Browse Watermelons Stories - Page 3

28 results found for Watermelons
Downy mildew disease on a watermelon leaf. CAES News
Downy Mildew Disease
University of Georgia plant pathologist Bhabesh Dutta is confident that Georgia watermelon growers will encounter downy mildew at some point during the growing season — it’s just a matter of timing and severity.
Georgia watermelons harvested for delivery. CAES News
Late Watermelons
The late-season market for Georgia watermelons is typically small, but could be critical for some Georgia farmers affected by a recent hailstorm in south Georgia, according to University of Georgia Cooperative Extension vegetable horticulturist Tim Coolong.
University of Georgia researchers are studying the effectiveness of applying a Bacillus bacteria species to the stigmas of female flowers to slow the spread of bacterial fruit blotch from seed to seedling. CAES News
Battling Blotch
Georgia farmers struggle to control bacterial fruit blotch (BFB), but University of Georgia plant pathologists have discovered that naturally occurring bacteria can combat the disease.
Georgia's April 2016 Precipitation - NOAA CAES News
April Weather
Cool conditions early in April delayed the growth of watermelon seedlings and caused yellowing of some corn plants. Wet fields in the southern half of the state delayed planting and caused problems for corn seedlings and other plants in heavy, wet soils.
Georgia watermelons harvested for delivery. CAES News
Watermelon Planting
Winter’s mild temperatures and sunny days helped some Georgia farmers keep from falling behind with their watermelon plantings this spring, according to University of Georgia Cooperative Extension vegetable horticulturist Tim Coolong.
A syrphid or flower fly hovers over a swamp sunflower bloom. The tiny insect is sometimes called a hover fly because its flight pattern resembles that of a hovering hummingbird. CAES News
Pollinator Plan
Many food items, including fresh fruits and vegetables, would never make it to grocery store or farmers market shelves without the help of beneficial insects like honeybees and butterflies. The number of these pollinating insects in the U.S. is declining, and to help, Georgia agricultural experts developed a statewide plan to teach gardeners and landscapers how to care for their plants and protect these vulnerable insects that are vital to food production.
Mike Doyle, director of UGA Center for Food Safety, holds a bowl of spinach. CAES News
Produce and Pathogens
Mike Doyle doesn’t eat raw bean sprouts, medium-rare hamburgers or bagged salads. He isn’t on a special diet, but as director of the University of Georgia Center for Food Safety in Griffin, Georgia, he studies the food pathogens that sicken thousands of Americans each year. For a time, foodborne illness was most often connected with undercooked meats; today, 33 percent of cases are tracked back to raw produce.
Two steers graze on sorghum/sudangrass hybrid forage at the UGA Eatonton Beef Research Unit as part of a 2014 study on grass-finished beef forages. CAES News
Farmgate Value Report
Led by increases in forestry and livestock values, Georgia’s agricultural output increased by $484 million in 2014, making agriculture, once again, the largest industry in the state with a value of $14.1 billion. According to the most recent University of Georgia Farmgate Value Report, published earlier this month, the value of Georgia’s livestock and aquaculture industries increased by almost 36 percent from 2013.