Fruit
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The rainy conditions this spring have caused some negative impacts on the Georgia blueberry crop, including soft fruit, vertical berry split, and worms. You can read more about it at the UGA Blueberry Blog here.
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With plenty of wet conditions occurring in the northern half of our region, it should be no surprise that the rain is causing problems for producers. Vegetable and Specialty Crop Newsletter noted this week that strawberry growers were one such group, with torrential rains causing water damage to late berries and fungal diseases spreading rapidly…
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Vegetable and Specialty Crop News posted a story this week about all of the natural disasters that have affected Georgia blueberry growers over the past few years. In previous years it has been late frosts and tropical storms; this year it was severe weather in the form of heavy hail that wiped out crops at…
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Watermelon supplies have been somewhat limited this year because of poor weather in Mexico and a hot and dry March and April which affected pollination in southern Florida where many melons are grown. But prices are good because of the lower yields, and demand is up now that more stores and supply chains are opening…
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What a crazy year it has been so far for temperatures! Here is the thermograph for Blairsville, which is one of the coldest spots in Georgia, with a black horizontal bar at 32 F. It shows that they had a warm winter and almost a month of temperatures above freezing from mid-March to early April…
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The UGA Weather Network has 86 sites around Georgia. One of them is at Mixon Farms near Waycross. I was saddened to read this story in Vegetable and Specialty Crop News today. The storms that passed through southern Georgia last week dropped tornadoes and hail as they moved through the area. One of the storms…
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A story by Clint Thompson in Vegetable and Specialty Crop News this week notes that rabbiteye blueberries in South Carolina have been affected by cold temperatures this spring. Highbush blueberries have been doing better and are loaded with berries. This is unusual because usually the rabbiteyes do fine because they bloom later and the highbush…