pecan Report that was released on Tuesday, ranged anywhere from 70 cents to 75 cents per pound for Stuart varieties to Sumners that were selling for $1.30 to $1.41 per pound (nut count 50-60) with meat yield 52% to 54%.
Elliott varieties (nut count 65-75) sold for $1.20 to $1.38 per pound with a meat yield of 50% to 53%.
It’s important to note these prices are for in-shell pecans of good quality in lots of 20,000 pounds or less.
For lots over 20,000 pounds, including truckloads; Desirable varieties sold for $1.25 to $1.46 per pound (nut count 45-51) with meat yield between 50% to 52%. Elliott varieties sold for $1.20 to $1.30 per pound (nut count 65-75) with a meat yield of 50% to 52%. Sumner varieties sold for $1.30 to $1.41 per pound (nut count 50-60) with a meat yield of 52% to 54%.
The release stated that, “Growers are preparing their pecans to be tested and offering them for sale this week with many not making any deals or sales. They are either reoffered for sale or put into storage waiting until a price can be established and accepted by both sides. Purchases by shellers and domestic buyers are moderate to slow as well as retail gift pack purchases and it is expected to pick up before the Thanksgiving push for holiday sales. The export market is slow as compared to past years, especially the movement going to Asia.”
Hurricane Sally damaged crops and structures along Alabama’s Gulf Coast when it hit Sept. 16. Cassebaum Farms in Lillian in Baldwin County sustained damage to its pecan crop during Hurricane Sally.
What was potentially Alabama’s best pecan crop in years has been drastically reduced by two hurricanes.
Alabama Extension Research Associate Bryan Wilkins estimates after Hurricanes Sally (in mid-September) and Zeta (last week), the state’s crop has been reduced to about 25% or less for this year.
“This was the best crop we’ve had in years. We were probably looking at a heavy alternate bearing year next year, too. They’re going to be down for two years,” Wilkins said.
That’s not even counting the future losses that are a result of trees being uprooted from heavy winds.
“Zeta came right up through along the edge of Mobile County and into Washington County, down around Grand Bay…I had one guy tell me, ‘I’m going to put my shaker up because I sure don’t need it the rest of the year, they’re all on the ground,’” Wilkins said.
“The further up in the state you get, the further east you get, they haven’t lost as much crop wise, but the quality has gone down. Some of them couldn’t get in to harvest, they got beat up in the wind.”
Total Loss to Baldwin County
Hurricane Sally delivered a total loss to pecan producers in Baldwin County, the state’s top pecan-producing county.
“Baldwin and Mobile are the two major areas (of production). We’ve got some areas coming on like back over in the Wiregrass that got hammered with Hurricane Opal back in 1995. They’re recovering over there but they still don’t have the trees that we had over here,” Wilkins said.
“It’s going to knock Baldwin County out of being the major producing county in this state, I think. We’re still trying to get counts right now.”
But the biggest concern remains the impact these storms will have on the state’s pecan industry long-term. It’s a “generational” impact.
“I’ve got one guy who lost, in one orchard, he lost 120 of them 90-year-old Stuarts. It’s generational. These guys that had those big trees, those 90-year-old trees or even 40-year-old trees, they’ll never see that yield again,” Wilkins said.
“Their grandkids might or their kids. I don’t know how many of them are going to replant. I had a couple of them tell me they’re going to tend to what they’ve got left, but they’re not going to replant just because, right now they’re in their 60s, and by the time (the pecans) come online, they’ll be in their 70s.
“They took a good kick in the guts. This one hurt.”
University of Georgia Extension photo/Some mid-September sown seedbeds in Toombs County growing nicely.
What a difference a year makes for Georgia’s Vidalia onion producers. Last year’s weather conditions consisted of hot temperatures when growers were planting their seedbeds. That’s not been the case this year, however.
“It’s been a real quiet year. Everything’s been going very well. This time last year we were dealing with really hot temperatures, some extreme. We think the plants have suffered some, but we’ve had really great conditions this year,” said Chris Tyson, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Area Onion Agent at the Vidalia Onion and Vegetable Research Center in Lyons, Georgia.
“Until (last Thursday) when we had some rain from the hurricane (Zeta) that came through; we actually got over an inch of rain in some places which was actually much needed; but we haven’t had a lot of rain to promote disease in the last several weeks.
“We haven’t had much rain. We’ve had mild temperatures, everything has been going really good.”
All Seedbeds Planted
Tyson said all of the seedbeds have been planted. Some were planted as early as the first week in September, and it continued all the way to the end of September. The first seeds that were planted are likely to be transplanted this week on a limited scale. However, during the second or third week in November, transplantings will pick up and continue in December.
Vidalia onion seeds are planted in a separate field from where they’ll be transplanted. Tyson said growers want the diameter of the plants to be as big around as a pencil. When they get to that size, farmers will pull them out of the ground off the seedbed and transplant them into the fields.
High Population Density of Plants
They grow seedbeds at a high population density with about two million seeds per acre. They’ll transplant between 85,000 and 100,000 plants per acre. An acre of seedlings leads to between 18 and 20 acres of transplanted fields. Vidalia onion producers utilize this planting strategy to protect against weed pressure.
“When those plants are very small, we have a lot of weed pressure. We don’t have a lot of good herbicide options for those really small plants. What we do on our seedbeds, we use a type of fumigant to fumigate the soil and sterilize the soil to help kill off a lot of weeds and a lot of weed seeds,” Tyson said.
“That’s expensive. That’s the biggest obstacle to just planting the seed in the field one time and being done with it is weed control. The costs and the labor to grow them that way, it’s a lot more intensive.”
Alabama hemp producers looking ahead to the 2021 season are invited to participate in roundtable discussions with Alabama Cooperative Extension agents and specialists.
Alabama Extension is hosting three discussion events with producers over the next three weeks, beginning this Thursday at Camp Meadowbrook in Cullman, Ala. One will be held on Nov. 13 at the Richard Beard Building in Montgomery, Ala. The other will be held at the Wiregrass Research Center in East Headland, Ala.
They will be held from 9 a.m. through 11 a.m.
The sessions are designed for hemp farmers to discuss the challenges and potential opportunities in the industry. Anyone with an interest in hemp is welcome to come and share their experiences from this year’s growing season and ask questions.
A representative from the Department of Agriculture and Industries will also be available to answer any specific questions regarding Alabama rules and regulations.
A maximum of 30 people will be allowed at each event, though everyone else is welcome to attend via zoom.
Click here to register for this week’s hemp discussion.
Southeast peach producers have new tools in the fungicide toolbox for the 2021 season. According to the UGA Peach Blog, Cevya, Miravis and Miravis Duo and Chairman are new products that growers need to implement in a way that will allow for efficient and protect against resistance development.
University of Georgia Extension fruit disease specialist Phil Brannen said Cevya is a DMI (DeMethylation Inhibitors) fungicide that was registered for use last year by BASF.
However, because it is a DMI, growers need to treat it like any other DMI since there has been DMI resistance in previous years. Brannen prefers that Cevya be used only in late-season sprays for brown rot disease.
Miravis and Miravis Duo
Miravis and Miravis Duo are Syngenta products. They are extremely active against peach scab, a fungal disease that thrives in a wet environment. Scab is the second most impactful disease that peach farmers deal with ranking just behind brown rot. Miravis and Miravis Duo also provide brown rot control that is comparable to Merivon or Luna Sensation.
If growers are not having any issues with peach scab, then they are encouraged to still use chlorothalonil (e.g. Bravo and generics).
Chairman
Chairman, another product from Syngenta, is a post-harvest packing line that is similar to Scholar. Brannen said it is basically a combination of Scholar and propiconazole, which is a DMI. The addition of the DMI provides potential sour rot management. This is the last opportunity to manage sour rot as the fruit goes to market, so growers are to consider Chairman if it is a concern. It may also broaden brown rot efficacy.
Resistance management remains a top priority for peach producers, especially when incorporating new chemical applications.
“With brown rot being the kind of fungus it is, we know it can develop resistance; thankfully, we’ve been able to develop some good programs that even where we’ve had some DMI resistance, we can still get good control and incorporate some DMIs. But we try to use only one class of chemistry if possible once or twice per year,” Brannen said. “We try to utilize the old chemicals like chlorothalonil, like captan, like Sulfur and save all of the other classes of chemistries where there can be resistance until the very end where we have such a problem with brown rot. Then we try to utilize them only once or twice per class.”
Figure 1. A: The University of Georgia Smart Sensor Array (UGA SSA) node is installed in blueberries. The electronics are housed in the white PVC container. The spring allows the antenna to bend when farm vehicles pass overhead. B: The UGA SSA sensor probe integrates three Watermark sensors and can be customized to any length.
By Vasileios Liakos
One of the goals of the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (UGA CAES) is to develop new irrigation methods and tools for crops. Researchers, including myself, Erick Smith, George Vellidis and Wes Porter, have been developing smart irrigation scheduling tools for blueberry growers in Georgia since 2015. Smart irrigation is a new method of irrigation that uses technology and information to make more accurate and faster decisions.
UGA has developed two smart irrigation tools for blueberries — the UGA Smart Sensor Array (SSA) and the Blueberry App.
SYSTEM RECORDS SOIL MOISTURE
The UGA SSA is a system that records soil moisture within fields. It consists of a monitoring system, a commercial server that receives soil moisture data wirelessly, and a website that presents soil moisture data and recommends irrigation rates. The monitoring system consists of smart sensor nodes and a gateway. Each node has a circuit board, a radio frequency transmitter, soil moisture sensors, thermocouple wires and an antenna (Figure 1a). Each node accommodates two thermocouples for measuring temperature and a probe that consists of up to three Watermark® soil moisture sensors (Figure 1b).
“Soil moisture sensors record soil water tension, and we realized very soon that farmers could not make irrigation decisions based on the sensor readings. It was necessary to convert sensor readings into amount of irrigation,” said UGA precision agriculture specialist George Vellidis.
To overcome this problem, we utilized soil properties and a model to convert soil water tension numbers into inches of irrigation that is needed to saturate the soil profile. Additionally, farmers can see in real time their soil moisture data to make irrigation decisions for each location in fields using a web-based interface that was developed by UGA.
IRRIGATION SCHEDULING APP
Figure 2. Left: The main screen of the Blueberry App tells growers how many hours they need to run their irrigation systems and how many gallons they are going to use. It also allows them to check accumulated rainfall from the past seven days and the expected crop evapotranspiration for the next seven days. Right: Blueberry growers do not have to check the app daily since it notifies users if there is rain at the field and how much irrigation they need to apply.
Blueberry growers can also use the Blueberry App on their smartphones to schedule irrigation (Figure 2). The app runs a model that uses reference evapotranspiration (ETo) data and the Penman-Monteith equation to calculate the irrigation needs of blueberries.
The innovation of the Blueberry App is that it is programmed to receive forecasted ETo data for the next seven days for every location in the United States from the Forecast Reference Evapotranspiration service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Precipitation data are received from the Georgia Automated Environmental Monitoring Network and the Florida Automated Weather Network (FAWN).
UGA has developed a crop coefficient curve that shows the water needs of blueberries in Georgia every year. The goal is to include more coefficient curves from other states. This will be capable if more blueberry growers use the app.
By knowing the total ETo for the next seven days and the crop coefficient values of the blueberries, the crop evapotranspiration of blueberries can be calculated, and irrigation events adjusted accordingly.
EVALUATION OF SOIL MOISTURE SENSORS
Another interesting project, involving soil moisture sensors and blueberries, began a few months ago. The objectives of the project are to 1) compare different commercially available soil moisture sensors in blueberry soil, 2) determine the accuracy of each type of soil moisture sensor in blueberries and 3) determine which soil moisture sensor type is best for use in blueberries.
Figure 3. Field trials are testing four different soil sensor types in blueberry fields.
The soil moisture sensors used in this project are Watermarks, Irrometer tensiometers, Aquachecks and Decagons (ECHO EC-5). The selection of these sensors was made based on their popularity in the United States. Table 1 shows advantages and disadvantages of different types of soil moisture sensors.
This study takes place at a UGA blueberry farm in Alapaha and at two commercial blueberry farms in Alma and Manor. At each site, the four different soil moisture sensor types have been installed close to each other along the beds to collect data to meet the objectives of the project (Figure 3).
Source: Practical use of soil moisture sensors and their data for irrigation scheduling by R. Troy Peters, Kefyalew G. Desta and Leigh Nelson, 2013, Washington State University.
File photo shows industrial hemp. Photo taken 06-12-19.
Many Alabama hemp farmers are either sitting on their crop following harvest or have decided to plow their crop under, due to low quality and decreased prices, according to Katelyn Kesheimer, Auburn University Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist.
“I spoke to a grower on Friday and he said he couldn’t find a processor that had the right price to make it worthwhile for his crop. So he’s going to sit on it a little bit, which I think a lot of people are going to do just because they’re not sure of the actual process of finding a buyer and what to do with it. They really didn’t think it through before they grew the crop,” Kesheimer said. “Honestly, I think a lot of people are going to be sitting on it or destroying their crop because it’s not even worth it to harvest.”
Kesheimer reported on Oct. 21 that Alabama hemp was expected to be low quality due to disease, insects, rain and late plantings. She received calls from buyers looking for smokable flower grade hemp and couldn’t find enough. Not much has changed two weeks later.
“There’s not a lot of great quality flower out there for smokable hemp, so I think a lot of it will get extracted into oil. But the cost associated with it might be prohibitive for some growers. They’re trying to work through that right now,” Kesheimer said. “I imagine we’ll be sitting on a little bit of hemp for the next few months, if not longer.”
2019 Hemp Still Being Held
Producers holding on to their hemp crop is not uncommon in Alabama. Kesheimer believes farmers still have hemp from 2019 because the market price never rebounded.
“It never got back up to where everyone thought it was to make it worthwhile to grow,” Kesheimer said.
Kesheimer and Regional Extension agent Jessica Kelton plan to host listening sessions with hemp producers over the next three weeks to gauge opinions and hear about the potential challenges of the industry moving forward. The first one will be this week on Thursday in Cullman.
“People tried to go big. We had a lot of new growers. There was a lack of information. There’s a lack of buyers, processors, markets. It was wet, so disease just ramped up. I don’t think people realized how quickly, whether it was southern blight or caterpillars, could take out a crop,” Kesheimer said.
Clemson Extension agents provided updates in The South Carolina Grower this week about the status of various crops being produced throughout the state.
Coastal
Rob Last reports, “Strawberry planting is mostly complete in the area. Plants received from nurseries have been very good this year, and establishment is progressing well. In fall vegetable crops, Southern army worms continue to be present and numerous. Whiteflies in fall vegetables are beginning to reduce. Disease pressure remains relatively low.”
Zack Snipes reports, “Strawberry planting continued last week. Bare root plants look good going into the ground. Stay on top of workers to plant them correctly. I saw some patches with “J” roots or long roots that went to the bottom of the hole and back out. Those plants will die or produce considerably less yield than properly planted plants. Also, I have seen and heard reports of spider mites on plug transplants. Check your fields and get out miticide this week if you need it. Fall growth is very important as well as knocking out the existing spider mite populations. Remember that the threshold for spider mites is 4% to 5% of the leaves with a population. And lastly, I have seen AWFUL disease on purchased transplants. If you purchase transplants and they have disease on them, DO NOT plant them. The plants will never produce like they should and you are inoculating the rest of your crops and land with that disease.
Clean bareroot cutoff plants. Notice how white or cream colored the crown is and how clean the roots are. Photo from Zack Snipes.
Midlands
Justin Ballew reports, “Young strawberries are growing well so far in the midlands. We’ve had good weather for getting the plants established. We are starting to see some spider mites already, so don’t forget that we need to be scouting regularly as soon as the plants are in the ground. If you plan to cover your strawberries for a couple weeks in the fall, getting rid of mites should be priority #1. Other crops are doing well also, though we are seeing high numbers of caterpillars and diseases like black rot, and Alternaria on brassicas have really been ramping up.”
Discoloration on young plants from spider mite feeding damage. Once populations reach the threshold of 4% infestation, treatments need to be made in a timely manner to keep spider mites from hanging around throughout the winter and into the spring. Photo from Justin Ballew.
Pee Dee
Tony Melton reports, “First time I have seen large numbers of yellow-margined beetle in Orangeburg County – we had to treat 1 out of 10 fields for them. If possible do not use a pyrethroid on young greens; it will encourage worm and aphid problems. Still seeing a lot of boron and magnesium deficiency in greens, mostly because farmers are not liming properly, using sul-pho-mag, or using premium fertilizers with minor elements. Spray with boron and many applications of Epsom salts, and the greens will eventually grow out of the problem. Like always, swine cress and corn spurry are awful weeds in greens – to control, I recommend using a stale-bed culture technique before planting. We still have butterbeans, peas and cucurbits in the ground – hope frost stays away until after Thanksgiving.
Upstate
Kerrie Roach reports, “High winds, heavy rains and now cold overnight temperatures have laid down a gauntlet for growers in the Upstate over the last week. Many growers in Oconee County lost power from the remnants of Hurricane Zeta for anywhere from 1 to 4 days. Apples are just about finished with mainly Yates and Arkansas Blacks left to pick. Apple growers concerned with fungicide resistance should contact Kerrie to pull Bitter Rot samples now to be sent to the shared lab at N.C. State.”
Andy Rollins reports, “Finishing up strawberry planting in the upstate. I’ve been inspecting farms and assisting some growers with planting different types of plants they weren’t used to planting. Unlike the pictured transplants some are a little smaller than normal but appear to be healthy at this point. Colder weather is a slight concern as we need decent growing conditions to get them rooted in well. Some may need to use row covers to keep strawberry plants growing during the first 30 days in the ground if temperatures stay low. Peach growers are putting down fall herbicides, and some are preparing to do delay blooming. This involves waiting till at least 50% of the leaves are off of the trees before applying a liquid form of ethylene. Other stipulations are also important regarding temperatures after application. If it is your first time trying this, speak with your county agent to get the correct method.
Healthy strawberry plug ready to be planted. Photo from Andy Rollins.
Hemp harvest is nearing an end in Georgia. According to Tim Coolong, associate professor in the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, the state’s hemp producers appeared to have stayed within the legal parameters of hemp production.
What distinguishes hemp from marijuana is the amount of THC or tetrahydrocannabinol present in the plant. It is the main compound in cannabis that produces the “high” sensation.
Legal hemp must contain no more than 0.3 percent of THC. Otherwise, the THC is at an unacceptable level, and the crop must be destroyed. That doesn’t appear to have been the case this year, though.
“I haven’t heard many reports of people going above the limit. For the most part, at least for the growers I’ve interacted with, they were testing regularly. When they had gotten their test back for harvest they were completely legal and ready to go,” Coolong said.
THC levels must be officially tested within 15 days of anticipated harvest.
If growers regularly tested their hemp samples, it prevented a disastrous scenario of if the officials tested the crop before harvest, and it exceeded legal limits, catching the farmers off guard. All of the work done to produce that crop would be for naught.
“We stressed that a lot last year at our county meetings. Terry Hollifield, with Georgia Crop Improvement, they were doing the sampling for the growers, and he made a specific effort to do orientations with them. During the summer, he would go out and visit the growers and explain to them the process and everything,” Coolong said.
“Almost every grower I had spoken to this summer was doing some testing on their own before the state would come in. I would be surprised if there were very many growers who were just like, ‘Oh, I didn’t know about this.’”
