According to the South Florida Pest and Disease Hotline, pepper weevil pressure is high in Palm Beach County. Pepper weevil numbers are also increasing around the Homestead, Florida area.
Respondents report that weevil pressure continues to increase around southwest Florida. Older fields are hosting high populations, while adults are now showing up in most younger pepper plantings.
Weevil numbers remain mostly low in the Manatee Ruskin area.
Click here for management options of pepper weevil.
South Florida received a substantial amount of rainfall last weekend, but it still remains dry across the region. According to the Thursday’s release of the US Drought Monitor the majority of south Florida and parts of central Florida are abnormally dry. Even counties like Monroe, Collier and Palm Beach are classified ‘D1’ or in a moderate drought.
The abnormally dry conditions extend as far north as Citrus County, Marion County, Putnam County and Flagler County.
South Georgia still has enough moisture from the excessive rains it received in February. There are about 20 counties in north Georgia that are abnormally dry. They start in Henry County and Clayton County and extend as far east as Elbert County and Hart County.
There is also a few counties that abnormally dry along the Georgia-Alabama line. They include Haralson County, Carroll County and Heard County.
In Alabama, the abnormally dry counties are Cleburne County, Randolph County and Chambers County along the Georgia-Alabama state line. There is a small portion that is abnormally dry in Monrore County and Wilcox County.
Artificial intelligence (AI) may help Florida producers combat one of the most destructive pests farmers encounter every year.
University of Florida (UF) scientists are using AI to identify parasitic nematodes more rapidly. Some nematodes live in the ground and harm plants, while others are beneficial. It is important to distinguish which ones are which, said Peter DiGennaro, a UF/IFAS assistant professor of entomology and nematology.
DiGennaro and Alina Zare lead the research, which was among 20 projects to receive $50,000 last year through the UF Artificial Intelligence Research Catalyst Fund.
“We have the AI algorithms already developed but not for this issue,” Zare said. “We will need to apply them to the nematode imagery and further develop and validate the algorithm for this issue.”
Growers need a quicker alternative in identifying nematodes in their soil to decide on the most efficient management treatment, DiGennaro said. Artificial intelligence could assist with this initial diagnosis of the nematode, making it quicker and cheaper to know what types of nematodes are in farmers’ fields.
DiGennaro’s colleagues at the UF/IFAS Nematode Assay Lab receive about 7,000 samples each year from commercial growers, residents and golf courses in Florida. Lab specialists plan to view each sample with a digital microscope, which would capture about 15,000 images per sample, DiGennaro said. This can generate hundreds of thousands of images each year.
This manual process is extremely time consuming. When the lab receives a soil sample, specialists extract the nematodes from the soil and view them under a microscope. They identify each kind of harmful nematode, count how many there are and assess the potential for plant damage.
With AI, the technology has the power to automate some of the processes, Zare said. DiGennaro and Zare are creating a machine-learning algorithm.
“Essentially, we pair each training image with a label,” said Zare, whose lab specializes in developing machine-learning algorithms that can learn from imprecise image-level labels, which are usually much easier, faster and cheaper to create than precise training labels. “Machine learning algorithms generally learn by repeatedly updating parameters until the output of the algorithm matches the desired outputs provided in the training labels.”
The algorithm will speed up the identification process of the nematodes. If the project succeeds, scientists could also tell growers which management practices would be most suitable to use to protect their crops.
“If artificial intelligence helps make nematode identification accurate and practical, it might reduce the lab’s labor costs and decrease turnaround time for nematode diagnosis,” said Billy Crow, UF/IFAS professor of nematology and director of the UF/IFAS Nematology Assay Lab. “The quicker we can tell a grower what is going on, the quicker they can do something about it.”
Almost two weeks after a cold Easter weekend, North Florida watermelon producers are still counting their blessings. They understand the minimal damage their crop sustained during a chilly Easter weekend could have been a whole lot worse.
“It was really, really close,” said Bob Hochmuth, UF/IFAS Regional Specialized Extension agent in Live Oak, Florida. “Because a lot of those plants were very well established; in other words, they had a big root system and the dark plastic gives you an opportunity for a lot of warming in that root system, so they have the capacity, physiologically, to come back in a hurry. That’s basically what happened. The younger plants that were more recently transplanted are probably in a little different situation.
“Because a lot of our crop had been planted for basically a month, the rebound was a result of the fact that we had large, well-established root systems that were able to push the crop back.”
Hochmuth estimated that temperatures in the Suwanee Valley area – Levy County, Gilchrist County, Alachua County – on up to the Georgia line, the temperature range was 32 degrees Fahrenheit to 37 degrees. Most temperatures centered around 33 degrees or 34 degrees. Heavy frost was also constant throughout most throughout the area.
Hochmuth also believes farmers will continue to see damage from the frost that didn’t show up in the first day or two. But don’t be alarmed.
“As the crop gets older and older, we’re going to continue to see probably the remnants of damage tissue that dries out over the course of the season. We just need to have the anticipation that’s going to be the case,” he added. “It doesn’t mean that some new disease necessarily has moved in on the crop or anything like that.”
One Georgia farmer sees citrus as an emerging industry in Georgia with huge potential. Justin Corbett even compares it to another popular crop that’s dominated the state’s fruit landscape.
“I think it has the potential to be a big industry. I compare it to blueberries 10 or 15 years ago, I just hope we don’t follow the same path they followed with imports affecting them now,” Corbett said.
Corbett is one of many farmers in Georgia who are trying their hand in the citrus sector with satsumas. Satsumas are the most grown citrus in Georgia. Between 80% and 90% of Georgia citrus is satsuma oranges, according to Lindy Savelle, President of the Georgia Citrus Association.
They are a cold-tolerant citrus, and once established, can withstand temperatures as low as 15 degrees. This makes them an effective crop for Georgia producers. They’re also seedless and easy to peel.
“It’s definitely an emerging industry. We’re trying to build a brand with it and trying to get consumers aware of what a satsuma is. Once the consumer tries it, they love it,” said Corbett, whose trees have produced fruit for almost six years. “It’s a challenge to get them in to retail locations and different places just to get them out there. Where we’ve got them in, they’ve been real pleased with how they’ve turned out.”
Along with marketing, another challenge that Corbett and other Georgia citrus producers face are late-season freeze events.
“We have been hit in the past where we would get a mid-March freeze and wind up with losing some bloom, losing some yields,” Corbett said.
One of the focal points of the U.S. International Trade Commission hearing on the impact imports of cucumbers and squash have on the domestic industry is labor; how much it costs and the availability of it.
Lance Jungmeyer, president of the Fresh Produce Association of Americas, insists the lack of workers has led to a quality issue with produce grown in the Southeast.
“Without adequate labor, Southeast growers are at a severe disadvantage for how they grow and pack. Their products result in a distinct quality disadvantage that U.S. retail customers clearly recognize,” Jungmeyer said.
But farmers and industry leaders in Georgia and Florida scoff at the notion that there is a problem with worker availability.
“I would dispute that,” said Florida farmer Marie Bedner. “We have the same people that return year after year. We invested in our farming future and built a state-of-the-art 400-bed facility for these employees.”
Mike Joyner, president of the Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association (FFVA), said Florida brought in 39,000 H-2A workers last year.
“To the labor issue, I’m concerned that there’s a theme that we have a problem and I’m just not seeing it,” Joyner said.
The same is true in Georgia as well.
“Those growers that are using H-2A, we do not have a labor shortage. Generally, workers are using some domestic help, or they’re using H-2A workers. Labor shortage is not a problem,” said Charles Hall, executive director of the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association.
Last August, Veronica Nigh, an economist with American Farm Bureau Federation, said H-2A applications were processed effectively and in a timely manner even during the early onset of COVID-19. She noted that Florida was the largest user of the H-2A program during the year’s first three quarters. It listed 28,005 certified positions. Georgia listed a little more than 23,000 certified positions.
What Southeast producers may be most concerned with is Mexico dumping produce, or exporting a product at a price below the price charged in the country of origin.
“Our growers are paying well above minimum wage by the time you add in all the travel, housing. That labor is costing $15, $16 an hour,” said Gene McAvoy, University of Florida/IFAS Regional Vegetable Extension Agent IV Emeritus. “If you look at the cost of labor being about 30% of our cost of production and the break-even price on squash is $8.50 a box, take $3 off of it, and that’s $5.50. It’s still hard to see how Mexico could put squash into the U.S. market in recent weeks at $3.98 a box. There’s just no way it could be done.
“Tractors (there) cost as much as they do in the United States. Boxes cost as much as they do in the United States. Chemicals cost as much as they do in the United States. Even if you subtract labor, there’s no way that product is coming into the market without dumping occurring.”
RALEIGH – The North Carolina (N.C.) Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is offering financial assistance to employers who have farmworkers with valid H-2A visas that must quarantine during the 2021 growing season due to COVID-19.
Two million dollars will be available through the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services COVID-19 Farmworker Quarantine Reimbursement program. The N.C. General Assembly approved the funding for this aid program.
“Farmworkers have always been critical to agriculture, but the pandemic has shown how essential a healthy workforce is to agriculture and our food supply,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. “While it is a priority for all farmworkers to get vaccinated, this program will enable employers to safely quarantine workers who test positive for COVID-19 and hopefully minimize spread to their coworkers and others.”
Employers that have farmworkers will be eligible for reimbursement of the cost of meals and lodging for the duration of the quarantine period, not to exceed the per diem rates for federal employees. The employer on record for the farmworker with a valid H-2A visa, may submit a reimbursement request on behalf of any farmworker requiring to be quarantined following a positive test for COVID-19, provided the employer covered the initial eligible expenses out-of-pocket on behalf of the farmworker. The program will be for expenses incurred from March 11, 2021 through the duration of this year’s growing season.
The application period opens today and will continue through Dec. 15, 2021 or until program funds are exhausted. These funds are provided through CARES Act funding and subject to any changes to the federal legislation.
Details regarding the NCDA&CS COVID-19 Farmworker Quarantine Reimbursement Program will be available at http://www.ncagr.gov/QuarantineReimbursementProgram.htm. Please contact H2Acovidprogram2021@ncagr.gov with any questions regarding this program.
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) continues to help agricultural producers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced on Tuesday the availability of more than $330 million to help farmers and organizations in the food supply chain recover from the financial impacts of the pandemic. The funding is part of USDA’s Pandemic Assistance for Producers initiative launched in March.
It includes $169.9 million for the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP) and the availability of $75 million for Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program [GusNIP; formerly known as Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive (FINI)] grantees. This funding will aid in developing new markets for U.S. agricultural products and expand the specialty crop food sector.
“We launched USDA Pandemic Assistance for Producers to respond in a broader, fairer way to the pandemic’s impact across food and agriculture, and we are following through on our promise,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in wide-ranging impacts that were felt throughout the agricultural sector. The Biden-Harris Administration is focused on ensuring that the entire agricultural sector successfully rebuilds following the pandemic, and the funding we’re announcing today will reach a broader set of producers and businesses than previous COVID-19 aid programs.”
USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) announced $169.9 million for the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP) to fund innovative projects designed to support the expanding specialty crop food sector and explore new market opportunities for U.S. food and agricultural products. The total includes:
Grant project funding awarded as part of pandemic assistance can also go to organizations to assist farmworkers (e.g., for PPE and vaccination costs), projects to fund farmers, food businesses and other relevant entities to respond to risks and supply chain disruption.
The SCBGP funds are allocated to U.S. states and territories based on a formula that considers both specialty crop acreage and production value. Interested applicants should apply directly through their state departments of agriculture. A listing of state contacts is available on the USDA website.
Applications must be submitted electronically through www.grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on June 11, 2021. Any grant application submitted after the due date will not be considered unless the applicant provides documentation of an extenuating circumstance that prevented their timely submission of the grant application. For more information about grant eligibility, visit the SCBGP website.
USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture will invest $75 million as directed by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021. Active Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP) and Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive (FINI) grantees may request funding to allow them to address critical food and nutrition security needs of low-income communities, enhance the resilience of food and healthcare systems impacted by the pandemic and maximize funds reaching participants in communities in need. The GusNIP COVID Relief and Response grants program (GusCRR) helps low-income communities improve the affordability and consumption of fruits and vegetables by vulnerable participants in communities in need. GusCRR grants will support expanded scope of work started under previous awards to address pandemic relief and respond to community needs in an impactful, timely, and authentic way. NIFA will reach out directly to GusCRR eligible applicants with additional details and a copy of the Request for Applications (RFA).
Eligibility to receive a GusCRR grant is limited to organizations with a current active GusNIP nutrition incentive grant, GusNIP produce prescription grant, or FINI grant that began prior to Dec. 27, 2020. An eligible organization may submit only one GusCRR nutrition incentive grant application and one produce prescription application.
USDA encourages applications that benefit smaller farms and ranches, new and beginning farmers and ranchers, socially disadvantaged producers, veteran producers, and/or underserved communities. For grants intending to serve these audiences, applicants should engage and involve those beneficiaries when developing projects and applications.
USDA is also updating the currently open FY21 GusNIP RFA to more closely align with the law and extend that opportunity by two weeks to provide potential applicants additional time to consider the full range of available funding.
The calendar may say it’s time for pecan producers to spray for scab but the weather conditions, combined with the current market season, say otherwise.
Lenny Wells, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension pecan specialist, says it still early to start spraying for scab disease this week. Next week should present a more optimal timeframe. It would also coincide with growers’ plans of reducing input costs.
“One of the goals that most growers had going into this season was to try to save some money because they saw what the prices were this year. They know that with the kind of crop we had last year, we’re not likely to have a heavy crop this year, overall,” Wells said. “With the potential for low prices out there, saving money is on everybody’s mind. Fungicide sprays make up 12% of the budget of growing pecans; 12% of the variable costs of production. That’s one big area you could potentially save some money in.”
Pecan trees are also progressing later than normal; about a week to 10 days later. The up-and-down weather conditions that consist of cold temperatures during Easter weekend and the current warmer temperatures have slowed the progression of the trees’ foliage. Some varieties like Elliott and Cape Fear have budded out. Others like Stuarts and Desirables are just now starting to come out.
“By the calendar, growers are used to spraying by this time. There are some areas where there are some varieties where we’ve had heavy scab pressure or the site has heavy scab pressure because of the lay of the land; and you’ve got varieties that scab. Those situations, I can see an argument being made for going ahead and starting,” Wells said. “For the most part, I think it would be a little premature to start this week. Maybe next week, I think would be more like it.”
Spraying too early will also have repercussions later in the growing season.
“If you go ahead and jump out there and start spraying now when you don’t really have that much foliage to cover and the foliage development is later, that means that the crop development is going to be later and then our crop maturity and harvest is going to be later. If you start now and there’s not a whole lot out there to spray, that’s just extra spraying you’re going to have to do,” Wells said. “There’s soon going to be a point in the season where you’re going to have to spray. If you start now, you’re just extending that period of time out to where you’re going to have to keep spraying possibly more than you normally do.”
Flooding can be problematic for Florida peach producers. It can cause permanent damage to peach trees and lead to tree death. Ali Sarkhost, a UF/IFAS Assistant Professor of Horticultural Sciences, said floods will increase as climate change continues to challenge growers across the world.
“If peach farmers experience flooding, the fruit size and quality can be adversely affected, and the tree may prematurely drop fruit yield,” Sarkhosh said. “We’re searching for flooding tolerance for peaches before a storm wipes out any farms.”
A few hundred acres of Florida peaches were lost due to flooding due to Hurricane Irma in 2017.
New research from Sarkhosh and one of his doctoral students shows three peach rootstocks that can survive flooding.
Peaches are often produced using a scion-rootstock system, in which growers can select the best compatible scions, which are the above-ground portion of the tree, with rootstocks, the below-ground portions of the tree to fit their operation. Scientists and nurseries join scions and rootstocks by grafting them together.
Sarkhosh leads a lab of graduate students. They study issues faced by the state’s stone fruit and grape growers, including those who produce peaches. One of his students, Trequan McGee, led recently published research to try to find peach rootstocks with increased resistance to flooding.
In the UF/IFAS-led study conducted in Gainesville, researchers tested six peach rootstocks to see whether they would survive flooding. Researchers measured variables like photosynthesis, nutrient content and activity of the rootstock’s antioxidant system.
Scientists found three rootstocks worked better than ‘Flordaguard,’ the one that is used mostly in Florida. The rootstocks are known as ‘MP-29’, ‘P-22’ and ‘R5064-5’.
“In Florida, peach growers have relied on ‘Flordaguard’ rootstocks, because for years, this was the only rootstock available that is resistant to the Florida peach root-knot nematode,” Sarkhosh said.
Damage from flooding translates into visible symptoms like leaf yellowing, leaf drop and eventual death of the scion portion of the crop, Sarkhosh said.