Dr. Aaron Cato, IPM Specialist, University of Arkansas See below for short descriptions about the most recent episodes of The Southern Fruitcast: Episode 4 – Muscadine and Blackberry Production with Ervin Lineberger Ervin Lineberger, owner of Kildeer Farms in Kings Mountain, North Carolina, joins us for episode 4. Ervin has been farming…
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Douglas G. Pfeiffer, Department of Entomology, Virginia Tech When the fruit are in, it is easy to think about putting the sprayer away. But sometimes there are insect issues that can be addressed in post-harvest, fall or winter periods. Let’s take up a few now. Grape In general, it is advisable…
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E. Barclay Poling, Professor Emeritus, NC State & Master Licensee for Lassen Canyon Strawberry Nursery; and Whit Jones, Extension Agent (retired), Duplin County & Farm Manager, Cottle Strawberry Nursery In this paper, we wish to simply report our findings from a strawberry variety and advanced selection trial at a location in Eastern, NC…
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Amanda McWhirt, Horticulture Specialist, University of Arkansas In early November of 2019 a cold front moved across the Southeast on Veterans day, and brought drops in temperature of 40-50°F across the state of Arkansas. Lows temperatures dipped to 13-14 °F statewide on Tuesday November 12th, 2019 and in some cases…
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Rebecca A. Melanson, Extension Plant Pathologist, Mississippi State University, and Aaron Cato, IPM Specialist, University of Arkansas Diagnosis is the first step in pest management. It is first necessary to know the cause of a problem before appropriate management methods can be implemented. Management methods that do not accurately address…
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Dr. Aaron Cato, IPM Specialist, University of Arkansas The Southern Region Small Fruit Consortium is an expansive source for unbiased information and news for small fruit growers and county agents across the Southeast. The consortium’s website features production and IPM guides that are updated yearly by specialists across the region,…
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Jayesh B. Samtani, Assistant Professor and Small Fruit Production Specialist, and Danyang Liu, Ph.D. Candidate, Hampton Roads Agricultural Research and Extension Center, Virginia Tech. We are just about done with our strawberry season for 2019-20 growing season and like me, most of you are already beginning to think about the…
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Douglas G. Pfeiffer, Dept. Entomology, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg VA 24060, dgpfeiff@vt.edu. Since its introduction and spread in the US from 2008-2012, spotted-wing drosophila (SWD), Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura), SWD has presented a huge problem for berry growers. SWD is a difficult pest to control. Because of its high fecundity and number…
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By Guido Schnabel and Madeline Dowling, Clemson University Anthracnose fruit rot, caused by Colletotrichum fungi, is an explosive disease of strawberries and other small fruits that is capable of wiping out an entire crop. The usual gray mold control program can help control anthracnose disease, but when that fails, anthracnose…
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Dr. Phil Brannen, Extension Fruit Disease Specialist, Plant Pathology, University of Georgia Many of the fungicides utilized for Botrytis management are no longer efficacious due to resistance development in this fungus. Now is a great time to collect Botrytis samples for fungicide-resistance testing. While the funds last, Botrytis resistance testing…
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Ashfaq Sial, Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Athens, Ga. Since its first detection in 2008, SWD has emerged as a devastating pest of berry and cherry crops throughout the United States. Male SWD have dark spots on the outer margins of their wings. Female SWD have a saw-like ovipositor…
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