North Carolina vegetables look “fabulous,” according to Chris Gunter, N.C. State Extension vegetable production specialist. In fact, the main concern appears to be having enough workers in place to pick the crop once harvest season begins. And also how to keep their labor force safe amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
“They’re more concerned about how it’s going to impact their workers. How are they going to get farm workers here? How are the workers going to be impacted? What precautions should they take in order to protect their workers once they’re here?” Gunter said.
He said that many of the farm workers who report to work every year are having less difficulty getting through the border entry process this season compared to those who are new.
“Those farms that have had workers and are getting the same workers back, their workers are starting to arrive now,” said Gunter. He emphasized that farming operations are taking all the precautions they can to protect their workers during the coronavirus pandemic.
“They’re trying to social distance, physically distance each other when they’re working. If that’s not possible, then taking precautions, like wearing a cloth face covering or frequently cleaning and sanitizing their hands or surfaces that they touch.”
Farmers are mostly harvesting greens right now along with mainly cool-season vegetables.
Sweet potatoes are the state’s No. 1 vegetable. There are also a significant amount of cucumbers, along with bell peppers, tomatoes, cantaloupes and watermelons.
“Our crops are just a little bit behind Florida and (Georgia). Our strawberry season looks very strong so far (as well). All we need is to get rid of some of this rain and get people out buying fruits and vegetables,” Gunter said.
University of Georgia area Extension blueberry agent Renee Holland is confident about this year’s crop despite a challenging season.
“This season, we have a beautiful blueberry crop load in Georgia,” Holland siad. “The berry quality is excellent, and thankfully, we’ve had very little disease or pest issues this year.”
Challenges Facing Growers
Georgia blueberry growers are no strangers to facing difficult challenges and growing seasons, and this year is no exception. In the midst of COVID-19 growers have had to face additional challenges on top of their typical weather and labor issues. However, Holland believes that growers have mobilized like never before, creating the safest environments possible.
“The virus has definitely affected the amount of labor coming into the country, but that’s nothing new to us. We’re used to having labor shortages,” Holland says.
Growers have implemented additional hand-washing stations and have reduced their workforce to do more with less.
“They’ve really thought about how they’re going to partition the labor force and how to keep people separated and in small groups and to have people living together also be the same people who are working together in the field. They also have plans set in place if someone gets sick. I’ve seen the growers mobilize like never before, they’re checking their employee’s temperatures every day. It’s been amazing to see how quickly they’ve mobilized and put safety measures in place. They’ve really done their homework,” Holland says.
Considering COVID-19, UGA Extension and blueberry growers encourage consumers to purchase fresh Georgia blueberries. Blueberries are a great source of vitamin C, iron and fiber. In addition, they’re cholesterol-free, sodium-free and possess an important source of potassium. In light of COVID-19, many consumers are looking to become more health conscious and consume fresh produce, which will benefit both consumers and producers.
UGA Extension specialist Laurel Dunn has published materials for consumers on food safety and sanitation amid COVID-19. According to Dunn, there is no evidence to suggest that COVID-19 is transferred by food. However, consumers should continue to wash and sanitize their fresh produce as normal. Click here for additional information about food safety and COVID-19.
“It’s good to eat fresh produce. We want consumers to know eating fresh produce will not put them at risk.” Holland says.
University of Georgia/UGA researcher Esther van der Knaap working in the greenhouse.
By Clint Thompson
University of Georgia plant biologist Esther van der Knaap has studied genes in vegetables for more than 20 years. She believes the more information that scientists can obtain about a vegetable’s morphology; referring to its size and shape; the better equipped plant breeders will be in creating new and better cultivars.
The lack of knowledge on morphological traits often hampers the efforts by plant breeders to create improved types. More information would greatly assist in the development of new cultivars in a variety of crops. That’s where van der Knaap’s work factors in.
“For breeders, when they develop a new variety, they need to maintain the proper shape and size of the produce, in addition to any novel trait that makes the new variety superior over an older variety. You can create new tomato varieties that are resistant to any disease that we’re facing right now. But if the new variety doesn’t produce a fruit with the proper dimensions, nobody will likely pick it up,” van der Knaap said. “Consumers wouldn’t recognize it and processors can’t process produce that is too large or too small or with unusual shapes. The morphology of produce is incredibly important.”
University of Georgia
Gene Knowledge
The knowledge of the genes has advanced the efficacy in tomato breeding programs because it enables the creation of improved cultivars that feature the appropriate dimensions of the produce. She discovered the different genes that aide in the development of tomato fruit shapes also influence other vegetables. These include potato tuber shapes, as well as the shapes of melons, cucumbers, leaves and grains.
Size and shape are important components because they are what consumers identify with when purchasing certain vegetables in grocery stores or at the farmer’s markets.
“In tomatoes, the smaller shapes like grape tomatoes or the cherry tomatoes are used more for salads. If you want to make sauces and soups, you purchase the roma tomatoes. Everybody uses tomato slices on hamburgers, and for those you take the large beefsteak tomatoes. They are nice for slicing. Consumers recognize produce and each type has a specific culinary purpose,” van der Knaap said.
She communicates her research findings in publications so that breeders can use the knowledge to develop better cultivars.
“You always have to create better cultivars when it comes to yield and drought or disease resistance. There are always new diseases emerging in plants and we have to stay ahead of them,” van der Knaap said. “Fortunately, in most cases, there’s always a better crop variety around the corner. We need to stay ahead of diseases as diseases emerge very rapidly, as we know now with COVID-19. Plants are no different from people when it comes to being susceptible to diseases that can be devastating.”
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) wants help in identifying invasive species that threaten our food supply and cause plant diseases. Especially since April is designated “Invasive Plant Pest and Disease Awareness Month”
Citrus greening is a result of damage from Asian citrus psyllids, which are invasive species.
Samantha Simon, USDA’s Executive Director of Emergency and Domestic Programs, says invasive species can threaten agriculture and many farming operations, especially in the Southeast.
“In the Southeast, there are many that like to call the Southeast home. That includes the Asian citrus psyllids, which is this little bug that likes to attack citrus plants. It can also spread citrus greening. There’s also the emerald ash borer beetle. It attacks our ash trees, resulting in the destruction of tens of millions of ash trees in 35 states throughout the United States. There’s also the imported fire ant,” Simon said. “It travels in the soil, can travel in hay and can travel on equipment.”
Time is now to be on the lookout
Simon emphasizes that since it’s springtime, invasive species or “hungry pests,” are on the move and looking for sources of food. These can range from a wide variety of trees to various food crops. These pests need to be reported to the USDA if they’re spotted.
“Hungry pests are emerging and they’re going to be out there moving around. We’re out there moving around as well. It’s a great time for us to look around for unusual signs of the pest or disease in the trees, in our plants, in our own backyard,” Simon said. “The hungry pests can, they can hurt from citrus growers to wine producers.
“There’s always a risk for exotic fruit flies, which of course, will impact fruits and vegetables and nuts as well. Thankfully, at the moment, we do not have any of those. We’re actively working to keep those out of the southeast. It’s important to know, the things we move, whether it’s bean plants, or fruits or vegetables or untreated firewood, may include these hungry pests.”
“It’s devastated millions of acres of citrus in Florida as well as Texas and California. We are working actively with the citrus industries to help prevent the spread of citrus greening,” Simon said.
The United Nations (U.N.) designated 2020 as the International Year of Plant Health. The goal was to raise awareness about the devastating impact invasive pests have on the environment, food security and global economy. The U.N. estimates that each year, invasive pests destroy up to 40% of food crops. They can also cause $220 billion in trade losses worldwide. This trade, worth nearly $1.7 trillion annually, is crucial for human survival and economic growth in rural areas.
By Katie Nichols, Communications Specialist/Alabama Cooperative Extension System
Food safety is an important component in the Alabama produce industry.
AUBURN University, Ala. – With Alabama’s growing season in full swing, produce growers are working to ensure continuing food safety during the COVID-19 pandemic. The CDC, USDA and FDA agree that there is no indication the virus can infect consumers through food or food packaging.
Good Agricultural Practices
Alabama Extension food safety regional extension agent Kristin Woods said the produce industry uses Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) to help protect against foodborne illness.
Woods said that many growers go through voluntary audits to verify that fruits and vegetables are produced, packed, handled and stored as safely as possible to minimize risks of microbial food safety hazards.
“Food system workers — including harvesters, packers, processing line workers and others — are critical to a safe and consistent food supply in the U.S.,” Woods said. “In fact, a Department of Homeland Security issued guidance recognized agricultural production, food processing, distribution, retail and food service as well as allied industries workers as essential workers.”
Health of Agricultural Workers
Woods said worker health is crucial to a stable supply.
“Farms already have food safety protocols in place to preserve the safety of freshly harvested products, but now there are also enhanced procedures to protect employees from the virus,” she said. “These procedures protect workers during harvest and in packinghouses so that producers can keep food flowing from farm to table.”
Woods said consumers should know some key facts about the produce industry.
Food system workers are highly trained. These workers undergo extensive training to prevent the hazards that cause foodborne illness. They have the knowledge to assess risks on the farm, during processing, at retail and in the kitchen.
If a worker tests positive for COVID-19, they go home. Individuals who come in contact with an infected person should self-quarantine.
Processing facilities have enhanced procedures to frequently clean and sanitize high-traffic surfaces. This virus, like others, can survive on surfaces for an extended time making cleaning and sanitizing vital.
There is no food shortage in the U.S. Shoppers may see empty grocery store shelves in the short-term. However, many packinghouses are shifting gears from food service accounts to retail accounts. This switch takes time to see on the grocery store shelf.
Woods encourages shoppers to exercise patience instead of stockpiling.
“Shifting our food supply from foodservice to retail in a short amount of time is not an easy job,” she said.
The newly announced $100-million-per-month USDA Buy Fresh program offers produce companies a way to sell products for government feeding programs.
And the application process starts right away.
The United Fresh Produce Association BB #:145458 said USDA told them the requests for proposals will open April 24; proposals are due back to USDA May 1; awards will be announced May 8; and deliveries will begin May 15.
The Buy Fresh program is part of the CARES Act stimulus program from the federal government to help companies struggling due to the government shutdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a webinar on April 21, David Tuckwiller of USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service, said AMS is getting out of its comfort zone with this program and moving very quickly to help food companies and U.S. citizens struggling for food during the economic downturn.
“Our goal is to support American farmers and feeding people,” he said.
Tuckwiller said Buy Fresh is only for sellers of fresh produce (no canned or dried) that is grown in the U.S. Ideally, fruits and vegetables would be packed in consumer-sized packages so that they could go “from the truck to the trunk,” he said.
That will put some pressure on suppliers to work together with partners to fulfill the government requirements, many of which are not used to working with USDA for food assistance, Tuckwiller acknowledges.
Mollie Van Lieu, senior director nutrition policy for United Fresh, said USDA knows feeding programs are under pressure because they don’t have many of their volunteers during the pandemic. Yet the demand for food is higher than ever.
Buy Fresh has similar programs for the dairy, pork and chicken industries, but within the fresh product program, certain commodities will have priority due to meeting foodbank needs and helping growers who have been hit the hardest, Van Lieu said.
These include berries, apples, oranges, pears, cucumbers, tomatoes, potatoes and onions.
Robert Guenther, senior vice president public policy for United Fresh, said he hasn’t heard what USDA’s pricing model will be, but he doesn’t think it will be based on the lowest bid.
Blueberries ready to be picked in this file picture.
By Clint Thompson
It normally pays to have an early blueberry crop if you’re a Florida farmer. But as Ryan Atwood will attest, this has not been your normal year. Blueberry producers are not immune to the impact of COVID-19.
“Being early is a good thing. For a Florida blueberry grower, you’re trying to be early. Everything you do is to be early. The bad part of the deal was the coronavirus and just the timing of it. You couldn’t have timed it any worse for a Florida blueberry grower,” said Atwood, who lives in Mount Dora, Florida and farms 56 acres of blueberries, manages another 350 acres and is part-owner of the largest packing house in the Southeast United States.
Atwood’s blueberry crop was early this year due to a mild winter and high temperatures over the past couple of months accelerated growth. However, when Atwood started picking high volumes of blueberries, which was around March 18, is when the pandemic shut down the country.
“It just crashed literally within days. Right when Florida’s peaking or right about when it’s about to enter its peak, it was bad timing,” Atwood said. “Everybody was talking like we were going to have a 1 in 20 kind of year. Chile was done early. Their fruit wasn’t in the market. Normally they come in late. They kind of crowd into our market on the front end. But they were already out. Everybody was thinking it was ready to set up nice. But then out of left field… agriculture’s tough.”
Market prices reflect the pandemic’s impact.
“It’s 50% of the historical average price is what we were getting, so half of the money of what you would typically get because of the coronavirus,” Atwood said.
Atwood estimates he’ll finish harvesting this year’s crop in about a week.
Georgia peaches should be ready for harvest in May.
By Clint Thompson
A Georgia peach industry expert is confident about his state’s marketing outlook amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Duke Lane III’s company, Genuine Georgia, manages sales and marketing for the Georgia peach industry. He believes the market will be there for the Georgia peach farmers despite the presence of COVID-19 that has closed restaurants and shut down schools.
“When you look at retail sales, produce and grocery, they’re up significantly. I think (the pandemic) will undoubtedly have an effect on foodservice. But our business has been built around grocery markets, retailers,” said Lane, who is also president of the Georgia Peach Council.
“We feel like when you start thinking about summertime and feeling good, we feel like those are kind of thoughts that are synonymous with Georgia peaches. We’re pretty optimistic,” Lane said. “I feel like quality, flavor; absolutely. We’re going to kick off about the 18th of May and are just anticipating some big things.”
Georgia is one of the top peach-producing states in the country. According to UGA Extension, Georgia produces more than 130 million pounds of peaches every year. There are two commercial peach-growing regions in Georgia. The central region is the largest with about 1.6 million peach trees, which comprises 75% of the state’s production. The southern region produces about 30 million pounds of peaches annually.
Phytophthora fruit rot has been a concern for watermelon growers not only in Georgia but also in other states that grow watermelon. No single measure has been shown to suppress the disease consistently and effectively, especially when environmental conditions are favorable for disease development.
Compared to other watermelon diseases, this disease is difficult to manage and strictly requires an integrated management program. Unlike on other cucurbit hosts (squash and cucumber, for example), phytophthora symptoms often appear on fruit and not on foliage. However, research indicates that all growth stages and plant parts are susceptible to infection.
In watermelon, fruit symptoms are quite common. Some of the common symptoms that can be observed on fruits are irregular to round, water-soaked lesions that become brown. As the disease progresses, concentric rings of pathogen sporulation may appear within a lesion.
Lesions can appear on the upper and/or lower surfaces (contact with the soil) of fruit. As the pathogen is soilborne, symptoms on the lower surface are quite common. Symptoms on the upper surface are presumed to be related to the dispersal/spread of the pathogen from contaminated soil. Under favorable conditions, complete rotting of fruit is common.
Phytophthora capsici can survive in soil or in host plant debris by means of thick-walled spores (oospores). Researchers have associated irrigation from contaminated pond water with P. capsici outbreaks in watermelon and other vegetable crops in Georgia.
The pathogen has two mating types (A1 and A2). Both mating types are necessary for oospore production. Presence of both mating types in vegetable fields is not uncommon in Georgia, which makes management more difficult. Spread of the pathogen is aided by zoospores, which are asexual spores that can swim in free moisture in the soil or on the plant surface and can infect the host. Zoospores are formed in specialized saclike structures called “sporangia” that can also spread by wind-blown rain and be carried through water.
Resistant watermelon varieties are not available. As a cultural control, it is recommended not to use retention pond water for irrigating watermelon crops. It is also advised to have good drainage in watermelon fields, which is sometimes difficult to achieve.
A preventive fungicide program is the key to get ahead with this disease. A fungicide program comprised of Presidio, Orondis Gold, Revus and Elumin may help.
Downy mildew has been a sporadic issue in watermelon as its incidence varies from year to year in Georgia. Unlike classical angular leaf spot symptoms that are observed in cucumber, symptoms on watermelon can be difficult to diagnose. Symptoms may start as irregular yellowish to brown spots that gradually become necrotic and often appear on upper surfaces of leaves. Lesions are often visible near the crown. As the disease progresses, necrotic lesions may appear on both sides of the leaf.
This disease can spread rapidly, aided by high humidity and wind-driven rain. Severe defoliation can be seen if timely management practices are not employed. Fruit rot due to sun scalding soon follows.
Resistant varieties are not commercially available. Crop rotation is impractical as the inoculum doesn’t survive locally in Georgia and arrives from Florida via wind current or any kind of weather events.
A preventative fungicide program is the key to get ahead with this disease. A fungicide program comprised of Ranman, Orondis Ultra, Revus and Elumin may help. Chlorothalonil (Bravo) can be used as a protectant until fruit set.
There appears to be not enough strawberries to satisfy local demand in Alabama.
Strong demand for locally-owned strawberries
By Clint Thompson
Strawberry season is in full swing in Alabama. Unfortunately, for farmers, they don’t have enough product to satisfy local demand.
“If I had 10 acres of strawberries today, I wouldn’t have enough. Saturday morning, about 10 o’clock, I had 82 phone calls and I just unplugged my telephone,” said Bobby Ray Holmes, part-owner of Holmestead Farm in Talladega, Alabama.
Holmes usually doesn’t have any problem selling strawberries. But this year the demand has been overwhelming. This is due to the coronavirus pandemic. U-pick strawberry operations provide families an outlet to escape the new norm of social isolation.
“All of the strawberry farmers have run out of product because all of these people are home and can’t go anywhere. So, they go and pick strawberries,” said Holmes. “(Families) say, we can go to the farm. People are pinned in. They want somewhere to go. The kids are all out of school. They want somewhere to take the kids.”
John Aplin, owner of Aplin Farms in Slocomb, Alabama, echoes Holmes’ sentiments.
“I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s been crazy. Every year we increase our strawberries to meet demand,” said. “We doubled our strawberries this past year. When I opened the U-pick strawberries, we can’t stay open over four hours. Then we have to close for three days and let them ripen back up.”
Holmes estimates that he has 1.5 acres of strawberries or approximately 30,000 plants. He said the three or four other farmers are facing the same scenario this year; they don’t have enough strawberries. “They’ve got the same problem,” Holmes admits.
“Anytime it’s a problem if you’ve got folks that want to spend money with you, and you don’t have something to sell them. You’ve got a problem,” Holmes said.
