By Yiannis Ampatzidis Vegetable growers face several serious challenges with respect to farm labor. The number of domestic farmworkers has decreased substantially. In some cases, growers are unable to fully harvest their marketable fruit. A high percentage of the remaining domestic workers are not legally authorized to work in the United States. The costs to recruit temporary foreign agricultural guest …
Alabama Extension to Host Strawberry Production Meeting
One of Alabama’s specialty crops will be the focus of an upcoming strawberry production meeting. The state’s growers are invited to attend. Alabama Cooperative Extension System (ACES) will host a strawberry production meeting on Tuesday, June 14 in Jemison, Alabama. The meeting will start at 5 p.m. (est.) and conclude at 9 p.m. The meeting is designed specifically for producers …
Pineberry Enjoying Sweet Success in Florida
By Clint Thompson Interest continues to increase in the Florida Pearl strawberry, also known as the white strawberry and the pineberry. University of Florida (UF) strawberry breeder Vance Whitaker provided an update on acreage and what is expected for next season. “The pineberries have done well this year from all accounts. We expect an increase in acreage next year. I …
UF/IFAS Strawberry Specialist: Lack of Neopestalotiopsis a Blessing for Producers
By Clint Thompson A drier year meant a good production season for Florida strawberries regarding a lack of diseases. A state known for its high-quality strawberry crop was ravaged in prior seasons because of neopestalotiopsis fruit rot disease. But rainy seasons exacerbated the problem. This year’s dry weather led to minimal disease impact, said Vance Whitaker, University of Florida Institute …
Botrytis Resistance Testing Key for Strawberry, Grape Producers
By Clint Thompson A University of Georgia Extension fruit disease specialist encourages grape and strawberry producers who are concerned that botrytis resistance is developing to their fungicides to comply with testing procedures at Clemson University. Phil Brannen stresses that growers should be concerned with potential resistance forming to the botrytis disease. “Botrytis as a fungus is more adept at developing …
Strawberry Growers Could Benefit From UF/IFAS Research into Powdery Mildew
Strawberry farmers worldwide may get help from new University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) research that shows a way to battle one of the fruit’s fiercest foes. The key: combine genomic data with phenomics. The genome amounts to all the DNA in an organism. Phenomics is the study of plant growth, performance and composition. Through phenomics, …
Fruit Quality Postharvest Essential for Strawberries
By Clint Thompson Strawberry harvests are ongoing across the Southeast region. Growers need to be mindful of post-harvest fruit quality issues that can arise if not harvested and stored properly. Penelope Perkins-Veazie, professor in horticulture science at N. C. State, highlighted during the Alabama Extension Commercial Horticulture Fruit School that strawberry storage life lasts between 5 to 18 days. Fruit …
How to Manage Botrytis in Strawberries
By Clint Thompson Botrytis gray mold is an annual disease of strawberry producers. It may continue to worsen the more resistant it becomes to certain fungicides. Ed Sikora, professor and Extension plant pathologist in the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology at Auburn University, said he and other colleagues have examined strawberry fields for more than a year. In about …
Starting in Strawberries? Input Expenses Costly but Reward is Potentially Great
By Clint Thompson Strawberries have the potential to be a lucrative commodity for interested specialty crop producers. But they can also be extremely expensive to grow. Farmers need to understand the investment before diving head first into the industry next season, says Jessie Rowan, Alabama regional Extension agent, who specializes in commercial horticulture and farm and agribusiness management. “To me, …
North Carolina Strawberry Season Underway
The arrival of spring means locally-grown strawberries are ready to be picked in North Carolina (N.C.). Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler discusses what consumers can expect from this year’s crop. “Growers have done a good job protecting the crop from recent cool temperatures and because of their hard work, this year’s strawberry crop looks to be plentiful,” said Troxler. Strawberry season …