Fruit
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Georgia Trends has a good story and recap of Hurricane Michael’s impact on Georgia agriculture from July 1. It tallies the losses to forestry and pecans as well as some other crops. Devastating! Most of the recovery is being done by loans since the recovery money from the federal government has yet to appear. You…
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In 2017 and 2018 the peach crop in Georgia took a hit from unusual February warmth followed by March frosts. This year’s crop has had much less damage due to these adverse weather conditions. Producers are reporting an excellent peach crop this year compared to the last two, even with some frost damage to early…
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The Packer noted this week that blueberry production across the US is starting to pick up after a slow start in Georgia and North Carolina. The article estimated that production was down 50% from what was forecast. They attributed that to pollination issues, which limited the number of berries on the bushes. Later harvests in…
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Growing Georgia posted a story this week noting that the official season for Georgia watermelons has begun. Unlike the past two years, the weather this year has been cooperative for producers and a great crop is expected. You can read more here.
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An article earlier this week in Fruit Growers News noted that peaches in South Carolina had dodged a bullet in the recent cold snap and were doing OK so far with mostly some light thinning. But the weather tonight could bring more potentially damaging cold air into the region, and it is still a few…
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WCJB-TV in Gainesville FL reported earlier this week on the terrible hail which fell in Florida North Central Florida. The heavy hail hit and damaged many young watermelon plants, damaging stems and potentially delaying or even destroying a lot of this year’s crop. This region produces roughly one-third of Florida’s watermelon crop every year, roughly…
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The Packer published an interesting story this week about problems that Florida peach producers are having in peach production. Because Florida is so warm, they need to use special varieties of peaches that have low chill-hour requirements compared to peaches in Georgia and South and North Carolina. But the warm conditions over winter the last…