File photo shows downy mildew disease on watermelon.
According to the The South Carolina Grower, downy mildew disease was found Wednesday in one watermelon field in Bamberg County, South Carolina.
Justin Ballew, Clemson Extension commercial horticulture agent, said all growers should immediately spray watermelon with Ranman, Revus, or Gavel to protect their crops from the disease. In addition to direct yield loss, loss of vine cover can expose fruit to sunburn. Growers who find downy mildew in a field should apply Orondis Ultra or Orondis Opti in a weekly rotation with Ranman or Gavel.
According to a previous UGA news release, the downy mildew 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.
UGA Extension photo/Shows leaf scorching on a pecan tree.
By Clint Thompson
Leaf scorching and dieback on some young pecan trees is common this year with high temperatures, according to Lenny Wells, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension pecan specialist. But Wells assures growers the problem can be corrected.
“We see that this time of year pretty much every year; young trees where they’re growing so fast that the root system can’t keep up with what the top is trying to produce. This time of year, it turns off hot and soil temperatures warm up some,” Wells said. “Water demand goes up and those young trees with the root system not fully developed yet have a hard time keeping up. They tend to grow out of it. It’s a scary thing for growers to see. But they do tend to grow out of it fine.
“Anytime you have a tree like that, that’s struggling and you start seeing some shoots dying back and stuff like that, it’s a sign that’s something’s going on in the root system. If you prune back some of that top and bring the top of that tree back more in line with what the root system can support, that usually is a big help to it.”
Wells cautions growers to maintain consistent soil moisture or apply water every other day. The longer irrigation is applied, the deeper the water runs. This allows the root system to develop deeper through the soil profile. This also prevents the soil from getting too hot. Soil temperatures that exceed 95 degrees F inhibit root growth.
In the UGA Extension pecan blog, Wells also said that growers will get more vigor and healthy first-year growth if they plant before March.
Georgia peach workers are staying safe and nobody has been stricken from the coronavirus pandemic yet, says Jeff Cook, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Agriculture and Natural Resources agent for Peach and Taylor counties.
“Nobody’s having any real hiccups with this virus. I guess everybody’s staying far enough away from each other to be safe,” Cook said.
Workers are essential in harvesting Georgia peaches.
Cook said all the precautions and safety guidelines that are already in place jive with the safety practices that are necessary with the current coronavirus pandemic.
“In the packing sheds and in the close proximity, all of the ladies and gentlemen, they’re all wearing masks. They started wearing gloves in the past anyway packing, just for food safety sake. All of their food safety side of stuff, it just translates over to public safety, too.
“Every day, at the end of the day, they clean the packing shed and then they disinfect it. Then they come back in the morning and do the same thing in the morning. They’ve all got stores, and all have got retail space where they sell products. They’ve got all of the regular signage up.”
Cook said in April that farmers are trying to keep their peach crews a little more separated this year. Farmers limit the workers to the amount of time they’re exposed to other people that are not part of their specific crew.
It would be extremely challenging if a worker got sick from COVID-19.
“If they lost one guy on a crew or had one with it, they’d probably have to lose that crew for at least a two-week quarantine period,” Cook said.
LAKE ALFRED, Fla. — Water is essential to Florida farmers. They scrutinize the amount available, its quality and when and how they should use it to grow crops, feed animals and sustain their livelihood.
University of Florida soil and water sciences assistant professor Davie Kadyampakeni works tirelessly with Florida citrus growers to ensure that they have access to the most current research in water use and soil nutrient management to promote good environmental stewardship and crop production efficiency.
Kadyampakeni, working at the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Citrus Research and Education Center in Lake Alfred, combines a research portfolio with a UF/IFAS Extension appointment to bring the latest information to growers. His work has been so effective that he is being recognized by his colleagues with the 2020 Outstanding Extension Specialist award.
Kadyampakeni’s Extension philosophy is to address the immediate and long-term needs of citrus growers (and growers of other horticultural crops such as peach and blueberries) in Florida by establishing himself as a “go-to” researcher with information provided as needed. The majority of Florida citrus is grown in sandy soil, and growers need thoughtful nutrient and water management strategies to be successful. Educational activities to achieve his goals in Extension include talks, publications, phone calls and demonstrations. His Extension program takes a three-pronged approach by focusing on:
Irrigation management of citrus for increased production efficiency, and nutrient management for citrus for environmental sustainability and nutrient use efficiency.
Best management practices; and
Capacity building and Extension talks. These activities include research publications, conference presentations, workshops, field days and individuals’ consultations.
“Dr. Kadyampakeni deserves this award because of his relentless drive to get information to growers,” said Juanita Popenoe, a UF/IFAS multi-county commercial fruit production agent and the person who nominated him. “He is focused on promoting optimal irrigation and nutrient application rates for citrus affected with huanglongbing (HLB), something that is absolutely needed.”
Over his time with UF/IFAS, Kadyampakeni has processed over 5,000 samples and analyzed for pH or nutrient content and reached out to more than 1,200 participants in workshops.
Nationally, he is the past chair for the American Society of Agronomy (ASA) Sensor-based Water Management Community and organized a symposium on “Optimizing efficiency with sensors for irrigation scheduling and water management” at the ASA Annual Meeting in November 2019. Davie was also the 2019 Leader for the W4128 Multistate Project: Microirrigation: A sustainable technology for crop intensification and improved water productivity, with participants from more than 20 Universities in the US and several USDA scientists. He was chair and moderator of a symposium at the 2019 ASA-CSSA-SSSA meetings. He is current Chair for the Citrus Working Group for the American Society of Horticultural Science (ASHS) and chairs the 2020 panel for selecting the International Horticulturalist of the year. He is also the organizer of the Citrus ASHS Workshop on “Novel Practices for Sustaining Citrus Production in the Era of Citrus Greening (Huanglongbing)” scheduled for August 2020 in Orlando, Florida with invited speakers from across the US at the ASHS annual conference. He is also the 2020 Citrus Section Vice President for the Florida State Horticultural Society.
COVID-19 was a challenge of pandemic proportions for farmers this spring. Adding insult to injury were the influx of Mexican produce that undercut American producers trying to sell their own product.
Florida vegetable farmer Sam Accursio has a potential solution.
Squash is a heavily imported commodity from Mexico.
“The only solution I know is to vote, get the people that are like-minded and want to support our nation in office. That’s all we can do. I don’t have any other solution besides that at the moment. We have to keep lobbying,” Accursio said. “Growers, we’re very unique people. We work 100 hours per week, and that’s our problem. We’re working when all of these problems arise, and we don’t have time to go to Washington and sit down with these politicians. We have to talk to them one by one when they’re in our area coming around to us.”
Tough Spring
It was especially tough for Accursio this spring. Like other farmers in Florida, Accursio lost produce when the coronavirus pandemic struck in mid-March. In early April, he voiced frustrations about the impact of Mexican imports were having on American farms. He remains frustrated.
“While we were dumping and stopping harvest, I was monitoring what they were shipping in the way of squash per day. It was 2 to 3 million pounds per day, closer to 2.7 to 3 million pounds per day coming across the Mexican-U.S. border of squashes, while I’m stopping harvest; harvesting and throwing on the ground; harvesting and sending to Farm Share,” Accursio said. “The cooler’s empty and we crank back up again. It was a trying time. Then to see Mexico still importing into our nation just seemed so wrong.”
Things could potentially get worse as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement is set to enter into force on July 1.
“While we are in season, we need some sort of protection. Right now they’re in the talking phases again. Hopefully, we’re going to have enough influence to make some changes,” Accursio said.
Accursio encourages consumers to continue supporting American farmers. He can’t fathom the alternative.
“If you take Florida and California away in the winter, what do you have? You have third-world countries feeding this great nation and I’m not going to eat it. I’m not going to do it,” Accursio said.
File photo shows shelled pecans and those still in shells.
USDA Agricultural Marketing Service
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) received a proposal from the National Pecan Federation (NPF) requesting the establishment of a research and promotion program to strengthen the position of pecans in the marketplace, maintain and expand markets for pecans and develop new uses for pecans.
USDA is currently analyzing the proposal. If USDA finds the request justified, the department will publish in the Federal Register a proposed rule with a public comment period seeking input from the industry and interested stakeholders. A copy of the NPF proposal can be found here.
The proposed program would be established under the Commodity Promotion, Research and Information Act of 1996 and would be financed by an assessment on domestic producers and importers of pecans and administered by a board of industry members nominated by the industry and selected by the Secretary of Agriculture.
The proposal by the NPF calls for an initial assessment rate of two cents per pound of inshell and four cents per pound of shelled domestic and imported pecans. Handlers would collect assessments from producers based on the pounds of pecans received and importers would pay assessments on pecans when they enter the U.S. for consumption. Domestic producers and importers of less than 50,000 pounds of inshell pecans (25,000 pounds of shelled pecans) on average for four fiscal periods would be exempt from paying assessments.
NPF proposed that the board consist of 17 members to include producers representing different pecan-producing regions within the United States and importers of pecans.
UGA file photo/Shows watermelons being researched on the UGA Tifton Campus. 6–6-17
By Clint Thompson
Watermelon prices are holding strong for Southeast farmers, according to one South Georgia producer. Terrell Rutland believes extenuating circumstances could help extend the strong market, currently at 20 cents per pound, for growers an extra few weeks.
“Anything north got frost bit about the first of May. Florida is through so that kind of puts us in the driver’s seat right now,” said Terrell Rutland, who grows 50 acres in Tift County, Georgia and Cook County, Georgia. “Every year, the very first people to pick in Georgia might get 20 cents, but generally, the majority of the crop is sold around 15 cents. It’s good in that respect.”
It’s especially good for Southeast farmers since it appears their melons are the only game in town right now.
“(The Carolinas and the Midwest) always plant three or four weeks behind us but this year they planted, go two or three weeks and the frost killed them, and they planted again. That threw them another three weeks behind. I really wouldn’t be surprised if we don’t get some imported melons to catch some slack up,” said Rutland.
He began harvesting this year on June 4, the earliest he’s ever started.
“When they put on, they grew. They made melons quick. It was kind of shocking, I’ve never had none to grow off that quick. About half of mine, I do put on bare ground and I put about half of them on plastic. The bare ground melons are not ready yet. The cold really affected them a lot worse than it did the ones that were on raised plastic,” Rutland said.
Rutland expects to harvest three days per week through July 4.
Decrease in Acreage
Acreage is down in Georgia this year. According to Samantha Kilgore, executive director of the Georgia Watermelon Association, acreage is projected to decrease this year to 19,000 acres. It would mark a significant drop from previous years’ harvests. According to the National Agricultural Statistics Service, from 2016-2018, Georgia averaged a harvest of just more than 23,000 acres.
Rutland already projects additional acres next year, however.
“It’ll probably be many folks who want to grow watermelons next year where you can’t sell them for a dime a pound. It’s the way that usually works,” Rutland said.
Fulton County Extension staff and volunteers prepare to distribute produce bags through curbside pickup at a Fulton Fresh mobile market stop in Atlanta. (Photo by Molly Woo)
By Josh Paine for UGA CAES News
Mobile farmers markets are rolling again in metro Atlanta to continue serving fresh produce and delivering nutrition education to communities through curbside pickups and digital content.
University of Georgia Cooperative Extension agents and staff have modified the markets to reduce contact, loading mixed bags of produce like corn, onions, squash, potatoes, tomatoes and various fruit right into vehicles for citizens in Fulton and DeKalb counties to reach areas where fresh food can be hard to find or cost-prohibitive for some families.
The Fulton Fresh mobile market runs from now until July 9 and again from July 14 to August 13. The new van, furnished by the county government, will make six stops a week on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays throughout the county.
The Fresh On DeK mobile farmers market will be held from now until September 18 and will make eight stops per week on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
Both markets are open to the public, but preregistration online is preferred to assist with contactless pickup. Onsite registration is available for Fulton Fresh for citizens who are unable to register online.
In addition to produce, the markets provide recipe cards and information about online Extension resources to educate consumers about healthy preparation methods and lifestyles.
“The organizations we partner with are always excited to see us,” said Laurie Murrah-Hanson, a 4-H agent in Fulton County. “In the past, people really enjoyed the food demonstrations, and we still wanted to offer similar resources.”
Fulton Fresh, which began in 2012, started a dedicated, grant-funded Kids Market program this year to disseminate smaller bags of produce with recipes and at-home science experiments for youth. Videos of farm tours will be released on social media weekly in conjunction with the mobile market.
UGA Extension staff have also partnered with the Fulton County Library System to provide digital resource lists for students in kindergarten through 12th grade.
“I think stronger partnerships like this are going be a benefit that comes out of the current situation,” said Murrah-Hanson, who is coordinating the Kids Market.
Fresh on DeK, now in its sixth year of operation, has made updates to the market in sourcing and delivery by switching to a free pickup system rather than a walk-up, fee-based model.
“This year, we’re also partnering with a nonprofit called Global Growers to source culturally relevant food for our Clarkston community, which is one of the most diverse parts of the county,” Jamille Hawkins, a Family and Consumer Sciences agent and coordinator of the market.
The mobile markets are an office-wide endeavor across Extension program areas, and support for the programs comes from county governments. Fresh on DeK was made possible with additional funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the DeKalb County Board of Health.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced today that it has purchased more than $2.2 billion of meat, fruits, vegetables, specialty crops and dairy products in fiscal years 2019 and 2020 in its ongoing efforts to feed people in need and assist American farmers and ranchers suffering from damage due to unjustified trade retaliation by foreign nations.
Perdue
USDA is on target to reach its fiscal year goal of about $1.4 billion of trade mitigation purchases in the next phase of fiscal year purchasing, which ends Sept. 30. The purchases were made through the Food Purchase and Distribution Program (FDPD), one of USDA’s three programs in its Support Packages for Farmers. Most of the food purchased is provided to states for distribution to nutrition assistance programs such as The Emergency Food Assistance Program and child nutrition programs.
“Over the past two years, USDA has issued more than $2 billion in payments to American farmers, ranchers and producers for U.S.-grown food that is used to help Americans in need,” said U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue. “Early on, President Trump instructed USDA to make sure our farmers did not bear the brunt of unfair retailiatory tariffs. Our farmers work hard and the most productive in the world, and we crafted the FPDP to help protect them. The FPDP represents just one of the many ways USDA is working hard to fulfill its mission to do right and feed everyone.”
File photo shows strawberries harvested and packaged.
By Clint Thompson
Mark Hoffmann, North Carolina State small fruits Extension specialist, had high praise for this year’s strawberry crop.
Mark Hoffmann
“This is the best strawberry season ever in North Carolina. I’ve only been here for three years but that’s what all people are telling me; they’ve never had such a good strawberry season,” Hoffmann said.
It appears a relatively mild spring, absent of major frost events, helped growers prolong this year’s growing season. Hoffmann estimated that last week should have wound up the state’s harvest.
“We got lucky. With the exception of late April and the one frost event in May, we didn’t have a lot of really cold events. We had one time where we had a lot of snow but that was there just for one day. I think that was in late February, early March,” Hoffmann said. “After that, we went through three frost events, which is very unusual. We usually have much more than that.”
Hoffmann Sensed Bumper Crop
Hoffmann sensed a couple of months ago that North Carolina farmers were ready to experience a bumper crop, if the weather held up.
“Some people had a very mild winter. If you put some row covers on your berries, you had like pretty early bloom. We actually had bloom on the berries in January. If you kept those blooms and kept row covers over the berries and plants, you would start picking in February,” Hoffmann said.
Prices also remained strong. Growers benefited from consumers wanting to buy local.
“If you sell in a farm stand or sell on a farmer’s market, consumers tend to pay more than they would in the grocery store because it’s local and we grow different cultivars here; the flavor is different,” Hoffmann said.
Hoffmann estimates that strawberries in North Carolina generates $26 million per year, which makes it the third largest in the country behind California and Florida.
