Commercial Fruit
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Watermelon is a warm-season crop related to cantaloupe, squash, cucumber and pumpkin. Watermelons can be grown on any well-drained soil throughout Georgia but are particularly well adapted to the Coastal Plain soils of South Georgia. Watermelons will continue to be an important part of vegetable production in the state. Increases in average yield per acre will continue as more growers adopt plastic mulch, intensive management and new hybrid varieties.
Timothy Coolong and Ted McAvoy
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Many types of fruits and nuts can be grown in Georgia due to our mild climate. This publication provides an outline of the culture and management of the exotic and uncommon fruits and nuts that can be grown in Georgia.
Gerard W. Krewer and Bob Westerfield
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Deciduous fruit plants common to Georgia must be propagated asexually because they do not come true to seed. This makes it necessary to reproduce the desired fruit plants by methods such as cuttings, runners, layering, budding or grafting. This publication discusses the common techniques used to asexually propagate fruit plants adapted to Georgia.
Gerard W. Krewer and Bob Westerfield
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Results from this study are preliminary, as only 2 years of data have been collected. Research over longer periods of time will be more revealing about how mechanical pruning will impact the perennial crop yield and health of the vineyard. Mechanical pruning is an option for dormant pruning ‘Carlos’ in situations where labor is unreliable and/or there is a low labor-to-acreage ratio which precludes the ability to finish pruning in the dormant period (December through March).
Concerns remain regarding the inaccuracy of mechanical pruning and the resultant amount of diseased and unproductive grapevine wood that remains in the canopy. It therefore may be a good practice to manually prune blocks of the vineyard on a recurring basis in order to reduce canopy congestion and the potential for disease buildup. Mechanical pruning may not be best practice in fresh-market muscadine cultivars, particularly those that produce bronze fruit that are less tolerant of rots and defects than purple fruit.
Mechanical pruning ‘Carlos’ and ‘Noble’ vineyards is worth consideration as these popular juice muscadine cultivars are vigorous and productive and may therefore sustain perennial health under high bud densities. Because of the preliminary nature of this report, it is recommended that mechanical, or “minimal” pruning, be trialed in vineyard blocks or sections before it is widely implemented with confidence.
Alicia Holloway
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To be more competitive, Georgia blueberry producers have to increase their yields to match or better the average U.S. values. This increase can occur through an improvement of the agricultural practices and a better mastery of blueberry cultivation. This publication contains information to help Southern Highbush blueberry growers in Georgia maximize their profits.
Gerard W. Krewer, Esendugue Greg Fonsah, John Ed Smith, and R. Danny Stanaland
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B 979
Orchard Sprayers
This publication contains comprehensive information about air blast and weed control sprayers for orchards.
Paul E. Sumner
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This resource provides information for producers interested in commercial tomato production, and included information to help improve the profitability of their operations, whether they are new or experienced producers.
Ted McAvoy and Timothy Coolong
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This publication was compiled to meet the needs of the growing cantaloupe industry in Georgia. It provides extensive information to help growers be successful in cantaloupe and specialty melon production.
Ted McAvoy and Timothy Coolong
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Blueberry gall midge, a small fly native to North America, has emerged as one of the serious pests of blueberries in Georgia. Severe gall midge infestations can cause up to 80% crop loss without proper intervention. Bud sampling to monitor for larvae is the only way to confirm its presence. Insecticide sprays need to be timed to target adult midges before they have a chance to lay eggs.
Craig R Roubos and Ashfaq A. Sial
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