Category: Question of the Week
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June Grower Spotlight – J. Mac Produce
Where is Phillip visiting this week? In this month’s grower spotlight, Phillip is visiting J. Mac Produce in Gable, SC. Owner and operator Johnny McNair grows peas, butter beans, sweet corn and okra. He is most famous for his butter bean production and grows the varieties ‘Jackson Wonder’, ‘Thorogreen’, and sometimes ‘Bridgeton’. His operation is…
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Question of the Week – Stem Gall
What is going on with this blackberry shoot? This is the gall of a blackberry gall midge. A client recently brought in a blackberry stem, which was swollen and distorted, appearing to be a gall on the stem. Notice how the gall has an overlarge blackberry-type appearance. The shoot tip and blossoms are beginning to…
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Question of the Week – Rootstock Growth
Why is this young peach tree developing shoots with purple leaves? The purple growth on this peach tree is coming from below the graft union. To help with disease resistance and other issues, peaches grown commercially in the US are always grafted. The rootstock (bottom portion of the tree) used may depend on the variety…
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Question of the Week – Sclerotia
What are the black structures developing inside the stem of this dying bupleurum? These black structures are sclerotia, which are signs of the disease sclerotinia stem rot, and resting structures for the pathogen, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. Sclerotia are hardened masses of mycelia, which enable the fungus to survive environmental stresses, such as a lack of a suitable…
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May Grower Spotlight – Gurosik Berry Plantation
Where is Sarah and her family picking strawberries this week? In this month’s grower spotlight, Ophelia is filling her bucket with tasty strawberries from Gurosik’s Berry Plantation in North Augusta, SC. Clyde and Marilyn Gurosik started with a small u-pick field in 1981 and have grown their operation from there. On the 100-acre farm, you…
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Question of the Week – Whiteflies
What is on the underside of this kale leaf? These white-colored, oval-shaped things are the immature stages of whiteflies. Whiteflies are an occasional pest of brassica crops. They have piercing-sucking mouthparts used to suck sap from their host plant. Feeding from large populations may slow plant growth and leave deposits of “honeydew” (excreted as they…
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Question of the Week – Thinning Peaches
What is this piece of equipment used for? This is piece of equipment is used for shaking excess fruit off of peach trees. This year, the peach crop is plentiful, which can make it time consuming to thin only by hand. Some growers use these tree shakers to aid in removing some of the fruit…
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Question of the Week – Growing Under Plastic
What is going on with this strawberry plant? This plant was growing under the plastic where it was deprived of sunlight. It seems that with each strawberry season we find new issues with the crop. Whether it is a disease, virus or new insect pest, strawberries keep us on our toes. From a distance this strawberry…
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April Grower Spotlight – Atkinson Farms
Where is Christiana this week? In this month’s grower spotlight, Christiana is visiting Atkinson Farms, a roadside fruit and vegetable stand in Mullins, SC. They one of the only commercial strawberry growers in Marion County, making them a beloved choice among locals. Atkinson Farms has operated for over 100 years through several generations of Atkinsons. Like…
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Question of the Week – Opossum
What happened to this strawberry? This strawberry was eaten by a possum, or more accurately, opossum. Opossums are the only marsupial native to the US. They are another common wildlife pest that loves strawberries, though unlike deer, they prefer the fruit. In this field they left tracks on several rows of plastic while they foraged. This…
The South Carolina Grower 