According to UF/IFAS, high population densities of Asian Bean Thrips (ABT) continue to appear only in isolated locations.
ABT populations have reached 1.0 per bloom early bloom plantings across multiple farms in southeastern Hendry County. In some cases, populations reached as high as 1.7 per bloom.
Populations reached 8.5 per bloom in plantings within a week of harvest. It’s the highest reported outside of Miami-Dade County.
The late increase in population may affect nearby and/or subsequent plantings.
In northern Collier County, ABT has not yet been reported in plants at the early bloom stage or younger. The pest was found for the first time at up to 0.3 ABT per bloom in older plantings.
In eastern Palm Beach County, populations appear to remain low, at less than 0.1 per bloom.
ABT populations were not reported in southern Glades County and southern Martin County. This indications population density is below sampling threshold.
Clemson Extension agents provide updates in the The South Carolina Grower this week about the status of various crops being produced throughout the state.
Rob Last reports, “Strawberry crops in the area are looking good with good crown development. We are seeing open flowers and some fruit set based on warmer conditions. These crops are cause for some concern as we are likely to see damage from forecast cold snaps. There is evidence of botrytis (gray mold) in crops on cold damaged flowers and fruit. Sanitation can really help to mitigate the spread of the disease. Spider mites remain active and in places are requiring treatment. Remember to avoid pyrethroids for mite control as these can flare mite populations.”
Zack Snipes reports, “The three components of the disease triangle are a conducive environment, the host plant present and a virulent pathogen. With that being said; it has been pretty wet as of late. We have warmer weather coming this week, and I have seen pathogens in our fields. I fully expect some diseases to really take hold and start to spread this week. For strawberries, make sure to clean dead tissue (leaves, blooms, fruit, etc) and for other crops removal of dead tissue and a preventative fungicide application (conventional or organic) can really help you get ahead of the fight against diseases. Also, my pet peeve…get your deer fences up!!!! This is the time of year that deer run out of food (and corn piles) and will meander into your strawberries and eat thousands of dollars’ worth of profits.”
The two-tiered fencing system, like the one shown in this trail cam photo, will keep curious deer out of your fields. Deer Fencing. Photo from Zack Snipes.
Midlands
Justin Ballew reports, “This past week was a little warmer and more sunny, but not by much. Crops are still growing slowly as a result. I’m seeing a lot of deer damage in strawberry fields that border the woods. Nothing reduces yield potential in strawberries faster than deer. Once they start nibbling leaves off, those plants will always be behind and they’ll never yield the same as a healthy, undamaged plant. Keep in mind that wildlife in the field is also a significant food safety risk. Once we get into bloom, this will become a major concern. Fencing is the most effective means of keeping deer out of the field. Fencing doesn’t have to be expensive or permanent. Check out this publication.”
Look at all those stems where leaves used to be. The deer have set these plants way back and they will never catch up. Photo from Justin Ballew.
Sarah Scott reports, “New plantings of peach trees are going in along the Ridge. A weather station went up in Johnston at one of our variety trials this past fall, and we are watching to see chilling hours accumulated. Currently, we are at 714 chill hours and 43 chill portions, looking at temperatures between 32 and 45 degrees. The upstate at the Musser location is sitting at 773 chill hours and 46 chill portions. It’s looking like we will have no problem meeting all of our chilling requirements for the season.”
Pee Dee
Tony Melton reports, “I keep finding more strawberry fields with spidermites. Some fields are damaged or devastated by deer. If you ever let deer get a taste of strawberry plants it is very difficult or almost impossible to stop them.”
Upstate
Andy Rollins reports, “Strawberry plants are doing well in the upstate of SC. Some plants are smaller than others mainly due to planting time. Growers need to look for uneven growth within a field which can be an indication of root rot. Also, some growers are spraying Rovral because of early dead blooms producing excessively high amounts of grey mold. Some are using it with Captan; others with Thiram. Thiram would give some deer deterrence. Growers need to be very careful with covers this time of year. They can force even more unwanted early blooms. Remember 18 degrees hurts crown; 30 degrees kill blooms. So, we are still in the protect plant time, not the protect bloom time. There are several farms planting peach trees now and still others finishing ground preparations. We also have a new pecan farm whose trees I was able to inspect and help with last minute details before planting this week. I hope and pray all of you stay safe amid the COVID-19 pressure around us. The loss of a farming friend and leader of men, Mr. Ervin Lineberger, will be greatly missed.”
Strawberries are looking good in the Upstate. Photo from Andy Rollins.Strawberries are looking good in the upstate. Photo from Andy Rollins.
Five Georgia wine producers have been appointed to serve on the Georgia Wine and Grape Commission.
North Georgia Region – Eric Seifarth, Towns County; Central Georgia Region – Simone Bergese, Barrow County; South Georgia Region – Gary Paulk, Irwin County; Appointed as at large members – Gary Engal, Gilmer County and Eric Miller, White County.
Engal and Bergese will serve terms of three years, and the other appointees will serve terms of two years. These individuals will be eligible to be reappointed following their terms.
The Georgia Agriculture Commodity Commission for Wine and Grapes was established by the Georgia General Assembly in 2020 at the request of the Georgia wine industry. The Georgia Wine and Grape Commission can implement a marketing order which will allow for collection of assessment from producers upon approval of the growers. Funds collected must be used for research education and promotion of the commodity.
For more information please contact Andy Harrison:
A tree (left) with phony peach disease has shortened internodes, a flattened top and darker green foliage compared to a healthy tree (right).
By Ashley Robinson
Peach trees are plagued by several different diseases throughout the growing season. But one disease is causing noticeable losses within orchards in Georgia.
Phony peach disease, caused by the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa, has been challenging for growers ever since its first detection in 1885 near Marshallville, Georgia.
Recently, growers across the southeast have reported an increase in disease prevalence, which is a threat to production. The disease results in stunted tree growth and reduced fruit size and quality.
Kendall Johnson, a graduate research assistant at the University of Georgia (UGA), discussed phony peach disease during the 2021 virtual Southeast Regional Fruit and Vegetable Conference. According to Johnson, warmer winters may be to blame for increased disease pressure. Phony peach disease is vectored by sharpshooter insects, which are widespread in warm southeastern climates.
Through on-site surveying, Johnson confirmed phony peach disease is very much prevalent in the central and southern parts of Georgia, Alabama and Florida. However, the disease was not found in north Georgia or South Carolina, likely due to higher altitudes and cooler temperatures.
Johnson reported that phony peach incidence in sample orchards ranged from 12.12% to 30.5%.
Since phony peach is not a curable disease, control is directed toward prevention and minimizing the spread. To date, the most often used detection method is visual assessment. However, according to Johnson’s research, this method may not be an effective form of management as experts can’t accurately identify symptomatic trees. Non-symptomatic trees are often infected.
Visual detection is highly dependent on an isothermal DNA amplification and detection system, which through field trials, proved to be 95.5% accurate in detecting the disease.
Although a 4.5% error rate may not seem devastating, infected trees that are not detected and left in the orchard could serve as inoculum sources for additional disease spread throughout the orchard, disrupting production.
Currently, Johnson is working with UGA to utilize hyperspectral imaging for early detection of the disease. She is also working to develop a phony peach disease identification training session for growers, scouts and Extension agents in hopes of better controlling disease spread.
Marketing remains one of the top challenges facing Alabama hemp producers. It’s also a topic that Katelyn Kesheimer, Auburn University Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist, hopes to address during a series of informative webinars this spring.
“A lot of questions are revolving around, ‘What does the market look like?’ ‘How do I market and sell my hemp?’ ‘What variety should I be growing?’” Kesheimer said.
“I think a lot of it is around the market stability and consumption of the product. Are people still holding on to it? Should they sell it to be turned into crude oil? How do you find a buyer? Should you go into a vertical integration where you’re processing and doing everything on your own. Should I even get into this business because of the market? The biggest questions are around, what does it look like and can I actually make money off this crop?”
Kesheimer said she is working to schedule multiple webinar sessions designed to educate potential producers about hemp. It will include speakers from across the Southeast, including economists, agronomists, plant pathologists and entomologists.
Further details of the meetings are still being finalized.
A decision could come soon for Southeast blueberry growers hoping to find relief from seasonal imports causing harm to their farming operations.
The International Trade Commission (ITC) heard the American Blueberry Growers Alliance Case in early January. Now, it will formulate a recommendation for President Biden to decide how to move forward.
“I think the data makes the case for us. I think we have the data on our side. It’s hard not to look at the data and see what’s going on,” said Ryan 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.
Gloomy Picture
The statistics paint a picture of Southeast blueberry producers struggling to compete with imports from other countries, namely Mexico.
Florida Ag Commissioner Nikki Fried said Florida’s blueberry market share had declined by 38% since 2015. Mexico’s market share has increased by 2,100% since 2009.
According to the American Blueberry Growers Alliance, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Marketing Service reported a 68% increase in imported fruit from Mexico from 2019 to 2020, amounting to more than 15 million pounds of fresh blueberries during a 14-week period. Mexico, along with Peru, Chile, Canada and Argentina account for more than 98% of total U.S. imports. Import values increased from $530 million in 2014 to $1.2 billion in 2019.
Opposing Groups
Groups who opposed the blueberry’s alliance case also made their case to the ITC. Atwood believes their makeup consisted mostly of marketers and not farmers.
“The only thing that I felt hurt us was they tried to portray themselves as a bunch of growers. Honestly, it was marketing interests that were being represented on the opposition,” Atwood said. “I think anyone who knows the industry and knows the players and knows who was on who’s side know it was marketers on the other side and growers on our side. It was pretty clear.”
Now comes the hard part…waiting. A recommendation from the ITC and a decision from President Biden could come as early as March.
“I don’t know how this will all turn out if the president will sign it. That’s to be determined, to be seen. I think there’s a lot of us that are really interested in the outcome. One good thing about the process, it’s a fairly quick process when you think about it in terms of being politics,” Atwood said. “Start to finish, it’s going to end up being what, four, five, six months? I’m pleased at least that it wasn’t like we were dragging this thing out over three or four years.”
Photo courtesy of UGA College of Agricultural & Environmental Sciences
Georgia pecan producers enjoyed a banner production season, according to the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service. Georgia, which accounts for 47% of the nation’s pecan production, showed a 23% increase in value of production for 2020.
Georgia produced 142 million pounds, compared to just 73 million in 2019 and 70 million in 2018. Those two years were down because of Hurricane Michael’s impact in October, 2018. The value of Georgia’s utilized production was $168.9 million, compared to $137.2 million in 2019 and $113.4 million in 2018.
Favorable conditions aided Georgia producers. Utilized production would be the highest since 2007.
United States’ utilized production in 2020 totaled 302 million pounds, up 18% from 2019.
AUBURN UNIVERSITY, Ala. — When picking up a peach from the store, consumers often don’t think about the intricate growth process fruit endures to be store ready. Peach farmers know the importance of nurturing and monitoring the peach growing process. The most important part of a peach’s growth are chill hours. These hours serve as the make or break point for tasty, store quality peaches.
Chill Hours
A chill hour is the exposure the peach or fruit has to chilling temperatures by hour. According to Alabama Extension specialist Edgar Vinson, peaches and other temperate fruits are required to meet a certain number of chill hours. This allows the fruit to break dormancy in the spring when temperatures are warm.
“It’s like an internal clock that lets the plant know that warm weather in on the way,” Vinson said. “It will soon be time to bloom and produce leaves.”
Peach Hours
Peach varieties have different chill hour requirements. Some require as few as 50 chill hours, while others need as many as 1,400 chill hours. However, the number of hours each peach requires is dependent on the specific variety.
“The early season variety ‘June Gold’ requires 650 chill hours, whereas the ‘Contender’ requires 1,050 chill hours,” Vinson said.
In the Southeast, chilling measurements begin Oct. 1 and end on Feb. 15 the following year, depending on the region. Chill hours are traditionally measured using the Weinberger model. This model measures chilling at 45 degrees Fahrenheit and below. However, the modified Weinberger measures chilling between 32°F and 45°F. Another model, the Dynamic model, measures chilling in terms of chill portions where the optimum chill occurs at 43°F. As temperatures rise above or fall below 43 degrees, chilling accumulation becomes less efficient according to this model. It also shows that chilling can be lost as a result of exposure to warm temperatures in the winter.
If peach trees receive an excess number of chill hours, the buds will bloom too early. This will then make the blooms vulnerable to late season frosts.
Complex issues occur when peaches receive too few chill hours. If chill hours are deficient, it will delay the bloom period causing a protracted harvest season. The marketability of the fruit will substantially diminish with too few chill hours. While there are a few solutions to inadequate chill hours, they cannot have the same effect as the chill hours themselves.
Solutions to Inadequate Chill Hours
It is important to first research the amount of chilling your area historically receives if you are growing peaches.
“It is not advisable to plant a tree that requires 1,050 chill hours when your area historically only receives 650,” Vinson said.
If there comes a late-season frost and the peaches received too many chill hours, simply delay pruning. Pruning invigorates the trees to help stimulate bud break in the case of low chill accumulation.
If there are too few hours, some farmers will use rest breaking chemicals to stimulate bud break. The efficiency of these chemicals relies on weather conditions and the degree to which the tree is deficient in chilling.
“Research is still being conducted to determine optimal methods of applying these chemicals,” Vinson said.
More Information
For more information on peach chill hours, visit the Alabama Extension website, www.aces.edu.
University of Florida/IFAS reminds tomato producers that plants must be destroyed within five days following final harvest of their crop. Under Florida law, abandoned tomato fields that have not been destroyed within five days after final harvest are subject to an Immediate Final Order per Rule, says Gene McAvoy, UF/IFAS Extension agent emeritus.
If tomato plants are left in the field, they could attract viruses and pests, including whiteflies. This could be problematic for neighboring fields or for future crops in the tomato field.
“Most growers are pretty good about it. They plant successive plantings, and you end up shooting yourself in the foot if you don’t clean them up pretty quickly. Most guys do, but occasionally you get a bad actor, maybe they’re leasing land and season’s not going good for them, for whatever reason, they walk away and leave it there,” McAvoy said.
“It just becomes a festering sore. We’ve seen problems with whiteflies. We’ve seen problems with virus. We’ve seen problems in seasons where we have late blight.”
McAvoy said growers in south Florida will plant every couple of weeks, starting in August. This provides a continuous supply of tomatoes to satisfy market demands. That means farmers may be harvesting non-stop from late October to early May.
One South Georgia pecan producer is cautiously optimistic farmers will soon experience an increase in market prices. Coming off a season where pecan yields were the best in years and prices were the worst in some time, growers like Randy Hudson are hopeful prices will soon rebound.
“The old saying about the cure for low prices is low prices. The cure for high prices is high prices. When prices are low, people come in the market and buy a lot of pecans. Supply goes down. Demand goes up because the prices are cheaper. On the other hand, when prices are really high, demand has a tendency to really taper off. Supermarket sales, retail sales begin to go down. As a result of high prices, we typically follow it with low prices. It’s all kind of cyclic in nature any way,” said Hudson, who also works with the American Pecan Council, serves on the Pecan Export Trade Committee and member of the Georgia Pecan Growers Association
“It’s not a good year for growers, it’s a really good year for processors. I hope next year is a really good year for growers, and it may not be quite as good of a year for processors.”
The recent surge in interest from other countries has Hudson excited about the future market prices. Price increase is desperately needed considering the amount of Georgia crop that is in storage. Hudson estimates between 25 million and 35 million pounds are currently being stored.
“We’re already beginning to see in the last several days, we’re seeing some real interest in China, specifically, but around the world in general. Getting China back into this market is going to be a real positive. They’re back into, particularly, the Georgia market. They’re out here now competitively bidding on loads. We’re beginning to see the prices increase,” Hudson said.
“I’m very cautiously optimistic about the remainder of this market season. I know there’s a lot of growers in Georgia that have a lot of inventory on hand. I think it’s going to bring a little higher price than back during harvest season.”
High Yields
According to the latest USDA numbers, Georgia was projected to produce approximately 135 million pounds in 2020. It was amazing production and one growers were looking forward to following Hurricane Michael in 2018. However, prices were devastatingly low which hampered producers’ optimism and forced many to store their crop.
“It’s the best of times, it’s the worst of times. It was the best of times harvesting because we just had a great harvest season. We had outstanding yields. The quality was superb, probably the best quality we’ve seen in years. The weather was very important because the quality sustained itself all the way through second harvest. That was the best of years,” Hudson said. “The worst of years as a grower, though, when we started having to price this and getting paid for the crop, prices in some cases were half of what they were a year ago.”
Alabama Production
It was a devastating year for Alabama producers as well. Not just because of low prices but of two hurricanes that wiped out a substantial amount of this year’s crop. Winds from Hurricanes Sally and Zeta also uprooted many trees, creating countless future losses for the state’s producers.
