Fruit
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The dry weather has had many impacts on our Southeast farmers this year. One of the consequences is that while disease pressure has been fairly low, the pests are out in full force. This is true for almost every crop. This story by Clint Thompson in Specialty Crop Industry discusses how the drought is affecting…
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Lenny Wells of the University of Georgia posted an interesting story in his Pecan Blog a couple of weeks ago on the impacts of heat on pecan trees when temperatures were so warm. It turns out that pecans can do well in very high temperatures as long as they have the right amount of water.…
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The recent heat has affected Georgia watermelon production in both positive and negative ways. One of the things it did was to hasten ripening, so that most of the crop is now ripe. This has led to a glut on the market now as everything is ripening at once, but the supply could be lower…
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Recently Modern Farmer posted a story that quotes me and UGA Peach Specialist Dario Chavez on how warming temperatures are affecting Georgia peaches and how that may change in the future. Fortunately, there are a variety of ways that peach farmers can use to help deal with warmer winters, late frost, and lack of chill…
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With the hot and dry weather that parts of the Southeast have had in the past month, pecan growers are working hard to make sure that their trees survive the less-than-ideal conditions. In this UGA Pecan blog post from May, Lenny Wells describes the impacts that recent weather have had on pecans this year. He…
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The impact the March 13 freeze event had on Georgia’s blueberry crop might be worse than expected, according to a recent article by Clint Thompson in Specialty Crop Industry. According to the article, the lingering effects of the freeze include diseases as well as fruit quality issues. Estimates were that 54 million pounds of blueberries…
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If you like peaches, you will be glad to know that the peaches are starting to be harvested in Georgia now. The harvest should last for the next couple of months because different varieties ripen at different times. The crop was reduced somewhat by the freeze in March, and that especially affected the earlier varieties,…