We have been struggling with declining crop conditions locally. Here are some pre-harvest pictures I or my colleagues have taken in Columbia, Suwannee, Hamilton, Madison, Gilchrist, Alachua, and Levy Counties over the last few days. These are in no particular order, nor do I know what is wrong/went wrong in most circumstances. However it has been …
Continue reading ‘Good, Bad, and Ugly…..Local Peanut Crop Conditions’ »
Peanut harvest in our part of North Florida started in the second half of August; with the digging of peanuts planted in the first days of April. Rainfall and more recently, Hurricane Irma, have put a dent in our progress. We have had measurable rain in the county 31 of the previous 40 days from this writing. …
County Agents are known throughout the peanut belt for their willingness to “pod blast” peanuts and assist peanut farmers with digging recommendations. This process involves using a small electric pressure washer with a turbo nozzle. As peanuts mature, the mesocarp color changes from white, to yellow, orange, brown, and finally black. Although the yellow and …
The Georgia-Florida Tobacco tour recently swung through Columbia County with a stop at the R.T. Dicks Farm. The tour was led by Dr. Jay Michael Moore, Extension Tobacco Agronomist with University of Georgia. Participants started in Waycross, Georgia and visited 16 farms before ending the two day tour in Lake City. Tobacco industry representatives and …
I.C. Terry Farm and UF/IFAS Extension Columbia County are making preparations for the Columbia County Peanut Twilight Tour to be held at the I.C. Terry Farm on August 10th, 2017 at 5:30 PM. The educational event will include Extension specialists from University of Florida/IFAS as well as other speakers from the peanut industry. The field …
Whiteflies can cause economic damage to plants in several ways. Heavy infestations of adults and their progeny can cause reduction in vigor and yield of older plants, due to sap removal. When adult and immature whiteflies feed, they also excrete honeydew, a sticky waste that is composed of plant sugars. Sooty mold will grow on honeydew-covered substrates, …
We knew to be on the lookout for whiteflies in our cotton, soybeans and peanuts based on high populations early in the season. I have had several discussions with Extension Entomologists to learn more about this insect and the implications in our Florida crops. To me, cotton is the simplest; we have scouting thresholds and …
I encourage you to join us at a Precision Agriculture Field Day at 10:30 AM on June 29th at the Bar D Ranch near Columbia City. This will be a brief program highlighting many of the technologies used in our local PA project. Technologies displayed include: Veris mapping, grid soil sampling, UAV and satellite imagery, elevation mapping, landscape suitability …
Continue reading ‘Precision Agriculture Field Day June 29th’ »
There has been a little more talk lately about the insect situation in our crops and Extension specialists have issued a few updates for us to pay attention to. Granulate cutworm. One of my favorites is back again in in the peanut fields. The cutworm are difficult to find as they are nocturnal feeders. Someone …
Our corn crop looks good and it looks like if the wind and tropical storms don’t take it down, we should have a good crop. It is warm (sunny) dry years that we grow our best irrigated corn crop here, and I would say March, April, and May definitely qualify as warm and dry. However …
Continue reading ‘Corn on the Home Stretch. Little Southern Rust Found’ »