Fruit and Vegetable Production
-
This resource is a comprehensive guide for residents interested in growing pecan trees in Georgia.
|
-
2022 plant disease losses, including control costs, amounted to an estimated $933 million. The value of the crops used in this estimate was approximately $8200 million, resulting in a 11.4% relative disease loss across all crops included in this summary. The estimated values for most crops used to compute these disease losses are summarized in the UGA Center for Agribusiness & Economic Development 2022 Georgia Farm Gate Value Report (AR-24-01). Some estimates for fruits, ornamentals, and turf rely on Extension specialists’ knowledge of the industry and industry sources for information.
|
-
This publication discusses heirloom vegetable choices and some of the common issues that growers may encounter when growing heirloom vegetables in a home garden setting. Additional author: Whitney Richardson, University of Georgia Center for Urban Agriculture, with technical assistance from Makenzie English, University of Georgia Department of Horticulture Program Assistant.
|
-
Blueberries are becoming the state fruit of Georgia with considerable acreage planted. Blueberries have many pest challenges and a current invasive pest challenge from spotted wing drosophilia (SWD). While efforts are underway to release new biocontrol agents for SWD, we still know little about the natural enemies in blueberry systems. Here we provide an overview of common natural enemies and conservation strategies for preserving beneficial species in blueberry systems. The work was funded by the NRCS to provide new information on natural enemies and pollinators and help with design and implementation of habitat management concepts.
|
-
Sweet corn is not difficult to grow and, by following the cultural guidelines provided in this publication, you too can enjoy this sweet delicacy.
|
-
Pierce’s disease (PD) may be the greatest threat to the growth and sustainability of wine grape industries in the Southeastern U.S. The first step to managing grapevine PD is understanding the threat of PD as dictated by the region in which vines will be planted. It is highly advised that PD-tolerant cultivars be planted if a vineyard will be established in a region of high PD-threat. Growers should understand that there is a risk of planting Vitis vinifera and other PD-intolerant cultivars in several Southeastern U.S. regions, including the mountain regions of northern Georgia and piedmont regions in North Carolina. If PD-intolerant cultivars are planted, leafhopper vectors should be intensively scouted for and managed, and PD-infected vines should be immediately rogued out of the vineyard.
|
-
Pecan trees have high water requirements, using as much as 60 inches of total water (including rainfall) during the growing season. Georgia receives an average of 50 inches or more of rainfall annually. While the rainfall received certainly meets a portion of the water requirement for pecan trees, periods of moisture stress occur during the growing season, particularly during the months of August and September when pecans are in the kernel filling stage and water demand is at its peak. Thus, irrigation has been proven to markedly enhance pecan production in the region.
With increasing agricultural water use, a growing population, and declining groundwater levels, irrigation efficiency in the region is necessary for sustainability. Drip and micro-irrigation system design capacity for a mature pecan orchard should be 3600-4000 gallons of water per acre per day. Because of evaporation losses, solid-set sprinkler irrigation can require as much as 3 times more supplemental water than drip or micro-irrigation.
Solid set irrigation systems should have a design capacity of 1.5–2 inches per week. Water stress in pecan is correlated with soil moisture from budbreak through the end of nut sizing. Pecan trees bearing a moderate to heavy crop load may undergo water stress during the kernel filling stage regardless of soil moisture level. This suggests that crop load and nut development drive the tree’s demand for water.
|
-
B 807
Home Garden Bunch Grapes
Bunch grapes are often called “pod” grapes in rural Georgia since they produce large clusters of fruit. Georgia’s climate is not well-suited to home garden production of European bunch grapes, but American bunch grapes and hybrids between the two species (French hybrids) grow well in Georgia. If grapes are well cared for and sprayed when diseases and insects threaten, you can expect yields of 20 to 30 pounds of fruit per vine.
|
-
This resource is for peach producers, pickers, packers, and shippers, and provides maturity indices and postharvest handling recommendations for fresh-market peaches to reduce peach postharvest losses and prevent quality deterioration, recalls, and loss of value during the production and trade of peaches in the Southeastern U.S.
|