• WALB in Albany GA reported that wet conditions in early 2014 could increase scab problems for pecan growers this year.  Dougherty County extension agents reported at their county commission meeting that prices are down but growers are continuing to plant.  They suggest that an early start with fungicides this year could avoid future losses.  For…

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  • The Extension Plant Pathology group has just released their April 2014 newsletter.  In it they describe a number of impacts from the past winter, including injury to ornamental plants due to three major freeze events and  increase in spring diseases like rust due to recent wet conditions.  They also discuss how the cold winter did…

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  • How much did it rain last week?  This is a question I get asked frequently by a variety of people, including Extension agents and producers.   There are many sources of  weather and climate data, but two I find particularly useful because of their map formats are listed below. The first is the precipitation map tool…

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  • Time magazine released a story today that discussed the shortage of limes in the US this year.  Currently 97% of  limes are produced in Mexico, but this year have been suffering from bad weather, disease and other factors, reducing supply.  In the story, which you can find here, the history of lime production shows a…

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  • Today’s rainy weather in the Southeast is caused by a large swirling low pressure center which is moving slowly over the area.  The color-enhanced satellite water vapor image below shows how wrapped up the system is, with dry air in yellows and oranges and moist air in blue, green and white.  Note the pop-up moist…

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  • Looks like a wet weekend for most of Georgia, particularly south Georgia, where isolated areas could receive up to six inches of rain.  With the wet conditions already in place, some local flooding is definitely a possibility. On the longer term, drought is not expected to make an appearance in Georgia for the next few…

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  • The National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) is the official Federal archive of weather and climate data for the US, and they have data for many other countries as well.  One of their most useful tools is their new “Climate at a Glance” web site, which allows you to plot trends in climate variables like temperature,…

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