Small Fruit News
The Southern Region Small Fruit Consortium posts articles and sends the SMALL FRUIT NEWS to subscribers four times annually.
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The 10th North American Strawberry Symposium will be held in conjunction with the annual North American Strawberry Growers Association conference, March 7-10, 2023, in San Luis Obispo, CA.
Posted in: Fall 2022 -
The North American Raspberry & Blackberry Association will be gathering in person for their annual meeting to be held January 22-24, 2023 in Tampa, Florida.
Posted in: Fall 2022 -
Kathy Demchak, Matt Cooper, and Rich Marini (Penn State University); Maria Cramer (Univ. of Maryland, formerly Penn State) High tunnels are widely used for raspberry production in much of the world, and it is easy to understand why. The longer growing season, increased yields and improved quality, and the ability to schedule tasks without concerns,…
Posted in: Summer 2022 -
By Stacia L. Davis Conger, Ph.D., State Irrigation Specialist, LSU AgCenter Inherent to the southeastern United States, rainfall in hot-humid climates is highly variable in both frequency and duration. In Louisiana, historical rainfall averages 1,350 – 1,700 mm (53 – 67 inches) annually with most dry periods expected during the summer months (Sohoulande et al.,…
Posted in: Summer 2022 -
By Lisa Rayburn, NCSU; Josh Mays, TriEst Ag Group, Inc.; James Hewitt, Lewis Nursery and Farms; and Gina Fernandez, NCSU In 2021, NC State University started an on-farm research project with Lewis Nursery and Farms to investigate the feasibility of long-cane raspberry production in the state. Until now, commercial production of this high value crop…
Posted in: Summer 2022 -
By David Gadoury (Cornell University) and Natalia Peres (University of Florida) Microbial pathogens that attack the above-ground parts of plants live in a world that is bathed in sunlight and have done so for nearly 300 million years. In that time, these simple one-celled microbes have evolved to sense, use, and interpret light to direct…
Posted in: Summer 2022 -
Dr. Amanda McWhirt Increasingly researchers and growers are investigating the use of drones for small fruit production. In North Carolina a strawberry grower used a drone to monitor a strawberry field that had flooded or there have been instances of using drones to spray strawberry plug plants. The applications of drones are endless, including: spraying,…
Posted in: Summer 2022 -
By Douglas G. Pfeiffer, Dept. Entomology, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg VA 24061 Usually thought of as apple, peach, cherry and plum pest but plum curculio also will attack blueberry, huckleberry, grape, and persimmon (Milholland & Meyer 1984). Plum curculio is one of the most potentially damaging pests on various hosts during the petal fall period. The…
Posted in: Summer 2022 -
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 approach to optimize both strawberry…
Posted in: Spring 2022 -
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 spun bound or nonwoven row…
Posted in: Spring 2022