Horse Nettle Blooming in Wakulla County

Delicate flowers disguise the potential problems of Horsenettle. The dainty yellow and white flowers belie the disaster potential of the plants. Horsenettles (Solanum carolinense) are blooming and producing fruit in Wakulla County. Horsenettle can be a serious weed...

Honey Bee Hive Maintenance during the Summer Months

Summer is often the time when most panhandle beekeepers have harvested their prime honey crops (TiTi, Tupelo, Gallberry and in some years Palmetto).  If the beekeeper plans to reap a good honey harvest next year, hive maintenance must be top priority during the summer...

Washington County Conditions Improve, Melon Harvest Underway

Rains this week have provided enough moisture for Washington County farmers to resume planting. A byproduct of the recent dry weather is weed control has been difficult for crops in some fields.  Herbicides are not as effective, if at all, when the targeted plant is...

Groundpearls in Tifton 9 Bahiagrass Pasture

I recently visited  a farm that was experiencing significant stand loss in an 80 acre field of Tifton 9 Bahiagrass.  Upon closer examination the culprit was determined to be ground pearls, as seen in the photo at left.  This was the first time that this Extension...

Leafspot/Rust in Bermudagrass Hayfields

I have observed bermudagrass leafspot/rust in several commercial hayfields of Russell Bermudagrass in Holmes County over the last few weeks.  Typically this is something that is observed later in the growing season during hot, humid weather.  Even though Russell is...

Identification and Management of Gummy Stem Blight in Cucurbits

BY ROB TRAWICK, JACKSON COUNTY HORTICULTURE AGENT With the unusually warm winter we experienced this year coupled with what was a warm and wet spring for most of us, there have been a lot of diseases showing up in numbers larger than what we are normally accustomed to...