Fruit
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Watermelon is one of my favorite summer foods (in fact, I love them any time of year!). But they weren’t always the red and sweet fruit we have today. Here is an interesting story from Food and Wine about how watermelons were bred into the delicious fruit that we have today. You can read it…
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In spite of continuing a continuing drought designation by Georgia’s EPD due to low water supplies in Lake Lanier, rain has returned to much of northeast Georgia. Grape growers are very pleased at this year’s wetter conditions and say that their vines are looking great, according to the Gainesville Times here. Now they are hoping…
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It’s no surprise that weather has a big effect on crop development this time of year. The floods in the Midwest have been particularly bad for farmers, but other regions have also experienced impacts from frost and other extreme weather. Here is a sampling of recent stories I have read that caught my eye. AgWeb:…
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Here’s an interesting story about how apple production has changed due to changes in how the trees are grown using new dwarfing rootstocks. The example is from Washington State, but I’m sure that this change in management style is occurring all over the US. You can read it at NPR here.
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There have been several stories in the news this week about the continuing implications of last March’s frost on the supply of peaches and blueberries in the Southeast. Lack of chill hours also contributed to the low yields. In addition to the loss of the fruit production in Georgia and South Carolina, losses can be…
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Bryant Wynes of The Packer has a good short summary of agricultural impacts of the March freeze and the warm winter on Georgia agriculture, including some of the expected impacts on yield. You can read it here.
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According to The Packer, “U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue has signed a declaration of disaster for areas in Georgia and Florida for crops affected by a mid-March freeze. The declaration enables growers in affected counties to apply for low-interest loans to help them recover from crop losses.” Many areas of Georgia lost 75% or more…