In previous blog posts, I have discussed the recent heat wave and drought in Europe. But there is another area of extreme heat and drought as well in China. According to Reuters, China has issued its first national drought alert of the year as authorities battle forest fires and mobilize…
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One of the ways that producers might be able to adapt to the changing climate is by producing new crop varieties that are more resistant to drought, since drought is expected to increase in the future as temperatures get warmer and evaporation and evapotranspiration increase. Plant breeders are looking for…
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While most farmers this year have been grateful for the transition to a rainier pattern after a dry June, it has caused some problems for farmers. Hot temperatures and saturated soils meant an early end to pollination and the early end of the squash and cucumber seasons. The wet soil…
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The heat wave that has been affecting Europe for the last few weeks has had very bad impacts on crops and farmers in the region. In addition to the heat, they have experienced extremely dry conditions there (of course, the two are related), with France experiencing its driest July on…
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When I lived in Wisconsin and the summer weather turned exceptionally hot and humid, we always blamed the cornfields in Iowa for the high humidity. In fact, we were right! The Corn Belt puts a lot of water into the air as all those corn plants transpire water into the…
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The Specialty Crop Industry newsletter posted a story this week by Clint Thompson describing some of the negative effects of the recent heat wave on vegetable crops in Alabama (and by extension, most of the rest of the Southeast as well). Sunscald was seen on some watermelons, and the high…
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As you probably know, the multi-year drought in the Southwestern U. S. has had profound negative consequences for farmers there. The folks who control water supplies are making cuts to irrigation water that are decreasing or stopping water deliveries to some farmers, leaving them with no irrigation for their crops….
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