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  • Using Reflective Mulch Films to Optimize Strawberry Production

    File photo shows strawberries growing.

    By Ashley Robinson

    Although a winter crop, strawberry production in Florida still falls victim to heat stress. With extreme heat during establishment, cool temperatures during the early and mid-harvests, and high temperatures during the late harvest, the crop is subject to dramatic seasonal temperature variations.

    Traditionally, the state’s strawberry growers have used black plastic mulch to achieve adequate wintertime soil warming and optimal fruit production. However, black mulch can intensify the negative impacts of high temperatures, leading to greater heat stress, especially when growers advance planting dates (e.g., late September) to improve earliness. Some of the negative effects of heat stress on the plant include greater susceptibility to pests and diseases, nonuniform growth and soft fruit.

    On the other hand, reflective mulch films don’t provide enough soil warming during the winter for the plant, so researchers have had to look for a happy medium.

    To resolve this issue, researchers at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) are looking at the effects of using reflective mulch films; essentially, adding a black center stripe to reflective silver mulch.

    Shinsuke Agehara, assistant professor of horticulture at the UF/IFAS Gulf Coast Research and Education Center (GCREC), gave an overview of his research on reflective mulch for strawberry production at the recent Vegetable & Specialty Crop (VSC) Expo.

    “The idea is to have the dual benefits of black mulch and reflective mulch,” Agehara says.

    According to Agehara, metalized mulch films have the potential to improve early-season fruit development by alleviating heat stress conditions during the establishment period.

    Field trials at the UF/IFAS GCREC showed significant early-season yield increases of up to 59% and total season yield increases by up to 30% with reflective mulch films. Other beneficial effects of reflective mulch films include reduced damage from rot, total season yield increases and fruit size increases. 

    Although there are many benefits to the reflective film, one drawback that Agehara warns growers about is what can happen if your water from your sprinkler irrigation has a high pH.

    “Sprinkler irrigation with high pH water, when the pH is greater than 7.5, it can fade aluminum coatings on metalized films,” he says.

    If fading of aluminum coatings are an issue, Agehara recommends trying white-on-black mulch, which should perform better than black mulch and nearly as well as metalized mulch.

    To view Agehara’s full presentation from VSC Expo, click here.

  • University of Florida Blueberry Breeding Update

    Colossus has a later blooming time and very large fruit.

    By Patricio Munoz and Doug Phillips

    The University of Florida (UF) blueberry breeding program has a long history of developing superior southern highbush cultivars for the commercial blueberry industry. Beginning in 1949, the program has produced more than 40 cultivars, all of which exhibit a lower chilling hour requirement and adaptation to the higher temperatures and disease pressure experienced in Florida’s climate.

    There are several desirable traits that are the focus of blueberry breeding efforts, including fruit quality (firmness, flavor, size, color, scar size, etc.), plant vigor, disease resistance and machine harvestability (fruit firmness, detachment force, plant architecture, concentrated ripening, etc.).

    ADVANCEMENTS ACHIEVED

    Blueberry breeding programs have historically used the recurrent phenotypic selection method, which is still used today. Selection of superior candidates is based on the cross-pollination of plants with favorable traits, the progeny of which are grown out and go through a series of successive selection, with favorable plants both advancing to the next stage and being used as parents for the next breeding cycle.

    From an initial planting of 20,000 seedlings, each cycle’s population is narrowed to 10 to 15 percent, of which only a few may ultimately be released. With this method, the development of a new cultivar from cross-pollination to release can take between 10 and 12 years.

    However, since the original selections from the wild at the beginning of the program until today, significant improvement has been achieved. In 2018 the UF blueberry breeding lab demonstrated by an extensive review of the literature (Cappai et al., 2018) that firmness has been steadily improved, reaching levels that make almost all new cultivars acceptable for machine harvest, and that, in general, southern highbush cultivars are firmer than northern highbush.

    More recently, advanced methods including quantitative genetics and molecular information have been introduced, which have the potential to shorten the breeding cycle. These methods include using statistical methods to model molecular markers linked to genes associated with favorable traits. This can be done much earlier in the breeding cycle, instead of waiting until a plant becomes mature to observe whether certain traits will be present.

    Optimus is an excellent choice for machine harvesting and exhibits good production in both deciduous and evergreen systems.

    In 2019, the UF blueberry breeding lab performed a proof of concept experiment of these methods and demonstrated their feasibility (Oliveira et al., 2019). The focus during 2020 has been on optimizing these methods, which will be reported in studies to be published in the near future.

    Other areas of research in the UF breeding program include flavor perception, container production and alternative season production.

    FLAVOR PERCEPTION

    The UF breeding program recently finished performing studies to demonstrate that consumer “liking” perception can be predicted when using the unique chemical makeup of each new cultivar. The idea is to avoid bias in the selection process associated with the breeder in charge of creating and releasing new cultivars.

    In this area, discoveries have been made regarding which chemicals are favorable to the flavor perception and which ones are detrimental. This work started many years ago, and now with more information some of the findings can be validated.

    CONTAINER PRODUCTION

    Production in containers has become a global trend, primarily to produce high yields on marginal land because these soilless systems do not depend on native soil. The UF breeding program has been performing experiments as a proof of concept of this system for conditions in Florida. Results of second-year experiments show that, while these systems require high investment, they could become an attractive alternative for some Florida growers. The lab is in the process of refining the results to deliver some recommendations to growers.

    In addition, the breeding program supports and collaborates in blueberry-related research in pathology, entomology, management and pollination.

    RECENTLY RELEASED CULTIVARS

    As always, the UF breeding program is closely watching elite selections to release new cultivars. A major focus has been placed on consistency across locations and years, as well as on precociousness (the capacity to produce harvestable fruit the first year after planting).


    The most recently released cultivars from the UF program, Colossus and Optimus, have started to gain traction with growers.

    Colossus was released in 2019. It has exhibited a later blooming time with a short bloom to ripening period, and has better performance with low doses of hydrogen cyanamide. The fruit is very large to jumbo sized, is very firm, has good color and bloom and a small picking scar. Colossus has performed well in both North Central and Central Florida trial sites. The best fruit is obtained by allowing it to hang on the bush until the preferred sweet and acid balance is achieved. In 2019, the yield in North Central Florida was approximately 12 pounds per bush. Colossus can be machine harvested if needed.

    Optimus was released in 2018 as an excellent choice for machine harvesting. It has good timing for the Florida market window, with high yields and natural early leafing. Optimus has firm, medium-sized, high-quality berries. It has performed well in machine-harvesting trials and exhibited good production across Florida in both deciduous and evergreen systems. Optimus yielded 14 pounds of fruit per bush in 2019 in North Central Florida.

    Other recent releases, heavily used in the evergreen system, include Arcadia and Avanti, which were released in 2015.

    Arcadia has high yield and vigor, very low chilling requirements and disease-tolerant foliage. Several growers have reported good fruit production in the first year after planting. Arcadia has shown susceptibility to bacterial wilt (Ralstonia solanacearum), with severity varying significantly from farm to farm.

    Avanti has potential for above-average yields, with early fruit maturity, very low chilling requirements and very sweet fruit. It has shown some susceptibility to mite damage and algal stem blotch, which require good management programs.

  • Trap Cropping Effective in Reducing Unwanted Insect Populations

    Pictured is a stink bug, an insect that farmers can target with trap cropping.

    Ayanava Majumdar, Extension Professor in Entomology and Plant Pathology at Auburn University, touts trap cropping as being effective in controlling unwanted insect pests while also significantly reducing insecticide applications.

    “Not all insects will trap crop work. Trap crop works for insects that typically stay in clusters or have a strong border effect. For example, our sucking insect pests like the stink bugs, aphids; they all show a very clumped distribution and have a very high edge effect and then they spread,” Majumdar said. “Those are the insects, especially the migratory insects, that you can arrest; stopping them from going into the main crop.”

    Trap crops are sacrificial crops planted around a field that are not meant to be harvested. Producers plant them to draw pests away from the real crop. There is no universal trap crop available. Different insects require different trap crops.

    Insects love different kinds of plants. Stink bugs will attack tomatoes, so if farmers provide a distraction like sorghum, they will go to that distraction and stay away from tomatoes.

    Majumdar said the trap crops evaluated in Alabama include sorghum and sunflower for leaffooted bugs; sunflower, browntop millet and pearl millet for stink bugs; okra, bell peppers and ornamentals for aphids; New England Hubbard squash for squash insects.

    He recommends growers plant a trap crop two weeks ahead of a main crop, for a perimeter trap crop where it envelops an entire field.

    Some advantages include farmers can use existing farm equipment; there is minimum new investment (seed); producers can reduce damage to the main crop; and it attracts and conserves beneficial insects.

    “The challenge is to become efficient in doing it, not devoting more than 10% or 15% of the total area in trap crop so that you don’t cut back on the land and main crop,” Majumdar said.

  • Tropics Continue to be Active

    Graphic taken from National Weather Service.

    According to the UGA Extension Climate and Agriculture blog, the tropics continue to be active with different systems expected to impact the Southeast this week.

    Pam Knox, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Agricultural Climatologist, said the latest map shows several tropical centers of activity. Wilfred has declined to a tropical depression and should not be a threat to anyone. Alpha (off the map to the east) made landfall in Portugal, bringing rain to that region. Hurricane Teddy is still a category 2 hurricane and is moving northward. It may cross over Bermuda before hitting the Canadian Maritime Provinces later in the week. At the moment the only impact we see from Teddy is very high waves along the East Coast. Post-Tropical Storm Paulette is still hanging out in the eastern Atlantic and has a chance of making a comeback there. And there is a small area of rotation over the Florida peninsula moving west which has a small chance of developing into a tropical depression as it moves over the Gulf.

    Tropical Storm Beta is our next biggest issue. It is currently in the northwestern Gulf and is expected to make landfall in Texas before making a sharp right turn and following the coast into Louisiana and then swinging northeast through Mississippi later in the week. It will be another big rainmaker for the areas it passes by. In the Southeast, we are currently seeing some high-level clouds from the storm in southern Alabama and Georgia. By Thursday, we could see some rain from the storm in northern Alabama and Georgia as it moves out to the northeast.

  • Southeast Regional Fruit and Vegetable Conference to be Virtual in 2021

    The Southeast Regional Fruit and Vegetable Conference includes a trade show of hundreds of exhibitors. Photo courtesy of the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association.

    It has proven almost impossible to hold in-person conferences and trade shows amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Southeast Regional Fruit and Vegetable Conference is the latest to announce its intention to transition to a virtual event in 2021.

    Charles Hall, executive director of the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association confirmed in an announcement on Monday that the event scheduled for Jan. 5-7, 2021 will be held virtually.

    “The Savannah conference is a unique conference, and everybody enjoys that conference because of the networking and the opportunities to see folks and the education quality and tradeshow and industry folks there. It became quite obvious that as we worked through how we do the conference in this Corona-19 guideline, it just became an impossibility,” Hall said. “If you look at one of our classrooms where we expect to have 100 people in there, if you social distance, you can get 19 people in that room. What happens is if we work to go forward with that, you’ve got 19 people getting an education and 80 people not getting an education.

    “The effectiveness and ability with the conference to function is just not possible to have it.”

    Normal Attendance

    A normal attendance for the conference is between 3,200 and 3,500 people. The event targets fruit and vegetable crops like watermelons, peaches, blueberries and hemp with educational sessions led by University of Georgia Extension specialists.

    Over the next two weeks, the organization will provide more information on exhibiting, sponsoring and attending the virtual event in January.

    One benefit of this virtual format is that educational sessions will stay online for four months.

    “There’s a lot of positives to the change but the networking and atmosphere of the Savannah conference is going to be missed this year,” Hall said.

  • Clemson Extension Agents Provide Crop Updates

    Clemson Extension agents provided updates in The South Carolina Grower this week about the status of various crops being produced throughout the state.

    Weekly Field Update-9/21/20

    Coastal

    Zack Snipes reports, “Cooler temperatures have finally arrived in the Lowcountry! We had a good bit of rain in certain areas last week, and some fields are soggy. I saw lots and lots of silverleaf disorder in squash this past week. Silverleaf disorder is caused by whiteflies.  The nymphs of the whitefly feed on the newly developing tissue which causes the upper epidermis of the leaf to separate, thus giving the plant a silver appearance.  I am still seeing heavy whitefly pressure in most crops throughout the Lowcountry so keep up with spray programs and remember to rotate chemistries. For more information on the whitefly, click here.

    Silverleaf of squash is a symptom of whitefly feeding. Photo from Zack Snipes.

    Midlands

    Justin Ballew reports, “These cooler temperatures that have arrived following the rain feel great, but they are going to slow crop development some. Folks are already picking fall brassicas, though some may be a little small. Just trying to keep up with demand. There are plenty of caterpillars out there. I’m seeing diamondback moths (of course) as well as cabbage loopers and a few corn earworms. Be sure to rotate your insecticides when spraying for caterpillars. Folks are continuing to prep fields for the rapidly approaching strawberry season.”

    Cabbage loopers are showing up. Loopers frequently rear up like a cobra when disturbed. Photo from Justin Ballew

    Pee Dee

    Tony Melton reports, “Rain, rain, rain. It came quickly, so most drained off quickly, if drainage was adequate. Need to dig sweet potatoes as quickly as possible to keep down the amount of rot. Greens, pickles, and peas are struggling to survive the rain – some are drowned. Ponds are back in the fields. Some strawberry plastic is already down, but the rest of the folks are just beginning this week. Transplants are scarce and most likely will be late getting here this year. 

    Upstate

    Kerrie Roach reports, “There has been a significant rise in wine grape production interest over the last month or two in the Upstate. Each week seems to bring another caller asking for recommendations. While climates here are relatively good for grape production overall, high humidity and heat make disease control difficult. Pierce’s Disease is one of the deadliest to deal with; prevention requires intense insect vector control and control means the complete removal of the affected plant. Recent studies have brought new cultivars to the forefront which are helping southern growers become more successful in this niche industry.

    ‘Traminette’ with leaf scorch symptom of Pierce’s Disease. Photo from Kerrie Roach.

  • Sally’s Impact on Alabama, Georgia Pecan Production

    UGA photo/Shows flooding in a pecan orchard.

    Georgia pecan farmers escaped serious damage last week following Hurricane Sally’s trek through the Southeast. Alabama producers were not so lucky, however.

    University of Georgia Extension pecan specialist Lenny Wells said Baldwin County, the heart of Alabama’s pecan production, was one of the counties hit hardest by Sally’s Category Two Hurricane status. According to the UGA Extension pecan blog, Wells said he has spoken with growers and pecan specialists in the area. The damage is worse than Hurricane Ivan in 2004.

    “From the ones I’ve talked to down there, they’re going through the same thing we went through with Michael (in 2018) and the same thing they’ve been through before with Ivan and so many other storms,” Wells said. “It sounds pretty bad over there. I think it’s worse on one side of the bay than the other. I think the east side of the bay got the worst of it. But it’s pretty bad.”

    Growers reported 25% to 75% of their trees down. That area received more than 20 inches of rain with 100 mph winds. Trees were laid on the ground and leaves and nuts were knocked off trees.

    Impact on Georgia pecans

    While Alabama producers were dealt a double whammy with excessive rainfall and high winds, Georgia’s pecan orchards experienced mainly flooding. There was between 6 to 8 inches of rainfall in some areas, according to the UGA Extension pecan blog.

    “There wasn’t a lot of wind damage that I’ve heard about or seen yet,” Wells said.

    Wells said this development may delay some growers from getting into orchards where Pawnees were ready for harvest. That is normally the earliest variety that is harvested. The remaining varieties will be ready in a few weeks.

    “We’re probably three weeks away, maybe two, but two to three weeks away from really getting started with Elliott and some of the early October varieties that we harvest. Probably by mid-October, I imagine everything will be ready this year,” Wells said. “Crop is a little early.”

  • Sign-Up Begins Today for CFAP 2

    Agricultural producers who continue to face market disruptions and associated costs due to the coronavirus pandemic can sign up for the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP 2) beginning today. Applications will be accepted through Dec. 11, 2020.

    Rabinowitz

    Auburn University Assistant Professor and Extension economist Adam Rabinowitz discusses the impact of this new program and how it is much different than the original.

    “It is much, much broader in terms of commodities; pretty much all of the row crops are there, including cotton and peanuts for this area. The fruits and vegetables have been vastly expanded. I think there’s over 230 fruits and vegetables and tree nuts,” Rabinowitz said. “This is going to have very far-reaching effects in terms of what agricultural producers are eligible for payments through this program through the FSA (Farm Service Agency).”

    Additional $14 Billion

    An additional $14 billion is being made available for agricultural producers. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will use funds being made available from the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) Charter Act and CARES Act to support row crops, livestock, specialty crops, dairy, aquaculture and many additional commodities.

    Vegetables eligible for CFAP 2 include: alfalfa sprouts, aloe vera, artichokes, arugula (greens), asparagus, bamboo shoots, batatas, bean sprouts, beans (including dry edible), beets, bok choy, broccoflower, broccoli, broccolini, broccolo-cavalo, Brussel sprouts, cabbage, calaloo, carrots, cauliflower, celeriac, celery, chickpea (see beans, garbanzo), chives, collard greens, coriander, corn, sweet, cucumbers, daikon, dandelion greens, dasheen (taro root, malanga), dill, eggplant, endive, escarole, frisee, gailon (gai lein, Chinese broccoli), garlic, gourds, greens, horseradish, Jerusalem artichokes (sunchoke), kale, kohlrabi, leeks, lentils, lettuce, melongene, mesculin mix, microgreens, mushrooms, okra, onions, parsnip, peas (including dry edible), pejibaye (heart of palm), peppers, potatoes, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, radicchio, radishes, rhubarb, rutabaga, salsify (oyster plant), scallions, seed – vegetable, shallots, spinach, squash, swiss chard, tannier, taro, tomatillos, tomatoes, truffles, turnip top (greens), turnips, yam, and yautia (malanga).

    Go to https://www.farmers.gov/cfap/specialty to find other specialty crops covered.

    Specialty crops eligible for CFAP 2 exclude crops with an intended use of grazing, green manure, or left standing.

    Wide-Ranging Impact

    The fact that this program encompasses a wider range of commodities speaks to the fact the USDA was able to really gauge the impact COVID-19 had across all agricultural spectrums.

    “There were two things that were happening. For starters, the CFAP 1 program was really based on thinking about the 2019 crop and what was held in terms of inventories and what the immediate market responses were. The 2020 crop was something that was just starting to move through the system; just starting to be planted, and so there really wasn’t an opportunity to see what those market impacts would be right away,” Rabinowitz said.

    “I think nobody really knew how long this pandemic was going to go and what the true impacts were. I think this speaks volumes to the fact that we know that there have been wider impacts than what was first anticipated. The fact that there are still market disruptions that are occurring. It’s creating some challenges for agricultural producers. This is a means that the USDA and president are using to try to help mitigate those effects.”

  • Alabama Farmers Federation Surveying Producers

    Alabama Farmers Federation photo/Hurricane Sally damaged crops and structures along Alabama’s Gulf Coast when it hit Sept. 16. Bitto Farms sustained damage from the hurricane in Baldwin County.

    The Alabama Farmers Federation is requesting help from producers hit hard this week by Hurricane Sally. The organization has put together a storm damage survey for growers impacted by the Category 2 hurricane.

    In the storm damage survey, it says while it is important to report losses in the survey, it is also important to report damage to your local Farm Service Agency office.

  • CFAP 2 For Specialty Crop Producers

    Are you a producer of specialty crops including fruits, vegetables, horticulture, tree nuts, honey, maple sap, or indigo whose operation has been directly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic? USDA is implementing Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) 2 for agricultural producers who continue to face market disruptions and associated costs because of COVID-19.

    CFAP 2 will provide producers with financial assistance that gives them the ability to absorb some of the increased marketing costs associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. USDA will accept CFAP 2 applications beginning Monday, Sept. 21 through Dec. 11, 2020. Learn more at www.farmers.gov/cfap.

    Eligible Specialty Crops

    Vegetables eligible for CFAP 2 include: alfalfa sprouts, aloe vera, artichokes, arugula (greens), asparagus, bamboo shoots, batatas, bean sprouts, beans (including dry edible), beets, bok choy, broccoflower, broccoli, broccolini, broccolo-cavalo, Brussel sprouts, cabbage, calaloo, carrots, cauliflower, celeriac, celery, chickpea (see beans, garbanzo), chives, collard greens, coriander, corn, sweet, cucumbers, daikon, dandelion greens, dasheen (taro root, malanga), dill, eggplant, endive, escarole, frisee, gailon (gai lein, Chinese broccoli), garlic, gourds, greens, horseradish, Jerusalem artichokes (sunchoke), kale, kohlrabi, leeks, lentils, lettuce, melongene, mesculin mix, microgreens, mushrooms, okra, onions, parsnip, peas (including dry edible), pejibaye (heart of palm), peppers, potatoes, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, radicchio, radishes, rhubarb, rutabaga, salsify (oyster plant), scallions, seed – vegetable, shallots, spinach, squash, swiss chard, tannier, taro, tomatillos, tomatoes, truffles, turnip top (greens), turnips, yam, and yautia (malanga).

    Go to https://www.farmers.gov/cfap/specialty to find other specialty crops covered.

    Specialty crops eligible for CFAP 2 exclude crops with an intended use of grazing, green manure, or left standing.

    CFAP 2 payments are available for eligible producers of specialty crop commodities categorized as either sales commodities or flat-rate crops. Specifically:

    • Sales commodities have payment calculations that use a sales-based approach, where producers of eligible commodities are paid based on five payment gradations associated with their 2019 sales. Eligible fruits, vegetables, horticulture, tree nuts, honey, and maple sap are categorized as sales-based commodities.
    • Flat-rate crops either do not meet the five-percent-or-greater national price decline trigger noted above or do not have data available to calculate a price change, but will have CFAP 2 payments calculated based on eligible acres of the crop planted in 2020. Indigo is categorized as a flat-rate commodity.

    CFAP 2 Payments for Sales Specialty Crops

    Payments for fruits, vegetables, horticulture, tree nuts, honey, and maple sap will be based on the producer’s 2019 sales of eligible commodities in a declining block format using the following payment factors, and will be equal to:

    1. The amount of the producer’s eligible sales in calendar year 2019, multiplied by
    2. The payment rate for that range.

    Payments for fruit, vegetable, horticulture, tree nut, honey, and maple sap producers who began farming in 2020 and had no sales in 2019 will be based on the producer’s actual 2020 sales as of the producer’s application date.

    Eligible sales only include sales of raw commodities grown by the producer. The portion of sales derived from adding value to the commodity, such as processing and packaging, and from sales of products purchased for resale, is not included in the payment calculation.

    Example: A producer’s 2019 sales of eligible commodities totaled $75,000. The payment is calculated as ($49,999 times 10.6%) plus ($25,001 times 9.9%) equals a total payment of $7,775.

    Additional examples of CFAP 2 sales commodity calculations for five hypothetical specialty commodity producers can be found on page 22 of the Cost-Benefit Analysis published under CFAP 2 Resources on farmers.gov/cfap. We recommend referencing these examples to calculate your estimated CFAP 2 payments for fruits, vegetables, horticulture, tree nuts, maple sap, and honey.

    More information can be found at https://www.farmers.gov/cfap and https://www.farmers.gov/cfap/specialty.