Skip to Content

Optimize strawberry fertility with plant tissue testing

Kristin Hicks, Agronomic Services, NCDA&CS In order to optimize growth, fruit quality and economic return, commercial strawberry production requires intensive and precise fertilization throughout the season. In high-value crops like strawberry, using a combined strategy of pre-season soil testing and in-season plant tissue analysis is an inexpensive and highly effective…
Read More

A Closer Look: Microclimates and Disease Risk at the Canopy-Level

Mengjun Hu1, John Lea-Cox1, Jayesh Samtani2, Roy Flanagan III2, and Chuck Johnson21 Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, University of Maryland 2 Virginia Cooperative Extension Plasticulture growers in production areas outside Florida and California, such as the coastal plain or piedmont areas of the eastern US, typically use lightweight…
Read More

Infrequent Pests: Wireworms in Strawberry

Aaron Cato Wireworms are an uncommon, soil-dwelling pest that feed on seeds and developing seedlings, as well as the roots and underground stems of plants. While uncommon, wireworms can be a serious pest of many seeded annual crops and especially of root and tuber crops such as sweet potato. Most…
Read More

Spittlebugs in strawberry

Douglas G. Pfeiffer, Dept. of Entomology, Virginia Tech Meadow spittlebug is an insect that most people are familiar with, even those not involved with berry production. The masses of white, frothy spittle-like material are commonly seen on meadow grasses and other plants. If you pull apart the froth, a green…
Read More

Anthracnose Fruit and Crown Rot Management on Strawberry

Mahfuz Rahman1 and Jayesh Samtani2; 1West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, Email: mm.rahman@mail.wvu.edu ; 2 Hampton Roads Agricultural Research and Extension Center, Virginia Tech., Virginia Beach, VA. Anthracnose is one of the most destructive diseases of strawberry affecting fruit growers in the southeastern United States. Although all parts (crowns, runners, petioles,…
Read More

Southern Sensation Seedless: A New Table Grape for the Mid-South

Justin Scheiner, Associate Professor and Extension Viticulture Specialist, Department of Horticultural Sciences, Texas A&M University In 2021, the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture and Texas A&M University cooperatively released a new table grape, Southern Sensation Seedless. What makes this grape special is that after thirty-four years of trialing…
Read More

2022 Virtual Southeastern Muscadine School

The 2022 Virtual Southeastern Muscadine School is a webinar series featuring updated information for muscadine management and wine-making. Each session will feature guest speakers, followed by a Q&A session for webinar participants. Webinars will be recorded. Webinar Schedule and Online Registration For additional information, please contact Amanda Lewis, Communications Assistant,…
Read More

Pruning Blueberries

By Bill Cline, Entomology & Plant Pathology Department, NCSU (Revised 8dec21) Cultivated blueberries are upright, deciduous, woody perennials, forming multi-stemmed bushes with maximum unpruned heights varying from 6-8 feet (highbush, southern highbush) to 10-15 feet (rabbiteye). All cultivated species require annual pruning to manage bush height and shape. Pruning also…
Read More