Winter 2020

SMALL FRUIT NEWS – Vol. 20, No. 1
Published four times annually, Small Fruit News is sponsored by the Southern Region Small Fruit Consortium (SRSFC), www.smallfruits.org.

 

  • Compiled by Phil Brannen, Md Emran Ali, Jeff Cook, Sumyya Waliullah, and Owen Hudson Anthracnose fruit rot disease, caused by fungal Colletotrichum species, is one of the most significant disease problems of commercial strawberry production in Georgia and the Southeast as a whole. Dark, sunken lesions on fruit are the main disease symptoms (Fig. 1).…

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  • [card title=”Upcoming Meetings”] Make plans to attend grower meetings! North American Raspberry & Blackberry Conference March 3-6, 2020, in St Louis, MO [/card] This checklist was originally developed for blackberry growers in North Carolina. You may have to adjust your work activities either earlier or later depending on your location. The winter of 2019-2020 has…

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  • Compiled by John R. Clark, Distinguished Professor Exciting times! As most growers are aware, the development of new varieties is one of the key factors in successful fruit production. The continuation of breeding programs over many years is the way to sustain the flow of new varieties. Public programs (universities and USDA-ARS) have been critical…

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  • [card title=”UGA Extension Viticulture Blog”] For timely updates on vineyard management, events, regional weather and more, please subscribe to the UGA Extension Viticulture Blog. [/card] Vines are generally at peak dormancy this time of year. The recent warm weather in late December/early January makes me question if this is currently true. Cold weather patterns are…

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  • Compiled by John R. Clark, University of Arkansas In the last 20 years or so, I have focused substantially on sweeter berries, and also changes in plant form or architecture in blackberries. ‘Ponca’ is the most recent result of these areas of focus. It will have limited plant supply in the spring of 2020, but…

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  • Compiled by Wayne Buhler and Wayne Mitchem, Department of Horticultural Science Growers utilizing paraquat for non-selective POST weed control will have to adhere to new legal requirements to use this herbicide in 2020.  All herbicide products containing paraquat-dichloride (“paraquat”) are restricted-use pesticides marketed under various trade names (Gramoxone, Para-SHOT, Parazone, Quick-Quat, Firestorm, Helmquat, etc.). New…

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