UGA photo/Jordan Burbage, of the UGA Soil, Plant and Water Analysis Laboratory in Athens, Georgia, harvests grapes at Trillium Vineyards, part of the collaborative research project being conducted by UGA Extension and Westover Vineyard Consulting.
By Clint Thompson
In his latest UGA Extension Viticulture blog, University of Georgia Extension Fruit Disease Specialist Phil Brannen says grape producers will soon be seeing symptoms of Pierce’s disease in susceptible varieties; typically Vitis vinifera and some hybrids.
Mild winter temperatures have contributed to an increase in Pierce’s disease at higher elevations in Georgia and throughout the Southeast. Symptoms normally start to appear in late July or August. Since symptoms are similar to drought or nutrient stress, it’s essential not to remove plants if they’re not suffering from Pierce’s Disease.
N.C. State hosted an effective workshop about Pierce’s Disease that will be helpful for all farmers.
Brannen stresses it is particularly important that you identify and destroy infected vines to prevent further spread of this disease.
The disease is caused by a bacterium that is transmitted by numerous sharpshooter insects, such as the glassy-winged sharpshooter. It clogs the grape xylem, cutting off nutrient and water flow. Once infected with Pierce’s disease, vines die within one to two years.
Photo by Clint Thompson/Watermelons on sale at the farmers market in Cordele, Georgia. Watermelon producers in Georgia had a good year with strong prices.
Georgia’s fruit and vegetable growers had their share of obstacles this growing season but emerged mostly unscathed with a productive season, according to Charles Hall, executive director of the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Association (GFVA).
He credits alternative marketing outlets for helping products get sold in a timely fashion.
“Because of the Food Box program that the USDA had and the Georgia Grown to Go, there was a lot of product that was taken off the market,” Hall said. “Mexico had problems weather wise and production wise, so we did not have as heavier imports as we normally have. There was Mexican product on the market. They did not have the quantity of product coming in as they normally do.
“Prices stayed good most of the season, and demand stayed strong most of the season. Overall, it was a pretty good season.”
Pleasant Surprise
A good season was not always a guarantee, especially after Florida growers struggled during the early part of harvest season to sell their produce amid the coronavirus pandemic. And they also struggled with Mexican imports.
“Somebody told me that it’s very, very unusual when your prices in June are better than your prices in April. That’s the trend we would like to see to continue,” Hall said. “This has just been a strange year. If you had told me in March that I would have made the statement I just made, that growers had a pretty good year, I would have said you were crazy. Things coming out of Florida in March and early April, it looked bad. It really did.”
Prices stayed up and supply stayed strong for Georgia farmers, who needed a year like this season.
“We needed to have a decent year. Our guys for the last, two, three years, they’ve been devastated. Having a better year in 2020 has certainly been good for folks,” Hall said.
Watermelons on sale at the farmers market in Cordele, Georgia.
By Clint Thompson
Watermelon producers continue to enjoy high prices, though, there may soon be a shortage. Carr Hussey, a watermelon farmer in Florida and Alabama and chairman of the board of the Florida Watermelon Association, said there may soon be a shortage as producers in the Southeast region finish harvesting their crop, while the northern states are still not close to begin picking their crop.
“Georgia is finishing up. I’m here in Alabama and we’re finishing up. North of us, North Carolina and Delaware and Indiana where we normally go, won’t be ready until the end of the month,” Hussey said. “There’s not going to be a lot of fruit available for the next two weeks.”
It is a shame, too for farmers. Hussey estimates prices are averaging 22 cents per pound, a huge improvement from the 14 cents average growers normally get this time in previous years.
Hussey believes the cool, wet spring impacted the crop’s production and why there is less watermelons than normal.
“The crop never set the way it should have. What you should have harvested in four weeks took six weeks to harvest,” Hussey said. “The fruit movements in Georgia are usually around 700 to 800 trailers a day. They’ve been 400, 450, once in a while maybe at 500. There just hasn’t been the fruit.”
While producers have benefited this year, the strong prices could encourage more farmers to grow watermelons next year. At least, that is what Hussey is expecting.
“Everybody’s looking back to see how much everybody made last year so they want to cash in on it so they’ll plant, plus the fact, Georgia in particular, cotton and peanuts haven’t been worth much, isn’t worth much. So, they’re looking for something that is worth something. For those two reasons, they’ll really bunch up on watermelons next year,” Hussey said.
Georgia’s hemp crop is still being planted across the state. According to Tim Coolong, associate professor in the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, the recent rainfall could impact the crop both positively and negatively.
“Hemp doesn’t like it overly wet. In parts of the state, if there’s standing water in fields or if it’s saturated, that could lead to some problems,” Coolong said. “But if it’s a grower that just happened to plant, a little bit of rain could help those plants acclimate to going in the ground versus being dry and 100 degrees.”
Hemp is expected to be planted during the next several weeks, though Coolong said the Georgia Department Agriculture would issue permits throughout the summer.
“With that said, if you plant much later than that, your chances of success decrease. If you were to plant in, let’s say September, your plants are going to flower immediately and you’re going to have problems. Even if a grower were able to get a license very late in the year, planting in the field in the traditional manner wouldn’t work very well for them,” Coolong said.
Tim Coolong comments on importance of planting hemp during the summer.
Early Assessment of Crop
He added that fields he is visited so far this summer have looked pretty good and credits the cooler temperatures.
“Up until recently, it’s been a little cooler than typical; at least it seems that way, particularly in the produce world, it was a little cooler this spring. It allowed the hemp plants that were put in to adapt to the transplant shock a little bit better,” Coolong said.
Hemp interest in Georgia was expected to be high this year since it marked the first time growers could produce the crop commercially. But that interest waned some amid the current coronavirus pandemic.
“During the winter we had a lot of people express interest. I think as we got closer to the production season, a lot of those individuals may have been holding off or cut back on the acreage they were going to put in. It certainly seemed throughout the winter, there’s a lot of interest. But as people started looking into it I think, especially with the pandemic and things being uncertain right now, I think a lot of them held off,” Coolong said. “With that said, there’s still a fair number of growers approved out there.”
University of Georgia Cooperative Extension is encouraging pecan growers to thin their bumper crop this summer to avoid having a down year next season.
Southeast Georgia Area Pecan Agent Andrew Sawyer said this year’s pecan crop exceeds the 70% fruit-bearing terminals they recommend pecan trees to have at this stage in the growing season, along with having an excess cluster of nuts.
Pecan trees need to be thinned to avoid having a really down year next season.
“There’s 90% to 100% of terminals with nuts in pretty much every situation I’m seeing. Then you’re having three, four or even five nuts in a cluster on many cultivars. That’s high as well,” said Sawyer, who said Georgia was bound to have a surplus of pecans this year following Hurricane Michael in 2018.
“In Georgia this year, we’re probably having the biggest crops in a long time. It was actually kind of thought of it was going to be that way. Generally, after a really bad hurricane or weather event, the following year is pretty low just from the loss of limbs and fruiting branches. But then the year after that, which is 2020 for us, it ends up being almost overload. We’re seeing that.”
Sawyer said farmers thin their trees normally around the last week in July or first week in August. But this year’s crop is about two weeks early. He projects the third week in July to be when most producers need to act.
“If there’s any time to do it, it may be 2020. The whole reason for fruit thinning is to minimize alternation,” Sawyer said. “Alternating happens at least a couple of different ways. One of them is carbohydrate storage. That means when you have a large crop and it’s putting everything into that fruit, it doesn’t have a lot of storage for this upcoming year. That can affect next year’s crop. It can actually put those trees into alternation.
“We’ve got a large crop in 2020. All of these 90% terminals and large cluster of nuts, the tree really can’t even fill that much.”
The most common way for farmers to thin their crop is to shake the tree, much like they do when the pecans are ready to be harvested. Sawyer said to shake the trees for 1 to 2 seconds.
“Most people, they’ll never do it. It’s so hard if you’re a grower to let these nuts fall off the tree. You’re having to just let them go,” Sawyer said. “You’re doing it for the overall future, long-term production of the tree, not this year’s production.”
He cautions producers to shake a few days after a rain or turn irrigation off a few days before shaking to avoid damaging the tree. If there is abundant rainfall or high soil moisture, the cambium layer under the bark will slip more readily, making it easier to damage the tree.
Growers also need to grease between the rubber flap or pad. This will allow movement between the flap and the pad, reducing movement between the shaker head and tree bark. This further reduces the risk of damaging the tree.
Photo courtesy of UGA College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences.
Georgia Department of Agriculture
ATLANTA- Georgia pecan growers voted to continue an assessment of one cent per pound of pecans by producers with more than 30 acres for an additional three years — 83.5% of eligible ballots returned were in favor of the assessment.
The Georgia Agriculture Commodity Commission for Pecans, also known as, the Georgia Pecan Commission was established in 1995 by the State Legislature and supports research, education and promotion of Georgia pecans. Most of the assessment funds are committed to include research on disease control, insect management, plant breeding, fertility, production and nutritional benefits; as well as promotion of pecans, both domestic and abroad. Georgia remains one of the top pecan-producing states in the United States.
File photo shows whiteflies infesting fall cucurbits.
By Clint Thompson
University of Georgia Cooperative Extension vegetable entomologist Stormy Sparks confirmed this week that whiteflies are back with a vengeance on susceptible vegetable crops and Georgia’s cotton, which is still just a few weeks old.
“I’ve been holding off a long time on saying it looks bad. But about a week ago, it’s just hard to say it doesn’t look bad,” Sparks said. “There’s still some things that could happen, but I saw some populations in some cantaloupe that you don’t usually see for another month or two. They’re already treating some cotton, apparently.
“We’re probably a month behind 2017, but we’re at least a month ahead of our normal year.”
Sparks said in May that whiteflies were already present in Georgia vegetables.
Why So Early?
While colder temperatures do not 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.
“We already had the populations, there’s no doubt about that, earlier than normal in some areas, particularly coming out of kale. There’s a lot of things that can happen as far as weather and everything else that can impact it. There’s still some things that could happen to keep it from getting as bad as it did in 2017,” Sparks said. “If they get to a certain level, those rain events don’t have the same impact than they would at lower populations. I think we’re probably far enough long now that they’ll rebound fairly rapidly. That’s what I’m afraid of.”
Rain is expected all week in South Georgia, but Sparks believes a tropical storm-type system is what is needed to suppress whitefly populations.
UGA cotton entomologist Phillip Roberts said farmers are already treating for whiteflies in cotton which is month to a month and a half earlier than normal.
What Can Be Done?
Sparks, Roberts and other specialists continue to preach sanitation with whitefly management. Farmers have done better in recent years in getting rid of their vegetables once they are done harvesting. That needs to continue this summer.
“If the vegetable growers get rid of those crops that are infested, if you’re done with them; if you get done with watermelon fields and cantaloupe fields … get rid of them. Don’t let them keep reproducing. The cotton guys just need to be keeping an eye on infestations and don’t let them build up there,” Sparks said.
Whiteflies migrate from winter vegetables to spring vegetables to agronomic crops, like cotton, to fall vegetables and back to winter vegetables. Whiteflies cause feeding injury issues in vegetables and transmit two new 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.
UGA picture/Watermelons being researched on the UGA Tifton Campus. 6–6-17
By Clint Thompson
The revised budget cut requirements from the Georgia Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget and the State Legislature may have spared the state farmers market locations in Cordele, Thomasville and Savannah.
Julie McPeake, Georgia Department of Agriculture Chief Communications officer, confirmed that as a result of the budget cut requirement from 14% to 10%, the State Legislature provided funds to support the transition of ownership of the Cordele, Thomasville and Savannah farmers markets to their respective local governments.
“In May, the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget (OPB) requested that state agencies present a plan to cut 14% of their budgets for fiscal year 2021. The Georgia Department of Agriculture (GDA) operates with a very efficient budget, forcing very difficult decisions to reach the requested budget cuts, including a proposal to close multiple state farmers markets,” McPeake said. “However, following a revision of revenue estimates, OPB and the State Legislature reduced budget cut requirements from 14% to 10%. As a result, the Legislature provided funds to support the transition of ownership of the Cordele, Thomasville, and Savannah farmers markets to local governments effective April 1, 2021.”
Impact From Coronavirus Pandemic
Locations in Augusta, Cordele, Macon, Savannah and Thomasville were on an initial list to be cut. McPeake said the locations in August and Macon are still scheduled to be off the GDA’s books for 2021, but she didn’t have a timeline for any transition.
It is unfortunately a necessary evil that had to be considered during this recession which is a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
“With the 14% budget cuts that were requested, you’ve got to make some decisions. Unfortunately, some of those tough decisions require looking at hard numbers. When you have some markets that are having trouble to turn a profit, that’s one of the first places you’ve got to turn to, to save that money,” said Paul Thompson, marketing director for the Georgia Department of Ag, in early June.
The different farmers market locations vary in what commodities are sold there. In Cordele, the self-proclaimed “Watermelon Capital of the World,” it is known for watermelons and cantaloupes being bought and sold this time of year.
A second wave of the coronavirus pandemic is inevitable. Perhaps we are already in it, just a few months ahead of the fall forecasts that most projected would coincide with flu season.
J. Scott Angle, NIFA portrait, Oct. 31, 2019.
USDA Photo by Preston Keres
But you can pencil in COVID-19 as another challenge farmers will have to face this fall, especially as preparations are already underway for the fall crop which will be planted in a few months.
Scott Angle, the newly-named vice president for agriculture and natural resources at the University of Florida/IFAS, believes growers can learn a lot from their first bout with this pandemic, which occurred in the midst of fruit and vegetable harvests in March and April.
“Whether this fall in the next phase or the next pandemic, we better make sure we’re ready. We certainly have learned a lot of lessons. We learned a lot of lessons about how to social distance. I still think we need more research in that area because we don’t have all the answers, but we understand that’s where disease transmission can occur,” Angle said. “We have some ways of protecting workers. Whether or not those are the best methods, I don’t know if anyone knows at this point. Most of our social distancing and protective methods at least on some level are just common sense. We certainly need some research for that.
“I think we all understand that our economies have to keep running and mostly we just have to keep producing food. We don’t really have a choice, to say we’re going to shut down the farm for a year or two years or until we get a vaccine. We’re going to have find smarter ways to do the things we did last year.”
One Adjustment
Angle admits a big adjustment must be how farmers can adjust their marketing strategies when the demand for produce is disrupted. For example, when the coronavirus pandemic struck in mid-March, it forced restaurants to shut down across the country. These are major buyers for farmers in Florida and Georgia. When restaurants were not buying produce, farmers in Florida struggled to find a home for their fruits and vegetables.
In early April, Paul Allen, president of R.C. Hatton Farms, said he left about 2 million pounds of green beans and about 5 million pounds of cabbage in the field. Florida farmer Kim Jamerson said in late March that her produce business would lose 100% of their production costs, along with packing and shipping costs if things did not improve.
“I was on a conference call with some food manufacturers and they were joined by farmers who were saying the exact same thing, when the markets dried up, they had to pivot very quickly and sometimes would be in a matter of days. In fact, some of them said, ‘I just want to donate my food to a food bank or pantry,’ and even that they weren’t able to do very easily,” Angle said. “We need to have a more resilient marketing system that can pivot a lot more quickly.
“One good example would be, these food pantries need it and need it now more than ever because their needs have gone way up. Could there be an intermediary to step in and pay the farmers and get that food over to the food pantries for these charities?”
Similar Idea
Jamerson had a similar idea right after the pandemic became problematic for Florida growers. She reached out to the office of U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (Fla.) and spoke to one of his aides about the government helping its farmers by purchasing their crops and distributing the food to its citizens since many are unemployed. Back in March, she had not heard back from Rubio’s office.
Photo from Brett Blaauw/University of Georgia/Shows San Jose scale crawlers.
By Clint Thompson
Brett Blaauw, University of Georgia assistant professor in the Department of Entomology, says the time is now to treat San Jose scale crawlers which are peaking in peach orchards.
“Right around late June, early July and then again in August, we see these real high populations of their larvae, the crawlers. Crawlers are also susceptible to insecticides. They do not have that waxy coating yet. They’re the mobile stage of the scale. They’re leaving their mothers and searching for another part of the plant to settle down and start to feed. These crawlers have a few days of vulnerability so we can also try to time our insect sprays to target those scale crawlers,” Blaauw said.
He said in his blog that he expected this week to see a peak in crawler activity. South Carolina producers should expect to see crawler activity in the next week or two.
What is San Jose Scale?
San Jose scale is a tiny insect that has a waxy coating. It covers and protects the whole body of the insect. It protects them from the environment. It protects them from other insects that would eat them. And unfortunately, it protects them from insecticides. Once these insects create their waxy covering, they are hard to kill, according to Blaauw.
They also reproduce at an extremely high rate. It does not take long for a minimal problem to balloon to a major concern for peach producers.
“Females can produce hundreds of offspring. Just from one female, she can produce almost 300 offspring. Of those 300 offspring, if they’re female, can go on to have 300 more offspring. The population can get quickly out of hand,” Blaauw said. “When you have thousands of these little insects feeding on the branch of a peach tree, it can quickly kill or reduce the vigor of that branch. If the problem goes untreated, you lose branches, and then you lose limbs and eventually you lose whole trees.”
Another Management Option?
Blaauw said another management option is to apply two dormant sprays of horticultural oil. It is best to spray once the trees are dormant and then before bloom next growing season. The high-volume sprays will suffocate the San Jose scale.
“That usually works pretty well and significantly reduces the scale population. But even when the growers are doing that, we’re seeing the numbers skyrocket about now. I can go out there and monitor almost any time of the season and find San Jose scale in the trees,” Blaauw said.
The San Jose scale can be traced back to the 1800s. With modern insecticides, the scale was not a problem in the 1900s. But it has come back with a vengeance in the 2000. It thrives in Georgia’s warm summers and winters and can be active all year long.
Another issue is that complicates farmers’ management options is that the scale may not impact the whole orchard. It could be clustered in one area or part of the orchard. It can be hard to manage if a grower has many acres of peach trees.
