Fruit and Vegetable Production Resources
-
Research shows that drip irrigation is highly beneficial to pecan trees in Georgia, even in wet years. This resource explains the benefits that drip irrigation offers.
|
-
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.
|
-
Root-knot nematodes are highly adaptable, obligate plant parasites (parasites that cannot reach adulthood without a host) that attack plant roots and establish a prolonged relationship with their hosts. There are three common species of root-knot nematodes known to parasitize watermelon in the U.S.: the southern root-knot, M. incognita, the peanut root-knot, M. arenaria, and the Javanese root-knot, M. javanica. The southern root-knot nematode is ranked first in terms of negative impact on watermelon production, particularly in warm temperate climates. Many watermelon fields in Georgia are infested with one or more species of root-knot nematodes.
|
-
This bulletin contains guidelines to determine irrigation scheduling for vegetable production in Georgia. Irrigation scheduling varies with water management and growers may require different technologies to properly manage water application. This information is supplied to help irrigation managers schedule and operate irrigation systems to optimal capacity, applying water precisely to the crop for maximum effectiveness and high efficiency.
|
-
This bulletin is intended to provide to provide both veteran and new growers an overview of commercially popular pruning strategies and a greater depth of understanding of the theory behind pruning method practice. Dormant pruning is an important vineyard management decision as it sets the crop level and canopy density before green tissues are present. Growers must take several considerations into account when choosing a pruning method, including vineyard design, cultivar, and labor force throughout the year. Some growers may choose to adopt several different pruning strategies to successfully manage their vineyard. Regardless of the pruning method, it is important to develop a plan that includes scheduling when and how each vineyard block will be pruned throughout the dormant season. Effective dormant pruning sets the stage for successful vineyard management throughout the forthcoming growing season.
|
-
Drip, trickle, microemitters, and subsurface irrigation systems are considered low-volume irrigation. Low-volume irrigation systems are designed to improve irrigation efficiency, delivering water to the crop accurately with minimal water loss. Irrigation efficiency can be categorized into two main concepts: water loss and uniform application. If water loss is significant, or application uniformity is poor, efficiency will be low. Generally, the most significant loss of irrigation water is from overwatering, where the water percolates below the root zone, or from runoff. With good management, losses due to leaks, system drainage, and flushing of filters and lateral lines should not exceed 1%. Low-volume systems have the opportunity to achieve efficiency, and under careful management, will minimize losses from overirrigation. However, using low-volume systems requires increased irrigation frequency and soil moisture monitoring should be used to improve water-use efficiency. This publication covers system design, system efficiencies, components, chemical applications, diseases related to irrigation, and soil moisture monitoring.
|
-
Soil fumigants alone or in combination with nonfumigant nematicides can provide vegetable growers effective and reliable control of plant-parasitic nematodes, profitable yield and product quality, and increased profits. Treating soil with fumigant nematicides has been very beneficial to vegetable growers in Georgia, but environmental concerns may restrict the broad usage of these products. Telone II has been an important nematode management tool for the field production of many vegetable crops. Vegetable growers will have very limited options if soil fumigants, in particular Telone II, are no longer available. The development of new effective and environmentally safe nonfumigant nematicides has reduced the dependency on fumigant nematicides, but the application of fumigants still has great value for growers in Georgia.
|
-
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.
|
-
This publication contains a financial analysis of alternatives to methyl bromide and mulch for bell pepper in Georgia. This research is aimed at seeking the best fumigant substitute for methyl bromide (MB) along with the perfect mulch complement that effectively enhances production yield and profitability potential. The main goal of this report is to make the alternatives accessible to farmers
through different planning budgets they could use in decision making.|