Crops
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Southeast Farm Press posted a story this week about how a dry spell in fall benefited burley tobacco growers in Tennessee and Kentucky. The dry spell in September helped the tobacco dry down in the field, but by October, moister air helped them achieve the desired color. The absence of an early frost also helped…
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Eric Prostko of UGA has an interesting discussion about whether the presence of morning dew on plants affects the potency of herbicides in the Southeast Farm Press this week. He discusses the potential effects of the water on the leaf and positive and negative effects of that water on herbicide effectiveness. He also discusses weighing…
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Growing Georgia posted a story this week from Reuters on the impact of the very cold weather in the eastern US on ethanol production. The cold temperatures, combined with high corn prices, has reduced the output of ethanol from many Midwestern ethanol plants. In addition, the cold is also hampering the movement of rail cars…
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The Associated Press posted an interesting article this weekend on how the recent cold weather has been affecting crops in Georgia. As you might expect, the cold has been great for fruit farmers, at least in terms of accumulating chill hours, although the length of the cold periods has caused some significant damage to some…
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The Packer reported this week that cold temperatures and rain in the Southeast have delayed harvest and discolored peppers in Florida and decreased yields in cucumbers, eggplant and squash. In the Northeast, icy roads slowed the movement of trucks through the region. In California, fires and mudslides caused problems for crops like avocados and shut…
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While this is only tangentially related to climate, it’s an interesting story about avocados anyway. Atlas Obscura provides another quirky tale of odd things from the past. In this case, how avocados developed and spread with the help of giant and now extinct giant land sloths. You can read the story here.
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According to an article today in Southeast Farm Press, the Arctic cold that invaded the Southeast in the last few weeks has done good things for farmers. After a couple of warm winters, the frigid air will help to kill nematodes, whiteflies, and other cold-sensitive pests that were a real problem this past growing season.…