Fruit
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The Tampa Bay Times reported this week that losses due to the destruction of Hurricane Irma on Florida agriculture are increasing as the harvest advances. The biggest loser may be the citrus industry, which continues to see more losses as damage to the fruit from the winds comes to light. The losses to citrus alone…
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In spite of the damage caused by Hurricane Irma, UGA Extension Pecan Specialist Lenny Wells thinks that the final tally in pecan yields this year will be very good. Pecan harvest has been running about ten days ahead of usual due to weather conditions earlier this year, and harvest should be completed by early December.…
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Every once in a while I run across a story about an agricultural oddity that is delicious to read. In this case, almost literally. Gastro Obscura published a short article on a tree in Syracuse NY that contains grafts from 40 different varieties of stone fruit. You can read it and see some pictures here.
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I have never heard of pongamia, an oilseed tree from India and Australia. So I was interested to read this article from Biofuels Digest on how it might provide an alternative crop for farmers in Florida who have been crushed by citrus greening and Hurricane Irma’s destruction earlier this year. The article makes it sound…
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Pecans are one of the most valuable crops grown in the Southeast, and the impacts of Hurricane Irma hit pecan growers pretty hard this year, with about 30% of the nuts blown off the trees in the storm. Trees were also blown over or dropped limbs and may need to be replaced. Vegetable and Specialty…
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The latest estimates from the USDA regarding the orange harvest this year have dropped the expected yield by 7.4 percent, to 50 million boxes, from last month’s estimate. Producers generally considered last month’s estimates too high because all of the accumulated losses from Hurricane Irma have not yet been seen, much less quantified. Some delayed…
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How old can grapevines get and still produce a good crop? Atlas Obscura has a short but interesting story this week on a vine in England that has been producing sweet dessert grapes for over 250 years. When they were originally produced, only royalty could eat the fruit, but now it is available to the…