Fruit
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Impacts from our two April freezes are continuing to come in. Peach producers have been surprised to see some of the biggest impacts have been on late-blooming peaches, rather than the early varieties which were farther along. Losses could amount to 30 to 40% of a full crop. But it is still better than the…
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Here’s an interesting story about freeze protection of apples in Italy. While I know that Southeastern farmers use irrigation to protect blueberries from freezing conditions, this is the first time that I have read about Italian farmers using the same method to protect their apples. The system they use is a little different in that…
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According to an article this week in Vegetable and Specialty Crop News, the citrus industry in northern Florida and southern Georgia is increasing rapidly, with acreage in North Florida at around 1,200 acres and in South Georgia at around 2,000 acres. I have worked with a few of the producers, who are growing satsumas and…
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While the frost we had here in the Southeast in early April caused some problems for fruit and vegetable farmers in parts of the region, it was nothing like the severe frost that caused widespread damage to grapevines in Europe and especially in France. This frost affected up to 80 percent of all producers, with…
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According to The Packer, Florida is the first state in the US to have ripe, marketable peaches each year. Their short season begins near the end of March and goes into May. With good chill hours this year, they are expecting one of the best crops in the last five years. You can read more…
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The Packer published a heartbreaking video from the Texas Farm Bureau this week which showed some of the destruction of vegetable and citrus crops in Texas due to last month’s frigid temperatures. Losses are estimated to be at least $600 million, although could be more since they don’t know yet if the citrus trees will…
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This week The Packer published a story about how weather was affecting strawberry production in Florida. Cooler weather has delayed the ripening of the berries, allowing them to grow bigger than usual. However, production issues in other areas reduced supplies for Valentine’s Day so the Florida strawberries were being eagerly awaited. You can read more…