Crops
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Capital Public Radio posted a story today about one impact of the California drought on local fruit. Because less water is getting to each tree, the sugars in the fruit are more highly concentrated than usual. The fruit is also smaller because abnormally warm temperatures have helped the fruit mature faster, leading to less days…
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Estimates of the agricultural losses in Puerto Rico continue to rise following the passage of Tropical Storm Erika a few days ago. The current estimates are for losses in excess of $20 million. Caribbean Business reported here that the most damaged crops, particularly due to Erika’s winds, are plantains and bananas, while losses have also been…
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AgWeb posted a short article this week based on a poster from Ohio State University on common problems with ears of corn. The article showed pictures of different kinds of abnormalities and linked them to potential causes of each condition. Many of them are related to adverse climate effects like cold temperatures or drought happening at…
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The Southeast Farm Press published an article this week describing the profits Alabama farmers hope to make this year from their sorghum crop. The combination of a wet planting season and high prices convinced a number of farmers to plant grain sorghum instead of corn, and the crops are doing very well this year. They…
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Scientists that study plants growing in areas affected by Western wildfires are noticing that the types of plants that replace the old burned-over varieties are different than the plants that were originally there, according to research published recently in the Journal of Ecology. The new plants are generally those that are more adapted to warmer, more…
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Al Jazeera America had an interesting article about recent trends in the yields of coffee production in Tanzania. Farmers there have noticed a 50 percent decrease in yield over the last sixty years. Originally the yield loss was attributed to changes in rainfall, but a recent study by scientists at the International Institute of Tropical…
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Shane Curry, the author of the Appling County Crop E News, had an interesting article this week about the unfilled ears of corn they are seeing in some locations as they harvest their fields. It discusses the problems caused by high temperatures and low humidity associated with dry conditions that affected the corn plants this…