University of Georgia (UGA) Cooperative Extension Archives - Specialty Crop Industry

Survey Says: Georgia Growers Asked About Impact of Deer

Jim Rogers — Thu, 19 Oct 2023 10:30:00 +0000

Deer can be a destructive pest across all growers of the agricultural industry in Georgia. The Georgia Farm Bureau, Georgia Department of Agriculture and University of Georgia Cooperative Extension want to know how destructive. The three organizations are collaborating on a deer impact survey to help determine the financial losses due to deer in Georgia over the past five years. ...

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Back in the Game: China Resurfaces as Purchaser of U.S. Pecans

Jim Rogers — Wed, 18 Oct 2023 11:00:00 +0000

By Clint Thompson Harvest season is well underway for pecan producers in the Southeast. Growers of pecans are harvesting or are about to harvest the earliest varieties like Pawnee, Elliott, Oconee, Creek and Caddo. Farmers can be encouraged that market prices should not dip below the levels they are currently at. That is due in large part to a familiar ...

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$3.2 M USDA Grant: CAES Leads Research to Improve Organic Onion Production

Jim Rogers — Tue, 17 Oct 2023 15:30:00 +0000

A team of researchers from the University of Georgia (UGA) College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) is partnering with colleagues from Texas A&M University to find more effective production practices for organic onion growers in the southern United States where short-day onions — those that bulb with 11 to 12 hours of sunlight each day — are primarily grown. ...

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Peach Producers Beware: Disease Spray Applications a Must Next Year

Jim Rogers — Tue, 17 Oct 2023 14:30:00 +0000

By Clint Thompson The lack of fungicide applications for peach diseases last season means growers should be mindful of sprays heading into next spring. Once the freeze events in March wiped out most of Georgia’s crop, it also stopped many producers from applying their normal fungicide sprays. But they should be ready to combat potential disease buildup next spring, according ...

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Hurricane Season Not Over: Future Storms Could Develop in Gulf

Jim Rogers — Wed, 11 Oct 2023 10:30:00 +0000

By Clint Thompson Hurricane peak season has come and gone, but that does not mean future storms this fall are out of the question. In fact, specialty crop growers should be mindful that potential storms are now more likely to originate in the Gulf Mexico this time of year, which would not provide ample time for producers in Florida, Georgia ...

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Strawberry Shortage: UGA Extension Agent Confirms Lack of Available Plants

Jim Rogers — Wed, 11 Oct 2023 10:00:00 +0000

By Clint Thompson Strawberry plantings have begun across the Southeast… at least for those growers who have their plants. Some producers have already expressed to Jeff Cook, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension agriculture and natural resources agent for Peach and Taylor counties, that there is a plant shortage. “We’re a little early really. Some of the guys around here still ...

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South Georgia Whitefly Populations Currently High

Jim Rogers — Thu, 05 Oct 2023 11:30:00 +0000

By Clint Thompson Whitefly populations are not at abnormally high levels, but they are high according to one expert. Stormy Sparks, University of Georgia (UGA) Extension vegetable entomologist, talked about the insect and what it might take to decrease the current populations. “They’re pretty high. We’re hoping as it cools off, it’s going to stretch out the life cycle and ...

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Pecan Harvests Commencing Across Southeast

Jim Rogers — Fri, 22 Sep 2023 10:00:00 +0000

By Clint Thompson Pecan harvests are commencing for early varieties across Georgia and Alabama. Growers should be mindful of last-minute spray applications that might be needed moving forward during this production season. Lenny Wells, University of Georgia (UGA) Extension pecan specialist, provides producers a checklist of what they should be wary of heading into harvest season. “Scab sprays have pretty ...

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Be on the Lookout for Invasive Spotted Lanternfly

Jim Rogers — Fri, 15 Sep 2023 10:00:00 +0000

By Emily Cabrera State governments are asking people to be on the lookout for an invasive insect pest called spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula). University of Georgia (UGA) experts say vigilant prevention strategies, early detection and timely interventions can help keep them from spreading into Georgia. Native to China, India, Vietnam and parts of Eastern Asia, the spotted lanternfly is now ...

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What Are Vidalia Onion Producers Planning for This Season?

Jim Rogers — Fri, 15 Sep 2023 09:30:00 +0000

By Clint Thompson Georgia’s Vidalia onion producers are less than months away from transplanting this year’s crop. Growers are already thinking about and planning for this year’s production season. Chris Tyson, University of Georgia Extension area onion agent at the Vidalia Onion & Vegetable Research Center in Lyons, Georgia, discussed what is on the minds of farmers on the heels ...

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