Wish Farms Expands Florida Strawberry Farm

Web AdminFlorida, Strawberry, Top Posts

Plant City, FL – International grower and year-round marketer of strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries, Wish Farms, is adding acreage to its Florida strawberry farm operation. Founded in 1987, G&D Farms is named as a tribute to the original founders of the company, Gershon and Daniel. Before the land addition, it was already widely considered to be the largest contiguous …

UF/IFAS Findings Show Less Need for Pesticide to Control Strawberry Pest

Web AdminFlorida, Strawberry, Top Posts

By: Brad Buck, 352-875-2641 (cell), bradbuck@ufl.edu It’s harvest season for Florida’s $300 million-per-year strawberry season, so those who grow this fruit need help to control pests such as the tiny (up to 2-millimeters long), destructive chilli thrips. Farmers often use pesticides to control thrips, but they would like to use minimal chemicals. University of Florida scientists may have found a …

Marketing: The Next Challenge for the White Strawberry

Web AdminFlorida, Strawberry, Top Posts

Producing a white strawberry was the first challenge for University of Florida/IFAS strawberry breeder Vance Whitaker. The next is figuring out how to market it so it could be a viable option for Florida producers in the future. Whitaker said there are 12 acres test marketed in different chain stores this year. They will have a better grasp on how …

Cold Week Good for Florida Strawberries

Web AdminFlorida, Strawberry, Top Posts

Cold temperatures this week in Florida were just what the doctor ordered for the state’s strawberry crop – especially since temperatures were not well below freezing. Vance Whitaker, strawberry breeder at the University of Florida Gulf Coast Research and Education Center, said the cold weather Floridians experienced this week should aid in the development of the strawberry plants.  “If it …

White Strawberry One of Two New UF/IFAS Varieties Ready for Harvest Season

Web AdminFlorida, Strawberry, Top Posts

December 1, 2020 By: Brad Buck, 813-757-2224, bradbuck@ufl.edu, 352-875-2641 (cell) BALM, Fla. — A white strawberry? Not red? Yes, you “read” that right. And it smells a little like a pineapple. It’s also novel in that it’s the first white strawberry to go to market in the United States. Just in time for the west-central Florida strawberry harvesting season, which …

Neopestalotiopsis Disease Confirmed on Georgia Strawberry Plants

Web AdminFlorida, Georgia, Strawberry, Top Posts

Georgia strawberry producers need to be wary of Neopestalotiopsis; a disease that has already devastated Florida production and could have wide-ranging impact on Georgia’s crop if farmers are not proactive. Phil Brannen, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Fruit Disease Specialist, cautions farmers that while the disease has been found in just one Georgia location and only as leaf spotting, there …

florida

Neopestalotiopsis Fruit Rot Warning for Strawberry Producers

Web AdminDisease, Florida, Georgia, Strawberry, Top Posts

Georgia strawberry producers need to monitor their plants for Neopestalotiopsis Fruit Rot. It has already caused problems for Florida farmers and nurseries in North Carolina where many Georgia farmers get their plugs from. “(Georgia producers) should be aware of it. We had a meeting on it again,” said University of Georgia plant pathologist Phil Brannen. “It has been found in …

U.S. Looking for Trade Action Against Fresh Produce Imports

Web AdminExports/Imports, Florida, Strawberry, Top Posts

Fresh produce coming into the United States is receiving increased scrutiny from the Trump Administration. Imported strawberries are now on the list of imported items that the administration wants investigated for possibly harming U.S. fruit and vegetable growers. Strawberry imports, mainly from Mexico, represent about 16% of the U.S. market, valued at approximately $2.5 billion every year. Gro-Intelligence Dot Com …

New Disease Threatens Florida Strawberries

Web AdminDisease, Strawberry, Top Posts, VSCNews magazine

By Natalia A. Peres Pestalotiopsis is not necessarily new to strawberry. A strawberry fruit rot caused by Pestalotia longisetula (or Pestalotiopsis) was reported for the first timein Florida in 1972. However, the fungus has always been considered a secondary pathogen. But this was not the case during the past two strawberry seasons (2018–19 and 2019–20), when severe outbreaks were reported …

Coming Soon: New University of Florida Strawberry Varieties

Web AdminFlorida, Strawberry, Top Posts, VSCNews magazine

By Vance M. Whitaker Two new strawberry selections have been approved for release by the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) and are in the commercialization process. Trade names have not yet been finalized but should be chosen in the next six months. For both, larger-scale testing will be conducted this fall, and commercial quantities will …