Horticulture Resources
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Landscape professionals must consider many factors when choosing the right flowering annuals to plant for a particular location. Primary considerations include high visual impact, consistent bloom for color, foliage for texture and color, sun exposure, growth habit and low-water tolerance. Cost plays an important role as well. Many landscapers typically choose common annual ornamentals and tropical perennials marketed as annuals. Particular species and cultivars tend to be favored over others for a variety of reasons; these are the bread-and-butter plants, such as cool-season pansies and warm-season petunias. Because of this, staple plants tend to be planted year after year, often in the same bed – a recipe for disease build-up, pesticide applications, loss of plants, plant replacement, dissatisfied customers, and ultimately, lower profit margins. This publication explains how to effectively use crop rotation and cultural practices to reduce disease incidence in seasonal color beds.
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Temperatures affects plant growth and distribution. This publication explains how low temperatures (chilling and freezing) affect plant growth in production greenhouses, nurseries, and landscapes. These three environments have different causes and effects, each requiring unique responses to avoid injury. This publication outlines different techniques that can be used to avoid cold injury to plants.
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Shoot thinning is the first seasonal canopy management practice in wine grape vineyards, but shoot thinning is not implemented in muscadine vineyards. Failure to shoot thin results in a highly congested canopy characterized by reduced air flow, high humidity, and extended damp periods. Muscadines can generally tolerate such conditions without adverse effects. Wine grapes grown in crowded fruit zones, however, will experience excessive disease incidence and severity—especially in the humid Southeastern U.S. Shoot thinning is therefore a necessary canopy management practice in wine grape vineyards in Georgia and other Southeastern states.
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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.
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This brief video shows examples of damage on vegetables caused by diamondback moths and pepper weevils. It discusses some of the challenges associated with the control of these pests in Georgia.
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Whiteflies are a concern for Georgia’s vegetable industry, both as a direct pest and a vector for viruses. This brief video discusses at risk crops, shows plant damage, and describes what conditions increase the likelihood of whitefly damage.
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Georgia pecan orchards are often found growing adjacent to fields of annual row crops, timber, and pastures. As a result, the tree canopies of these orchards are susceptible to injury from herbicide drift from the adjacent operations when herbicide applications are made under conditions unsuitable for spraying. Drift may also occur when cotton fields are sprayed with chemical defoliants in the fall. Pecan tree roots often extend into an adjacent row crop fields and can compete with the row crop for available soil, water, and nutrients. Under such conditions, trees may also absorb residual herbicides from the soil in these fields.
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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.
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This resource describes the process of saving seeds, particularly for heirloom varieties in the Georgia garden. This guide is useful for both home gardens and school or community gardens.
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