Crops
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The NWS office in Tampa Bay, Florida, put out an interesting discussion on the potential for frost in central Florida over the next few weeks on Facebook today. The page is shown below. If those in central Florida are discussing the possibility of frost, areas that are farther north, including Georgia and Alabama, should also…
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The importance of bees in pollinating crops has been in the news in recent years because of declining populations of wild and domestic bees and other pollinators due to unidentified causes which may include both natural and manmade changes to their ecosystems, including climate. The University of Vermont released a map in December which shows the…
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Several articles on this blog have shown how warm November and December so far have been for large portions of the eastern US. One of the consequences of this warmth is that winter wheat in Kansas and other parts of the Midwest has not reached dormancy yet. This is a potential problem because the wheat…
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The recent heavy rains in south Florida did significant damage to winter yellow squash, zucchini and green beans in the area, according to The Packer in an article this week. According to the article, “The 15 inches of rain that pounded the Florida City and Homestead, Fla., area Dec. 4-7 also hurt tomatoes and sweet…
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The unusually warm fall has had quite a few agricultural impacts. The Packer noted today that Florida strawberry volumes have really been set back by the warmth (link). The season started early, but the heat is stressing the plants, which causes a reduction in the number of berries set. I’ve also had some calls from…
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AgFax printed a story from UGA scientist Lenny Wells on the impacts of microclimate on pecan production. You can read the article here. The impacts of the site on which the trees are planted is important in how likely the trees are to be affected by scab, which can seriously impair the trees’ ability to…
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I’ve worked with farmers in southern Georgia who are expanding into new crops that can be sold in markets as “local” produce if they are grown in-state. These crops include olives and satsumas, both which have been grown in different climate regions in the past but now are starting to be produced in Georgia. The…