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Many vegetables are well adapted to planting in the summer for fall harvest. Planting a fall garden will extend the gardening season so you can continue to harvest fresh produce after earlier crops have finished. The fall harvest can be extended even further by providing protection from early frosts or by planting in cold frames or hotbeds.
This leaflet covers the training and pruning of thornless blackberry canes for the home gardener.
This publication describes types of packaging for fresh fruits and vegetables, including each packaging's functions, uses and limitations.
This manual, updated every year, covers pesticide use and safety information, chemical application equipment, fertilizer use, insect control, chemical weed control, plant growth regulators, animal damage control and disease control.
An introduction to soil acidity and liming for farmers and gardeners to increase crop income and improve lawn and garden performance. Topics covered include soil pH, soil testing, liming standards and application and incorporation of lime into soil.
This publication describes ways to minimize nematode problems by employing several control measures such as a rotational scheme, resistant varieties and selected cultural practices.
This publication focuses on the management techniques and economic analysis of orchards with more than 150 to 180 trees per acre.
This factsheet outlines the history, movement, distribution, and present status of the Africanized honey bee in the United States. (Part 1 of a 3-part series)
Pumpkins were used by American Indians long before Columbus visited our shores, and pumpkins readily found their way to the first Thanksgiving table. Pumpkins were used by early settlers much as we use them today – for food and decoration. This factsheet covers growing and harvesting pumpkins in North Carolina.
This publication explains how to start and maintain a successful pecan orchard on a large or small scale.
The Southeastern Vegetable Extension Workers Group offers this handbook, a joint effort among Extension Specialists and Researchers from 12 land-grant universities in the U.S. who work in the area of vegetable production. These specialists and researchers represent a wide array of disciplines: agricultural engineering, entomology, olericulture (vegetable production), plant pathology, postharvest physiology, soil science, and weed science. This handbook comprises up-to-the-minute information developed from research and Extension projects conducted throughout the southeastern United States.
North Carolina’s climate and soils are well suited to grow many types tree fruits. This publication will focus on the three main tree fruits produced for market in North Carolina: peaches, apples, and pecans. In addition to these main crops, information on pears, persimmons, plums, nectarines, Asian pears, and figs is presented as they grow well in North Carolina’s temperate climate. These tree fruits require similar management regimes described in this publication.
This small fruits chapter from the Extension Gardener Handbook reviews selection, planting, and maintenance of strawberries, caneberries, blueberries, grapes, and kiwis.
Cabbage is grown commercially in eastern North Carolina as both a spring and fall crop, and in the mountains as an early summer and fall crop. Cabbage acreage in North Carolina averages 10,000 to 12,000 acres. The biggest problem in growing this crop is insect control.
The collard is a cool season crop that should be grown during early spring or fall. The mature plant will withstand frosts and light to medium freezes. It is one of the most popular garden vegetables in the south and is rapidly becoming a delicacy in northern states as well.
This factsheet covers propagating (by seed and by transplant) ginseng, which requires a period of stratification before germination.
Muskmelons, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, squash, eggplant, watermelons and okra are vegetable crops that have shown significant increases in earliness, yield, and fruit quality when grown on plastic mulch. Some less valuable crops such as sweet corn, snap beans, southern peas and pumpkins have shown similar responses. Some of the advantages and disadvantages of using plastic mulches are outlined in this publication.
This publication covers insect control in a variety of crops, as well as household pests.
This publication provides information on two forage conservation techniques to help producers select a technique that maximizes nutrient conservation efficiency and minimizes production costs.
This publication covers various aspects of growing pears in North Carolina, including soil, varieties, disease and insect control and harvesting and storage.
Southern bacterial wilt of tomatoes is addressed in this factsheet.
There is growing interest in the use of short-season summer annual legumes or grasses as cover crops and green manures in vegetable production systems. Cover crops can provide a significant source of nitrogen (N) for subsequent crops; reduce erosion, runoff, and potential pollution of surface waters; capture soil N that might otherwise be lost to leaching; add organic matter to the soil; improve soil physical properties; impact insect and disease life cycles; and suppress nematode populations and weed growth. There can be potential drawbacks, such as cooler soils in the spring, and the additional cost of seeding the cover crop. These factors must be considered depending on the particular cash crops and cover crops being grown.
This publication is a home gardener's guide to planting, maintaining and harvesting blackberries.
Celebrating, learning and loving everything about muscadine grapes. This guide provides activities for families to discover and learn about muscadine grapes native to North Carolina.
This publication, chapter 1 of the North Carolina Soybean Production Guide, describes the soybean plant and its various growth stages.
Growing apple trees in the home garden can be fun and rewarding. Several factors are important to consider before planting for successful apple production. Apple variety and rootstock, site selection, proper planting, training and pruning, adequate fertility, and pest control all contribute to healthy and productive trees. A brief discussion of these considerations follows.
Muscadine grapes are well adapted to the Coastal Plain of North Carolina, where temperatures seldom fall below 10°F. Considerable injury generally occurs where winter temperatures drop below 0°F. Muscadines have a high degree of tolerance to pests and diseases that makes the production of bunch grapes nearly impossible in eastern North Carolina. There is no other fruit with such strong personal associations for so many native North Carolinians.
Southern peas originated in India in prehistoric times and moved to Africa, then to America. In India Southern peas are known by 50 common names and in the United States are called "Field peas," "Crowder peas," "Cowpeas" and "blackeyes," but Southern peas is the preferred name. This publication covers growing and harvesting Southern peas in North Carolina.
This publication covers chemical weed control and weed response to a variety of crops.
Esta Hoja de Datos de Patología Vegetal fue publicada en inglés en 2013 por la Dra. Lina Quesada, Laboratorio de Patología Vegetal de la NCSU. La Dra. Angela M. Linares Ramírez, de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, tradujo la hoja informativa al español en 2017.
Esta Hoja de Datos de Patología Vegetal fue publicada en inglés en 2015 por la Dra. Lina Quesada, Laboratorio de Patología Vegetal de la NCSU. Traducido y revisado al español por: Angela Linares-Ramírez Catedrática Auxiliar, UPRM Fecha de traducción al español: 23 de marzo de 2017
Field corn was grown in North America before 200 BC. Field corn is produced primarily for animal feed and industrial uses such as ethanol, cooking oil, etc. In contrast, sweet corn is produced for human consumption as either a fresh or processed product.
If treated properly, many herb plants will survive in the garden for a number of years. Others are sensitive to frost or severe cold weather and must be brought indoors, protected, or replanted each year. Annual herbs will be killed with the first hard frost in the fall. Remove dead plants in order to minimize overwintering insects and disease problems. Some frost sensitive herbs, such as basil and geranium, can be brought indoors for the winter. Take cuttings to root or pot the entire plant.
This factsheet discusses how to identify and conserve squash bees, an important pollinator of squash, zucchini, pumpkins and many gourds.
This factsheet describes early blight of tomato, including identification, transmission and disease management, and control.
Cicada impacts on apple - description, life cycle, damage, and control.
This factsheet offers information on the chilling requirements for a variety of peach trees.
This factsheet covers the identification and control of septoria leaf spot of tomatoes.
This publication has been prepared to acquaint growers, shippers and processors with energy-efficient handling and cooling methods useful in preserving the quality of fresh green beans and field peas.
This publication has been prepared to acquaint growers, shippers and processors with energy-efficient handling and cooling methods useful in preserving the quality of fresh blueberries.
Much success in growing tomatoes can be attributed to use of a few proven techniques. Choosing a variety that has proven to be a true performer should be at the top of every gardener's list. Better Boy, Whopper, Celebrity, and Mountain Pride are among some of the best selections. Better Boy, Celebrity, and Whopper are VFN, which means they carry resistance to verticillium wilt, fusarium wilt, and root-knot nematodes. It is best to experiment with several varieties in order to find the ideal tomato for your taste buds.
Okra is grown throughout North Carolina in home gardens and for commercial markets. It is a warm season crop that belongs to the cotton (Mallow) family and should not be planted until the soil has thoroughly warmed in the spring. Okra is referred to as 'Gumbo' in some areas.
Herbs should be harvested when the oils responsible for flavor and aroma are at their peak. Proper timing depends on the plant part you are harvesting and the intended use. Herbs grown for their foliage should be harvested before they flower. While chives are quite attractive in bloom, flowering can cause the foliage to develop an off-flavor. Harvest herbs grown for seeds as the seed pods change in color from green to brown to gray but before they shatter (open). Collect herb flowers, such as borage and chamomile, just before full flower. Harvest herb roots, such as bloodroot, chicory, ginseng, and goldenseal, in the fall after the foliage fades.
This publication provides information about how producers can prepare for selling produce to wholesale distributors. It includes tips and examples to help farmers expand their businesses.
As public parks and recreation facilities are increasingly positioned as health resources, greater demands for providing and using parks are expected. Park improvement projects with the stated purpose of encouraging activity need to be supported by data on the financial costs associated with making such improvements. This publication provide realistic and objective estimates of costs of providing park facilities that can increase physical activity.
Beekeeping is a very enjoyable and rewarding pastime that is relatively inexpensive to get started. Moreover, it’s a hobby that can eventually make you money! This factsheet is a primer on how to start your first hive and begin keeping bees.
This series of publications provides information about how to grow, harvest, and prepare a variety of fruits and vegetables from your garden. Each publication features recipes, recommended uses, nutrition information, and more.
This publication is intended to help growers, packers, and shippers of fresh produce make informed decisions concerning the application of hydrocooling. It discusses various types of hydrocoolers, calculation of hydrocooling rates, postharvest disease control, wastewater discharge considerations, and the energy efficiency of hydrocooling compared to other types of cooling.
Turnips and rutabagas are among the most commonly grown and widely adapted root crops. They are members of the Cruciferae or mustard family and belong to the genus Brassica. The two are similar in plant size and general characteristics. Turnip leaves are usually light green, thin and hairy, while the rutabagas are bluish-green, thick and smooth. The roots of turnips generally have little or no neck and a distinct taproot, while rutabaga roots are often more elongated and have a thick, leafy neck and roots originating from the underside of the edible root as well as from the taproot.
Carrots can be produced almost year-round in parts of North Carolina. Both fresh market and processing types hold potential. This publication will assist commercial farmers with growing and harvesting carrots.
This publication discusses growing and harvesting head lettuce, the most important salad vegetable grown in the United States. Per-capita consumption exceeds 25 pounds annually. In North Carolina, the crop can be grown as both a spring and fall crop in eastern North Carolina and even during midsummer in western North Carolina at elevations higher than 3,000 feet.
Black cohosh is a member of the Ranunculaceae family. It is a native medicinal plant found in rich woodlands from as far north as Maine and Ontario, south to Georgia, and west to Missouri and Indiana. In North Carolina it can be found at elevations up to 4,000 feet and is most common in the western part of the state. It is an herbaceous perennial reaching a mature height of over four feet tall and can grow 18 to 22 inches per month during the growing season.
This publication covers the characteristics and benefits of forced-air cooling to cool fresh produce to its lowest safe storage temperature as quickly as possible.
Blueberries can be grown in home gardens anywhere in North Carolina if the right species and proper soil modifications are used. Blueberries are typically used in the landscape as hedges for screening purposes, but they can also be used in cluster plantings, or as single specimen plants. Blueberries are an ideal year round addition to the landscape. They have delicate white or pink flowers in the spring, the summer fruit has an attractive sky blue color, and the fall foliage adds great red and yellow colors to the landscape.
Esta Hoja de Datos de Patología Vegetal fue publicada en inglés en 2015 por la Dra. Lina Quesada, Laboratorio de Patología Vegetal de la NCSU. La Dra. Angela M. Linares Ramírez, de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, tradujo la hoja informativa al español en 2017.
This publication covers disease control in a variety of crops.
Muskmelon is commonly known in the trade as a cantaloupe. However, no cantaloupes are actually grown commercially in the United States, only muskmelons. Cantaloupes are a rough warty fruit while muskmelon have the characteristic netting on the fruit rind. This publication covers the growing and harvesting of muskmelons in North Carolina.
Ramps, also known as wild leeks, are native to the eastern North American mountains. They can be found growing in patches in rich, moist, deciduous forests and bottoms from as far north as Canada, west to Missouri and Minnesota, and south to North Carolina and Tennessee. In early spring, ramps send up smooth, broad, lily-of-the-valley-like leaves that disappear by summer before the white flowers appear. The bulbs have the pleasant taste of sweet spring onions with a strong garlic-like aroma.
This apple pathology factsheet describes cedar apple rust and provides a brief overview of other rust diseases in apple. Disease signs and symptoms, pathogen life cycle, and disease management are discussed.
The commercial apple industry worldwide is in the midst of a major change in fruit production management systems. With size-controlling rootstocks tree size has been reduced and the number of trees per acre, referred to as tree density, has increased significantly. Some orchards in Europe have exceeded 5,000 trees per acre. However, in North Carolina, tree densities that are being commercially evaluated are around 450 trees per acre with a maximum of approximately 1,100 trees per acre.
A step-by-step guide to propagating true-to-type muscadine vines from cuttings or from layering.
This guide for growers, updated annually, provides information on production and pest management practices applicable to growing peanuts in North Carolina.
Proper temperature control is essential to protecting the quality of fresh produce. By constructing and maintaining their own cooling facilities, farmers, packers, and roadside vendors can substantially reduce the overall cost of owning one of these useful structures. This publication describes how to plan a postharvest cooling facility of modest size and how to determine the structural and energy requirements.
Pole beans are grown commercially in the mountain counties and, on a limited scale, in a few of the eastern counties. They are produced in home gardens throughout the state. Pole beans are grown for their distinctive flavor, long pods, high yield, long harvesting season, and high price.
Fresh market (slicer) cucumbers have been produced commercially in North Carolina for many years. The average yield from commercial fields has been 850 to 950 bushels per acre or 2 to 3 times the average yield from non-trellised fields. This publication covers growing and harvesting fresh market cucumbers.
This publication provides information on cooling basics, common produce cooling methods and other steps for maintaining quality.
This series of publications provides information about how to grow, harvest, and prepare a variety of fruits and vegetables from your garden. Each publication features recipes, recommended uses, nutrition information, and more.
The oriental persimmon is an easy-to-grow tree which is adaptable to much of North Carolina. The tree has a compact spreading growth habit and low maintenance requirements. The ornamental beauty of its orange fruit and bright red foliage in the fall makes it an attractive plant in the home landscape. The tree is winter-hardy in eastern North Carolina, as well as the Lower Piedmont and Coastal Plain areas.
This publication covers the keys to a successful community garden of individual plots including forming a strong planning team, choosing a safe site accessible to the target audience with sunlight and water, organizing a simple transparent system for management and designing and installing the garden. Appendices offer a sample layout, sample by-laws, sample budgets and a list of resources.
Summer squash are grown throughout North Carolina in both the spring and fall. A major portion of the state's production is located in Sampson and Henderson counties and adjoining areas. Summer squash are harvested as immature fruit, have soft skin, and are very perishable (1- to 2-week shelf life).
This factsheet covers commercial goldenseal production in North Carolina, a highly valued medicinal herb which has been collected from the forests in North America for hundreds of years. The historical range for goldenseal in the United States was very broad, ranging from as far north as Vermont and Wisconsin, south to Alabama and Georgia, and west to Kansas. It can still be found growing in patches in moist, rich, hardwood forests in much of this area.
Commercial blueberries are generally planted in low areas with high organic-matter content. These sites satisfy the cultural requirements of blueberries for a constant and uniform moisture supply. However, on cold, still nights when radiation frosts occur, heavy cold air from higher surrounding areas "drains" into the low areas causing lower temperatures. Also, the high organic content, especially if the soil is dry, acts as an insulator to restrict heat in the soil from moving up around the plants. The cultural requirement for a uniform soil moisture makes selecting higher sites that are less subject to radiation frosts much less practical than with other fruit crops. This factsheet discusses protecting blueberry plants from freezing.
This publication has been prepared to acquaint growers, shippers and processors with energy-efficient handling and cooling methods useful in preserving the quality of fresh apples.
This publication has been prepared to acquaint growers, shippers and processors with energy-efficient handling and cooling methods useful in preserving the quality of fresh tomatoes.
This publication is a useful resource that shell egg producers can use to identify egg defects and possible factors contributing to egg quality issues. It also provides corrective measures for each defect so that producers can incorporate these solutions into their production systems.
Beets have been cultivated for centuries. Though grown mostly for the roots, beet greens are also popular in many areas. Beets are a common item in vegetable gardens, but few are produced in North Carolina. This publication covers how to grow and harvest beets.
This publication presents plans and instructions for an easily constructed greenhouse that costs approximately $100 and may be used for many purposes.
Many farmers and home gardeners have reported damage to vegetable and flower crops after applying horse or livestock manure, compost, hay, or grass clippings to the soil. The symptoms reported include poor seed germination; death of young plants; twisted, cupped, and elongated leaves; misshapen fruit; and reduced yields. These symptoms can be caused by other factors, including diseases, insects, and herbicide drift. Another possibility for the source of these crop injuries should also be considered: the presence of certain herbicides in the manure, compost, hay, or grass clippings applied to the soil.
This publication, chapter 6 of the North Carolina Soybean Production Guide, covers fertilization and nutrient management in soybean production.
This publication, chapter 9 of the North Carolina Soybean Production Guide, covers common insects and their control in soybean production.
This publication provides information to growers about soybean production in North Carolina. It discusses economic trends and forecasts, cultural practices, variety selection, planting decisions, nutrient management, diseases and pests, and other production practices.
This series of publications provides information about how to grow, harvest, and prepare a variety of fruits and vegetables from your garden. Each publication features recipes, recommended uses, nutrition information, and more.
This publication, chapter 7 of the North Carolina Soybean Production Guide, addresses weed management in soybean production.
This factsheet provides basic information about prevention and control of Africanized honey bees prior to their expected arrival in North Carolina. (Part 2 of a 3-part series.)
By far, nitrogen (N) is the most widely applied nutrient for plant growth. It should come as no surprise, that symptoms of nitrogen deficiency readily develop with tobacco plants.
The grape and wine industry in North Carolina is now worth in excess of $30 million dollars. To assist North Carolina growers in the production a quality grapes for quality wines, a newly revised 196 page guide has been written for winegrape growers, called the North Carolina Winegrape Grower’s Guide. This publication provides grape growers with practical information about choosing an appropriate site for a vineyard, establishment, and operation of commercial vineyards in North Carolina.
The onion is a cool season crop that will withstand moderate freezes. It may be grown either by seeding directly in the field, or by setting transplants. North Carolina growers have an excellent market opportunity in June and July when very few onions are available. Yield will range from 400 to 800 (50-pound) sacks per acre depending on the year and cultural practices. A premium is paid for large onions during our harvest season.
This publication discusses how to molt commercial layer flocks.
This factsheet acquaints growers, shippers and processors with energy-efficient cooling and handling methods useful in preserving the quality of fresh sweet corn.
This publication discusses learning opportunities and suggestions for planning, designing, and implementing school gardens.
Several decades ago, when orange-fleshed sweet potatoes were introduced in the southern United States, producers and shippers desired to distinguish them from the more traditional, white-fleshed types. The African word nyami, referring to the starchy, edible root of the Dioscorea genus of plants, was adopted in its English form, yam. Yams in the United States are actually sweetpotatoes with relatively moist texture and orange flesh. The following information outlines several differences between sweetpotatoes and yams.
This factsheet for farmers describes ways to control the harmful effects of excess nutrients while maintaining healthy, productive farm crops. Steps covered include testing your soil and following the soil testing recommendations, setting realistic yield goals, choosing the most suitable nitrogen sources, applying nitrogen correctly, using manure as a nutrient source, controlling erosion, managing water flow and fencing animals away from water flow.
This publication discusses the environmental, economic, health, and community benefits that local food systems provide to communities.
This publication, chapter 5 of the North Carolina Soybean Production Guide, discusses soybean planting decisions, including planting dates, depth, and seeding equipment calibration.
This publication has been prepared to acquaint growers, shippers and processors with energy-efficient handling and cooling methods useful in preserving the quality of fresh cabbage and leafy greens.
This publication covers insect and disease control in apples, blueberries, caneberries, grapes, peaches, pecans and strawberries.
Commercial apple orchards with trees planted close together on dwarfing or size-controlling rootstocks are referred to as high density plantings. When size-controlling rootstocks are used, tree densities increase from traditional densities of 150 to 250 trees/acre to 500 to 1,000+ trees/acre. Benefits of planting higher-density orchards include earlier production (especially with "fad" varieties); quicker return on investment; training, pruning and harvesting from the ground; potential increased fruit quality; and greater pesticide application efficiency.
This publication discusses the Brussels sprout, a cool season crop, belonging to the cabbage family, and closely related to cauliflower, broccoli, kale, collards, etc. Like cauliflower, it thrives best in a cool humid climate, thus commercial production of this crop is concentrated in the "fog-belt" of California with limited production in the Long Island, New York area. The edible portion of this crop is the "bud" or small cabbage-like head which grows in the axils of each leaf. Occasionally the tops are used as greens.
This publication has been prepared to acquaint growers, shippers and processors with energy-efficient handling and cooling methods useful in preserving the quality of fresh onions.
Basil is a popular herb known for its flavorful foliage. The fresh or dried leaves add a distinctive flavor to many foods, such as Italian style tomato sauces, pesto sauce and salad dressing. The essential oils and oleo-resins may be extracted from leaves and flowers and used for flavoring in liqueurs and for fragrance in perfumes and soaps. This factsheet discusses growing and harvesting basil in North Carolina.
Tips for preventing timber trespass and theft are reviewed in this publication. Special documentation of pertinent laws, avoidance strategies and steps to take once your timber or property has been stolen or trespassed upon.
This publication serves as a guide on building local food economies for planners, economic developers, and local government professionals.
Blooming and ripening timing of apple varieties with overlapping periods are optimal in apple production; for example 'Gala' and 'Empire'. While some varieties do not require pollinizers, fruit size and fruit set will be greater if cross pollinated with 2 to 3 apple varieties with overlapping blooming periods per season.
This publication covers growing and harvesting eggplant in North Carolina. Eggplant is a warm season plant that is very susceptible to frost. It requires a relatively long growing season to produce profitable yields. Growth is checked by cool weather. Proper cultural practices can yield 500 bushels per acre.
Broccoli is a cool-season crop, closely related to cabbage, cauliflower, kale, and mustard. It can be grown as either a spring or a fall crop. Broccoli is a high-quality vegetable for fresh use and is one of the more popular frozen vegetables. This publication covers growing and harvesting this highly nutritious vegetable.
An herb is any plant used whole or in part as an ingredient for health, flavor, or fragrance. Herbs can be used to make teas; perk up cooked foods such as meats, vegetables, sauces, and soups; or to add flavor to vinegars, butters, dips, or mustards. Many herbs are grown for their fragrance and are used in potpourris, sachets, and nosegays; or to scent bath water, candles, oils, or perfumes. More than 25% of our modern drugs contain plant extracts as active ingredients, and researchers continue to isolate valuable new medicines from plants and confirm the benefits of those used in traditional folk medicine.
This publication, chapter 2 of the North Carolina Soybean Production Guide, discusses the soybean market in the United States and managing price risk for North Carolina soybean farmers.
Orchard management guide for apples, with information on insect, disease, weed, and mammal control, plus horticultural and fertility practices, use of IPM, prevention of insecticide resistance, and sprayer calibration.
This publication offers a guide to growing edible plants year-round in containers. Includes planting and harvest guides.
Phytophthora leaf blight and root rot is a devastating disease which causes a leaf blight and root rot on ginseng. The disease is caused by a fungus, Phytophthora cactorum, which produces spores that are spread by wind, rain, splashing water, and surface water runoff. Root rot is the most serious form of the disease. Therefore, if foliar symptoms are present, preventing spread of the disease from foliage to roots is essential.
This factsheet offers information to produce earlier peppers with higher yields and better quality.
Asparagus has been grown for many years. The Ancient Greeks and Romans relished this crop. It originated in Asia Minor and is a member of the lily family. California, Michigan, and Washington are the major producing states, but there is some commercial production in many of the northern and western states. Warm regions such as Northern Mexico and Southern California also grow it. This publication covers recent research that has shown that asparagus can be grown at a profit in North Carolina.
In this publication you will find ideas to get you started growing your own edibles. Included are simple designs and potential settings for a single container, a small group of containers and a larger grouping of containers. The benefits and challenges of various planting options will also be explored.
Strawberries are a welcome addition to any home garden. They are relatively easy to grow, require a minimum of space, and virtually no chemicals are needed. From as few as 25 transplants to start a matted row, a berry yield in excess of 50 pounds can be achieved one year after planting. Strawberries require a site that is open to direct sunlight most of the day. Try to avoid very low-lying areas prone to spring frosts, and you should definitely plan to purchase a white spunbonded row cover to protect open strawberry blossoms from spring frosts/freezes. The same cover may be used for bird control during harvest.
This factsheet for farmers describes concepts, terminology, and guidelines concerning precision soil sampling. Proper testing allows farmers to apply the correct amount of lime and fertilizer to fields.
Potassium (K) is one of the three core macronutrients, and consequently, deficiency symptoms manifest relatively quickly in tobacco. Potassium is a mobile element, which means it will translocate from mature tissues to the younger tissues where it is needed. This movement of K from older to younger foliage is what causes deficiency symptoms to develop first on the lower foliage.
In most of the south, sweet corn can be produced from early spring until fall. However, sweet corn does have some specific environmental and cultural needs that must be met for the plant to produce high-marketable yields. Corn is a warm-season crop that requires high temperatures for optimum germination and rapid growth. In general, sweet corn does not tolerate cold weather, and frost will injure sweet corn at any stage of growth. Other stressful climatic conditions, such as drought or flooding, can reduce yields and cause small, deformed ears.
This publication discusses flying unmanned aerial vehicles (drones, model aircraft) for commercial purposes. You'll learn about the requirements becoming a commercial UAV pilot and how to obtain a remote pilot certificate.
Growing strawberries as an annual crop on black plastic requires a different weed management strategy than the perennial matted row strawberries. When black plastic is combined with fumigation by methyl bromide, excellent control of most weeds in the row can be expected. However, weeds that have hard seed coats, such as vetch and clover, emerge for long periods of time and can establish in the row. They emerge in late fall or spring, grow under the plastic for a period of time, and emerge from any holes in the plastic.
Radish is a cool-season crop which grows best in spring and fall. It requires 3 to 6 weeks from seeding to harvest. This factsheet covers growing and harvesting radishes in North Carolina.
This factsheet acquaints growers, shippers and processors with energy-efficient cooling and handling methods useful in preserving the quality of fresh strawberries.
This publication offers information on the Jerusalem artichoke, (Helianthus tuberosus L.), also known as sunchoke, which can be produced throughout the United States. However, the plant is better adapted to the northern two-thirds of the country than the southern third. Most areas of North Carolina are satisfactory for producing the crop although yields are not as good as in cooler climates where the crop is better adapted. Jerusalem artichokes are also often used for pickling purposes.
Muskmelons, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, squash, eggplant, watermelons, and okra are vegetable crops that have shown significant increases in earliness, yield, and fruit quality when grown on plastic mulch. Some less-valuable crops such as sweet corn, snap beans, southern peas, and pumpkins have shown similar responses. Some of the advantages and disadvantages of using plastic mulches are outlined below.
Community gardens have been part of the American landscape since the mid-1700s. Today, community gardens continue to make positive contributions in neighborhoods across North Carolina. Winner of an American Society for Horticultural Science, Extension Division, 2017 Educational Materials Award, Collard Greens and Common Ground: A North Carolina Community Food Gardening Handbook is a practical guide to community gardening. Based on experience and research, it is packed with best practices, tested strategies, and useful checklists. The guide covers every step in the community gardening process, from starting a new garden to sustainable long-term garden management and policy. Whether you are new to community gardening or a seasoned veteran, Collard Greens and Common Ground will help your community garden flourish.
Posters available to print regarding industrial hemp in North Carolina.
This publication, chapter 10 of the North Carolina Soybean Production Guide, describe harvesting, drying, and storing soybeans.
This factsheet covers celery, which could be a very profitable crop in North Carolina. A harvest period in late June or early July, and one in October, would fill market voids when other major celery producing areas are not harvesting. Celery, however, is not an easy crop to grow. Although it is a cool season crop, exposure of juvenile plants to temperatures below 40 to 50ºF for more than 5 to 10 days can cause premature bolting, making the crop unsalable. Special attention must be given to maintaining a steady water supply and providing the proper amount of nutrients to allow for constant growth.
Phosphorus (P) is the second most important nutrient in crop production but is often found in relatively low amounts in native soils. Decades of fertilizer application have led to P enrichment of most North Carolina agricultural soils. Excess soil P that leaves agricultural fields via runoff and drainage can cause algal blooms in water resources that lead to impaired drinking water quality and can limit recreational activities. Maintaining adequate soil P levels for crop growth can reduce P runoff, save money, and protect the environment
This publication discusses growing and harvesting bloodroot, a spring wildflower used to produce natural red, orange, and pink dyes, in North Carolina. It can grow in full sun, but is more often found in semi-shaded, light-wooded areas with moist, acidic soil. The root, consisting of a thickened rhizome covered with fibrous roots, is known for its reddish-orange color.
Chives belong to the same family as onions, leeks, and garlic. Although they are native to Asia and Eastern Europe, by the sixteenth century chives were common plants in herb gardens throughout Europe. Chives are hardy, draught tolerant, perennials, eight to twenty inches tall, that grow in clumps from underground bulbs.
The kiwifruit is a large, woody, deciduous vine native to the Yangtze Valley of China. In the Eastern United States, kiwifruit vines have fruited at Virginia Beach, Virginia, and at several locations in South Carolina, and are part of evaluation programs in Alabama and Georgia. The first commercial shipments began in 1980 from a planting in South Carolina located about 30 miles north of Augusta, Georgia. This publication discuses the history of kiwifruit planting in North Carolina and considers the potential to grow the fruit in the state's climate.
Blueberries are a native North American fruit, and North Carolina is one of the largest producers of highbush blueberries. Although commercial production is mostly limited to southeastern North Carolina, blueberries can be grown anywhere in the state if the right blueberry species and proper soil modifications are used. Limiting factors include pH, water availability and cold-hardiness.
Weeds are unwanted plants in gardens that reduce available moisture, nutrients, sunlight and growing space needed by crop plants. Their presence can reduced crop growth, quality and yield. In addition, they can make harvest difficult. Weeds also provide cover for diseases, insects and animals (rodents, box turtles, snakes, etc.). Garden weeds are hard to control because they grow rapidly, produce vast numbers of seeds, and spread aggressively by vegetative structures and/or seeds. There are several methods that should be used in a combined, coordinated effort to control weeds. They include cultural, mechanical and chemical methods.
Phosphorus management is an important aspect of the USDA-NCRS nutrient management standard. Anyone applying animal waste or fertilizer in a nutrient-impaired subwatershed must determine potential phosphorus loss from each field. This publication describes the P-Index or Phosphorus Loss Assessment Tool that is used in North Carolina for this purpose.
This publication has been prepared to acquaint growers, shippers and processors with energy-efficient handling and cooling methods useful in preserving the quality of fresh peppers.
At present, chlorination is one of the few chemical options available to help manage postharvest diseases. When used in connection with other proper postharvest handling practices, chlorination is effective and relatively inexpensive. It poses little threat to health or the environment. This publication has been prepared to acquaint growers, packers, and shippers with the proper use of chlorination.
Blueberry production in Western North Carolina differs from the main commercial production areas in the southeastern part of the state because of differing climate and soil conditions. Highbush blueberry cultivars should be used exclusively; rabbiteye blueberries will not consistently survive low winter temperatures that occur in Western North Carolina. This factsheet offers information on growing and harvesting blueberries in Western North Carolina.
General guidelines on how to conduct a bioassay for herbicide residues in soil
This publication is intended to help growers, packers, and shippers of fresh produce make informed decisions concerning the application of crushed and liquid ice cooling. Included are discussions of icemaking equipment and ways to purchase ice, types of produce that may be suitably iced, various produce-icing methods, how to calculate the amount of ice required to cool a given amount of produce, and the economic considerations of cooling with ice.
Soybean cyst nematode limits yields in every major soybean production region worldwide. This disease note describes SCN in North Carolina and its management.
Pruning a plant reduces its ultimate adult size and the crop yield in at least the following season. To compensate for this loss of bearing area and yield, other factors, largely economic, must be considered in planning a pruning program.
This publication guides small- and medium-scale pastured meat producers in North Carolina through the steps of selling niche meat products to grocery stores.
Leafy greens, such as turnips, mustard, collards, kale, and spinach are cool season crops. They should be grown during early spring or fall for maximum yields and quality, but this season can be extended if markets warrant. Kale and spinach can withstand temperature into the upper teens and are often harvested through winter in the east. The other greens may withstand medium frosts.
Intensive Vegetable Production refers to a system of marketing and producing vegetable crops in which great attention is placed on detail and optimization of resources such as land, capital, labor, equipment, transportation to market and management time. The objective of such a system is maximum profit for the farm. The system you choose should take into account your location, availability of markets, production seasons and personal interest. This publication covers irrigation, plastic mulch, pest management, precision seeding, market preparation and many other facets of intensive vegetable production.
Harvested squash and pumpkins are still very much alive even though they are mature and have been removed from the vine. The objective of curing and storing is to prolong the storage life of the fruit by slowing the rate of respiration and protecting against storage rots.
This publication gives instruction for building and using an inexpensive postharvest cooling system. The cool and ship system provides rapid cooling for modest amounts of small fruit and is versatile, portable, reusable, and inexpensive. The system uses an air-conditioning system and common building materials, and may be easily assembled by the user.
The fig is native to the Mediterranean Basin. You may already be familiar with some members of the fig family, such as the ornamental rubber tree, the mulberry, and the Osage orange or hedge apple. Figs are grown over much of eastern North Carolina and westward into the Piedmont. If your soil is well-drained and reasonably fertile, you most likely will have success growing figs in North Carolina.
This publication, part of the Farm to Food Bank Resource Guide, describes food banks and food pantries and their role in North Carolina.
This publication offers fertilizer suggestions for a variety of crops, including field, pasture and hay crops, tree fruit, small fruit, ornamental plants and vegetable crops.
This publication provides production protocol guidelines developed by North Carolina State University and Amazing Grazing to assist producers in creating local grass-fed beef production systems.
Grapes are welcome summer treats that can be eaten fresh, processed into jellies, jams, juice or even fermented into wine. Grapes are adapted to many soil types, and can be quite long-lived. There are basically two kinds of grapes grown in North Carolina, bunch grapes and muscadine. Bunch grapes produce berries in large clusters, and grow best in the mountains and piedmont areas. In coastal plain areas, Pierce's disease kills or shortens the life expectancy of many popular bunch grapes. Muscadine grapes, exemplified by the Scuppernong variety and noted for having smaller clusters, are not affected by this disease.
The objective of this leaflet is to discuss orchard floor management options in pecan orchards, along with herbicide considerations, and potential herbicides. It should be used as a guide for producers making orchard floor management decisions.
In the southeastern United States the potential for a drought during the growing season is a very real probability. The length and severity of droughts vary greatly and cannot be predicted, so planning is critical in order to minimize the effects of a drought.
Gourds are very closely related to cucumbers, squash and melons. They have been grown for both ornamental and utility purposes for many years. Several societies have been established to bring together people who are fascinated by the uniqueness of these plants.
This factsheet presents the advantages and challenges of growing apple, peach, and pecan trees.
This factsheet answers basic questions about Africanized honey bees. (Part 3 of a 3-part series)
Broccoli is a popular vegetable for use both fresh and frozen. The edible portion of the broccoli plant consists of the upper stem and the unopened flower buds. Broccoli is a cool-season crop that is closely related to cabbage, cauliflower, kale, mustard, and turnips. It can be grown in western North Carolina as either an early (spring) or a late season (fall) crop at the lower elevations (below 2,500 feet) or during mid-summer at elevations above 2,500 feet.
Organic farmers cite weed management as their number one research priority. This publication in the Organic Production publication series describes weed control strategies for organic farms based on weed characteristics and an integrated cropping system approach. A special section on cultivation practices that limit emerged and future weeds is based on research by the Center for Environmental Farming Systems.
This publication, chapter 4 of the 2019 Peanut Information handbook, discusses effective weed management in peanut production.
This pesticide factsheet covers the use and characteristics of Gemini (isoxaben + prodiamine).
This apple pathology factsheet describes flyspeck and sooty blotch in apple, including identification and disease management.
Because of increasing economic pressure related to capital costs, egg prices, feed prices, and replacement pullet costs, the commercial egg industry must maximize the use of its resources. The need to lower production costs have led many enterprises to use induced molting programs.
Cauliflower is a cool season crop, closely related to broccoli, cabbage, kale, turnips, and mustard. It is more exacting in its climatic requirements than most other crops in this family. It grows best in a comparatively cool temperature with a moist atmosphere. With proper management cauliflower can be grown in North Carolina as either a spring or fall crop, although the fall crop will generally produce better quality.
This factsheet offers information on growing and harvesting upland cress, a green often eaten like spinach or kale; however, in some areas, it is frequently eaten raw as a salad or garnish.
Spinach is a cool-season crop and belongs to the goosefoot family (Chenopodiaceae) as do beets and Swiss chard. This crop is becoming more popular as evidenced by increases in consumption of both fresh (salads) and processed spinach. Spinach reaches edible maturity quickly (37 to 45 days) and thrives best during the cool, moist seasons of the year.
This muscadine grape production guide will help the increasing number of North Carolina farmers who are considering growing and marketing this fruit as a farm diversification option.
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) can be defined as a sustainable approach to managing pests by combining cultural, biological, and chemical tools in a way that minimizes economic, aesthetic, health, and environmental risks. A first step in implementing an effective IPM program is to maintain healthy, vigorous plants, which are much less likely to have pest problems. Therefore, an integrated pest management program will also consider cultural practices that lead to healthy and resilient plantings.
This factsheet covers the planting, harvesting and uses of carraway, a hardy, biennial herb which is native to Europe and Western Asia. First year plants resemble carrots, growing to about 8 inches tall with finely divided leaves and long taproots. By the second year, two to three foot stalks develop topped by umbels of white or pink flowers, which appear from May to August.
SmartFresh℠ (1-methylcyclopropene, MCP) is a relatively new tool for postharvest management of apples. In 2002, SmartFresh was approved for commercial use on apples by the Environmental Protection Agency under a reduced risk program because of the very low toxicity of the product and the fact that treated fruit have no detectable residue. It is thought to bind irreversibly to the ethylene receptors in plant tissues making the crops insensitive to ethylene and subsequently retarding many of the ethylene mediated responses such as fruit softening in apples. SmartFresh can maintain apple firmness and acidity and decrease scald and greasiness even when stored under less than ideal storage temperatures.
This publication, chapter 8 of the North Carolina Soybean Production Guide, discusses disease management in soybean production.
This publication, chapter 11 of the North Carolina Soybean Production Guide, presents some facts and figures about soybeans and their production.
This publication discusses methods for boosting vegetable productivity by reducing field loss, which can amount to a significant portion of the harvested yield.
Brown marmorated stink bug description, life history, damage, and control.
This publication discusses the impacts of yellow nutsedge on sweetpotato crops and includes information on weed identification and management.
Worms can turn food scraps into a soil amendment called vermicompost — worm castings — which increases plant growth and reduces attacks by plant diseases and pests. Vermicomposting is easy, involves little work and can be done indoors or outdoors. All you need is a container, bedding, worms and worm food.
Green apple and spirea aphids - description, life history, damage, and control.
Tobacco that is deficient in magnesium (Mg) will initially develop symptoms on the lower or older foliage. These symptoms occur as an interveinal chlorosis that begins on the leaf margin, typically toward the leaf tip. Mg is mobile within plant tissues and will readily translocated from older leaves to the young developing tissues during limited Mg conditions.
Calcium (Ca) is essential for proper plant development and leaf expansion. A calcium deficiency will first manifest in the youngest foliage because Ca is an immobile element within the plant. As calcium deficiency progresses, the developmental damages will also advance. The integral role of Ca in leaf development makes its early diagnosis vital to tobacco production.
This apple pathology factsheet describes Glomerella leaf spot and fruit rot in apple, including identification and disease management.
This apple pathology factsheet describes fire blight in apple, including identification and disease management.
Producing asparagus crowns for sale or use is simple and profitable. Careful attention to details described here is important so that all requirements for certified plant production can be met. Certified plants are most saleable and bring a premium price. One-year-old crowns will produce a healthy asparagus planting.
Precision seeding is defined as the placing of desired numbers of seeds at a precise depth and spacing. Precision seeding has many advantages for the vegetable grower over conventional dribble (Planet Jr.) or multiseed drop-plate seeding systems (most corn planters). However, the seeding accuracy is not a substitute for proper land preparation, irrigation, and other crop management practices necessary to obtain a good stand of a vegetable crop. Precision seeding simply allows the vegetable grower to reduce cost and increase reliability of his crop production.
This apple pathology factsheet describes apple powdery mildew, including identification and disease management.
This publication discusses how to use controlled drainage as way to to reduce nutrient losses from agricultural land to surface waters and groundwater. It includes information on controlled drainage systems, structure location and management, and water quality and crop yield benefits.
The purpose of this bulletin is to summarize the specific characteristics of the cultivars released by the NCARS. A brief description of the important characteristics will be followed by a review of each cultivar in order of ripening sequence. Ripening dates provided are average dates calculated from years of observation at the Sandhills Research Station.
Cool-season leafy greens face a different weed spectrum than warm-season crops. The presence of weeds in harvested greens can result in lower prices or rejection at market. Learn about the cultivation and herbicide options that growers can use to avoid weed competition and contamination.
This pesticide factsheet covers the use and characteristics of Casoron (dichlobenil).
Being related to cotton, okra can be a poor competitor with weeds, particularly early in the growing season. As the crop is harvested, more sunlight can reach the soil and increase late-season weed interference. Learn about the cultivation options and herbicides that growers can use for weed control in okra.
This publication explains how microentrepreneurs can use emerging web-based marketplaces to sell services, goods, and experiences to untapped markets.
This publication will help you start selling fluid milk directly to grocery stores. Approaching retailers, labeling, invoicing, vendor requirements and delivery are covered.
The per-capita consumption of processed tomatoes has increased steadily in recent years. This has been due to changes in eating habits and development of new and better products. Over 8 million tons of processed tomatoes are produced in the United States annually. Average yields for the United States are 25 tons per acre while the range is 9 to 40 tons per acre. North Carolina growers can produce high yields of processing tomatoes. Satisfactory color, pH, sugar and acid content needed to produce a fine quality canned product can be attained if tomatoes are grown according to recommended practices.
This factsheets discusses the symptoms, causes and control of blossom-end rot in tomatoes, peppers, and watermelon.
This checklist is provided to help growers recognize components of a drip or trickle irrigation system and to assist in planning and installing such a system. A grower should always consult an irrigation specialist or irrigation company that designs and installs drip or trickle systems to ensure the system is properly engineered and designed for his water source and field topography.
This leaflet is intended to assist growers in troubleshooting drip or trickle irrigation systems. For major problems consult an irrigation specialist or irrigation company that designs and installs drip or trickle irrigation systems.
This publication is intended to help you manage diseases and pests of peaches. In choosing a management program, you must weigh the extent of pesticide use against the amount of risk of crop damage you are willing to accept. A rigorous spray program provides the least risk of loss, whereas a minimal spray program using less effective but possibly less hazardous pesticides involves a greater risk of loss.
This factsheet presents findings from studies to evaluate different starter fertilizer sources and their impacts on yield and weed competition in organic no-till corn production, using a cover crop mulch for weed suppression.
Copper (Cu) deficiency is extremely rare, consequently it is not normally seen in field conditions. To help with the diagnosis and treatment of Cu deficiency, we induced Cu stress under controlled greenhouse studies. In NC State University trials, symptoms first developed in the middle part of the plant. The middle region of the leaf developed brown veins, which quickly turned black. The tissue surrounding the veins became chlorotic. Symptoms progress up the plant to the younger leaves.
Phosphorus (P) deficiency in tobacco begins as a noticeable stunting when compared to a plant with a sufficient supply of P. Additionally, a P deficient tobacco plant may develop a darker green coloration of the upper foliage. Lower leaves will become chlorotic with a mottling of olive green leaf spots. The initial symptoms appearing on the lower foliage may be attributed to the fact that P is mobile within plant tissues and is translocated from these older leaves to the young developing tissues under periods of low P.
This publication covers growing and harvesting lemon balm, a lemon-scented member of the mint family. A native to southern Europe, it is a perennial which will over-winter in hardiness zones 4 to 5. The plant develops many branches and grows to a height of about two feet. The leaves are 2 to 3 inches long, oval to almost heart shaped, shiny and wrinkled with scalloped edges. Small light blue to white flowers appear in late spring through midsummer.
This publication discusses nutrient removal by crops, which is useful in comparing the nutrient demands of different crops in conjunction with soil testing. The publication also includes a table of the estimated nutrient removal rates of various crops.
The tomato is a warm season crop. With special production practices you can produce your first tomatoes in 60 days. This crop can be grown for production from June through November by choosing the right varieties and production practices. Generally, tomatoes require a large investment in time and labor, but increase in intensity of management is repaid by increased yields and profits.
This publication, chapter 3 of the North Carolina Soybean Production Guide, discusses tillage, crop rotation, and cover crops in soybean production.
This publication, chapter 7 of the 2019 Peanut Information handbook, discusses the planting and harvesting methods of peanuts.
This pesticide factsheet covers the use and characteristics of Devrinol (napropamide).
Esta Hoja de Datos de Patología Vegetal fue publicada en inglés en 2013 por la Dra. Lina Quesada, Laboratorio de Patología Vegetal de la NCSU. La Dra. Angela M. Linares Ramírez, de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, tradujo la hoja informativa al español en 2017.
Esta Hoja de Datos de Patología Vegetal fue publicada en inglés en 2015 por la Dra. Lina Quesada, Laboratorio de Patología Vegetal de la NCSU. Traducido y revisado al español por: Angela Linares-Ramírez Catedrática Auxiliar, UPRM Fecha de traducción al español: 23 de marzo de 2017
This publication discusses the yield losses, delayed maturity, and management associated with damaged caused by deer feeding on cotton crops.
This publication provides background information and references for the Water Needs Assessment Tool spreadsheet and its data inputs. It also discusses the methods used to generate output from the model and provides examples.
This publication provides information on the impacts wind-driven events have on the soil fertility. Salt water from storm surges, ocean spray, and tidal surges may increase sodium levels in coastal soils, which can be toxic to plants.
Apple rust mite description, life history , damage, and control.
This document discusses the description, life history, damage, and control of the woolly apple aphid.
Sprouts from mung bean (Phaseolus aureus) have been used for food since ancient times. These sprouts have a nutrient value similar to asparagus and mushrooms, which contain high quantities of Vitamin A. Sprouts can be canned or frozen in addition to eating them fresh. Mung bean seeds can be purchased from mail-order commercial seed companies and health food chain stores. (Caution: Regardless of the source, do not use seeds that have been treated with a fungicide. Treated seeds are not edible and can be recognized by the coating of pink or green dust on the seed coat.)
The nutritional content, freshness, and flavor that vegetables possess depend upon the stage of maturity and the time of day at which they are harvested. Overly mature vegetables will be stringy and coarse. When possible, harvest vegetables during the cool part of the morning, and process or store them as soon as possible. If for some reason processing must be delayed, cool the vegetables in ice water or crushed ice, and store them in the refrigerator to preserve flavor and quality. The following guidelines can be used for harvesting vegetable crops.
When onions are harvested in the green or immature stage they are called "green bunch onions." These onions are sold in bunches tied with a rubber band. This is a popular crop for home and market gardeners in the fall, winter and early spring. Acreages are usually small because of the amount of hand labor required for planting and preparation for market.
New and existing professionals working in the realm of climate education, research, and outreach need to be clear in their terminology and usage. This glossary compiles the most commonly used terms and definitions for academics, researchers, and educators to communicate effectively in this emerging arena. To enhance understanding, key terms include a separate interpretative explanation of the concept “Why this matters.”
This publication addresses aspects of hay production as a method of conserving forage crops.
This publication offers a list of vegetable varieties that grow well in parts of North Carolina, as well as possible sources of seed.
The slicing cucumber is an important crop to North Carolina, with yearly production fluctuating between 5,000 to 8,000 acres, depending on season and market conditions. North Carolina slicing production accounts for approximately 10% of the U.S. production acreage.
This factsheet describes the effect of fertilizer nitrogen on water quality and the environment. It provides guidelines for managing soil fertility on farms to preserve water quality.
This publication, chapter 5 of the 2019 Peanut Information handbook, reviews insect control issues in peanut production.
This publication, chapter 3 of the 2019 Peanut Information handbook, describes stand establishment and variety selection and characteristics for peanut production.
This publication provides practical tips on how to promote health eating by incorporating fresh, local foods into nutrition education and cooking classes. Topics include getting started, knowing what's in season, and where to buy local foods.
Residential camps generate food scraps from meal preparation, plate scrapings, and leftover or spoiled food. Many camps have horses, resulting in manure to manage. Composting and vermicomposting are viable options for managing food scraps, horse manure, and other types of organic waste materials.
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a form of direct marketing in which a community of individuals pledges to support a farm. At the beginning of the growing season, CSA members pay for a subscription to the CSA. In return, farmers provide the members with a weekly share of the harvest. Both growers and consumers have found this relationship to be mutually beneficial. Members receive a variety of fresh, local produce and have the satisfaction of knowing where their food comes from and how it is produced. Farmers, in turn, benefit by receiving funds upfront to buy seeds and inputs. They also are relieved of most of the task of marketing by having a guaranteed market and price for what they will produce.
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This publication provides production protocol guidelines developed by North Carolina State University and Amazing Grazing to assist producers in creating local pasture-raised and pasture-finished beef production systems.
The growing media chosen to grow vegetable transplants should be sterilized to prevent seedlings from being killed by the fungi that causes damping-off disease. A growing mix well suited for growing transplants can be prepared by using one part loamy garden soil, one part shredded peat moss, and one part sand. Sterilize this soil-peat-sand mix by baking it in an oven for about one hour at 210°F.
In the case of specialty or non-traditional small fruit crops in the Southeast, red raspberries seem to get the most interest and coverage by newspapers and popular press. In North Carolina, red raspberries developed in northern United States and southern Canada have difficulty in our hot, humid summer climate of the piedmont and coastal plain. And, in the foothills and mountains of western North Carolina, the raspberry 'floricanes' are especially prone to winter freeze injury as temperatures in these areas may fluctuate in January and February by as much as 40-50°F in a given 24 hour period.
Broccoli-raab (also known as rapa, rapine, rappone, fall and spring raab or turnip broccoli) is a rapidly growing annual when grown in spring, but a biennial in fall plantings. The leaves with the seed-stalks, before blooming, are cut for greens and are sold to ethnic markets (primarily Italian).
North Carolina has one of the most varied climates of any eastern state, and a diverse number of grape species and varieties can be grown. But to be a successful commercial winegrape grower, it is critical that you select varieties that grow well in your region and that have an established market.
Most commercial onions produced in North Carolina are seeded in the fall and harvested in mid- to late-June. Weed competition can reduce onion yields up to 96 percent, and weeds must be controlled throughout the growing season. Learn about the cultivation and herbicide options growers can use to keep onions weed-free in both wide and narrow rows.
This factsheet serves as an overview for North Carolinians interested in learning about the different types of solar technology available and how they can be used.
Iron (Fe) deficiency does not readily occur under field conditions. To better catalog this deficiency, we induced Fe stress under a controlled greenhouse study. In NC State University trials, interveinal chlorosis (yellowing) developed on the youngest leaves. Over time the chlorotic areas became more pronounced.
Manganese (Mn) deficiency begins as an interveinal chlorosis on the upper leaves. As the symptoms progress, the interveinal chlorosis takes on a white netting type appearance. With advanced symptoms, small white spots develop and over time the spots enlarge into larger white spots.
Maintaining good sanitation throughout production and handling of strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries is important. It is vital that growers and, in turn, their employees understand just how critical any food poisoning outbreak could be to their livelihoods. Pathogens harmful to humans can be transmitted by direct contact (infected employees or animals) or through contaminated water or soil. Once a fruit is infected, pathogens are difficult or impossible to remove. Only thorough cooking (or other similar treatment, such as pasteurization) will reliably neutralize pathogens. Fruits that are field-packed without washing have a higher likelihood of reaching consumers with field contamination. This document focuses on how to best reduce contamination.
This publication helps farmers decide whether to reduce fertilization rates in order to achieve maximum profits due to increases in nitrogen fertilizer prices.
This publication presents the results of interviews with women in agritourism across North Carolina. It discusses the successes, challenges, and opportunities these women face in the agritourism industry and offers conclusions on strategies to overcome challenges and improve success.
Drought has always caused nursery crop producers great concern. If irrigation water becomes limiting, growers producing nursery crops in containers may lose their entire crop. Newly planted field-grown crops also sustain heavy losses if they are not irrigated frequently during the first year of production. Although established field-grown nursery stock will survive if not irrigated during periods of drought, they will not grow under these conditions. Adequate moisture during field production will produce field-grown shade trees of marketable size in three to five years. Poorly irrigated plants will take longer to reach marketable size, thus lengthening the time cost of production.
This publication discusses tillage treatments for large-seeded crops like corn and soybeans in the Piedmont region and recommends minimizing tillage based on research at the Upper Piedmont Research Station.
A Farmers’ Market Tour is a great way to introduce your program participants to an abundant source of local fruits and vegetables. It can also reinforce messaging about healthy eating and local foods. This guide was designed to be used as part of a regular series of nutrition education classes, such as SNAP-Ed, the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP), Faithful Families Eating Smart and Moving More, or other community nutrition education programs.
This publication explains plant growth regulators for a variety of crops.
This factsheet describes the symptoms of a lipid biosynthesis (Acetyl CoA carboxylase or ACCase) inhibitor herbicide injury.
This publication offers information on the description, life history, and control of the apple maggot.
Solar radiation provides the energy to warm our atmosphere and allow plant growth and animal life to exist on earth. The amount of “possible solar radiation” does not depend on the weather and is constant for a given date from year to year. The variation in “possible solar radiation” by date throughout the year is due to the earth’s axis of rotation, which affects the hours of daylight and the angle (directness) of the sun’s rays. The amount actually received, however, does vary, mainly due to the variation in amount of cloudiness.
Many people who live in an apartment, condominium, or mobile homes do not grow a vegetable garden because space is not available for a garden plot. Lack of yard space is no excuse for not gardening, since many kinds of vegetables can be readily grown in containers. In addition to providing five hours or more of full sun, attention must be given to choosing the proper container, using a good soil mix, planting and spacing requirements, fertilizing, watering, and variety selection.
Grapes grown in North Carolina are sometimes exposed to unfavorable climatic conditions and biological pests that can reduce crops and injure or kill grapevines. Climatic threats include low winter temperatures, late spring frosts, excessive summer heat, and unpredictable precipitation. Biological pests include fungal pathogens and insects that attack the foliage and fruit of vines, as well as birds, deer, and other wildlife that consume fruit and shoots.Vineyard site selection greatly affects both the frequency and severity of these problems and is one of the most important factors affecting profitability in viticulture.
Increasingly, fresh produce growers, packers and sellers are being asked to prepare and maintain written Recall Programs. Elements for FDA "Product Recalls" are in 21CFR7.40, et. seq. Adopting that statutory approach to create Fresh Produce Recall Programs may help the Fresh Produce Industry convert public concern into strategic aid.
This factsheet covers growing and harvesting potatoes for commercial sale in North Carolina.
This factsheet will explain specific production situations where the requirements published in Nutrient Requirements of Horses from the National Research Council should be increased to better meet horses' nutrient needs.
Adequate sulfur is necessary for crops, but there’s no one-size-fits-all recommendation for application in North Carolina. Best management practices take sulfur removal and incidental sulfur inputs for the entire crop rotation, soil type and profile depth layers and soil and plant analysis results.
Expanding organic grain markets have increased interest in mechanical weed control. Learn how the rotary hoe can be used to control weeds in large-seeded grain crops such as corn and soybeans.
Tobacco plants that are B deficient are stunted very early on in production when compared to healthy plants. Initial symptoms involve a noticeable distortion at the growing point. The youngest leaves will develop kinks and other unusual growth patterns. Additionally, the upper leaves will be very thick and brittle to the touch. It has a very distinct “ridged” feeling compared to healthy plants. Symptoms can progress very quickly once initial symptoms are observed. The distorted terminal bud will quickly become necrotic and may abscise from the plant. The older foliage will often become darker green in coloration and will also become distorted. The leaves will begin to curl downward and will take on a crinkled appearance.
Sulfur (S) deficiency can easily be mistaken for nitrogen (N) deficiency in tobacco. The ability to distinguish between the two is very important to determining a corrective measure.
Protecting farm and forest land can be complicated. In this publication we interview a family that has successfully established LLC or limited liability company to protect their family legacy and smoothly transition ownership and proceeds between generations.
Cover crops are pivotal parts of every organic farmer’s management scheme. They are crucial to the main goals of building soil health and preventing soil erosion. Cover crops are also important tools for increasing fertility and controlling weeds, pathogens, and insects in organic crops. In this publication, we will discuss planting, growing, and incorporating cover crops as amendments into the soil.
This publication discusses the methods and results of a study researching the benefits of cover crop mulches in cotton production. Cover crops provide nutrients to subsequent crops while conserving soil moisture and suppressing weeds, pests, and diseases without adversely affecting yield.
A good source of water is a necessity for producing quality vegetables. During periods of drought, crop diversification and mulches can be used to cope with drought situations, but nothing will substitute for the timely application of water. This publication covers some guidelines for irrigation systems to help offset periods of drought in the Southeast United States.
This publication, chapter 10 of the 2019 Peanut Information handbook, offers information on peanut growth and development, including grading.
This publication, chapter 1 of the 2019 Peanut Information handbook, describes the current landscape of peanut production in North Carolina.
Sweetpotato production should be planned as a part of your total annual farm management scheme. Sweetpotatoes should not be grown just "once in a while" or just in those years you think you'll be able to "get rich quick." Commitment to an ongoing production program is required in order for you to be a successful grower.
This publication offers a list of companies and nurseries that carry goldenseal seeds or plants for cultivation.
This paper addresses the potential health and safety impacts of solar photovoltaic development in North Carolina, organized into the following four categories: (1) Hazardous Materials; (2) Electromagnetic Fields (EMF); (3) Electric Shock and Arc Flash; (4) Fire Safety.
This special topic has three components: Part 1. Using Beneficial Insect Habitat on the Farm: An Introduction; Part 2. Evaluating the Quality of Commercial Beneficial Insect Habitat; Part 3. Beneficial Insects Attracted to Planted Habitat: Do They Contribute to Pest Insect Control?
Spotten tentiform leafminer description, life history, damage, and control.
Agricultural tourism increases the potential for on farm sales with value-adding products and services, further diversifying the product line of the farm operation. There are three agritourism basics: have something for visitors to see, something for them to do and something for them to buy. There are many activities that can be incorporated into agritourism. Most successful ventures started with one idea, perfected it and then moved on to add the next idea. This diversification offers farmers benefits including increased revenue, an opportunity to educate the public, and a new way of marketing products and services. Agritourism offers tourists unique experiences, a connection with where their food comes from, and cultural or heritage experiences. Planning a successful agritourism enterprise includes: business planning, marketing, learning legal rules and regulations, assessing risk and safety considerations, and considering customer satisfaction.
Lack of yard space is no excuse for not growing a vegetable garden. Regardless of whether you live in an apartment, condominium or mobile home, some space us available for growing a few of your favorite vegetables. However, the area you choose to grow your garden must receive five hours or more of sunlight daily. As a general rule, leafy vegetables such as cabbage and mustard greens can tolerate more shade than root vegetables like radishes and beets. Vegetables that bear fruit such as peppers, tomatoes, and cucumbers will need the most sun.
Your land is valuable to you and your family. Protection and successful transition begins with a flexible land conservation plan. A conservation plan describes your intentions and methods to achieve a desired outcome. To achieve your specific conservation vision, there are proven checkpoints to complete your journey. These checkpoints will result in a plan you can use to enroll your land in the conservation program(s) that meets your needs. Every plan may be unique but all will have the checkpoints of the journey in common. This handbook provides the recommended checkpoints to help begin your planning journey and simple tools to help you complete a working land conservation plan.
The decisions of when to turn an irrigation system on and off for frost protection are complex and difficult. This guide presents a procedure to follow in making these decisions. This guide is based on the assumption that you have completed certain tasks prior to the night of the decision making. These tasks encompass important planning decisions that are made well ahead of the frost season.
This review presents the key steps involved in pruning a mature Carlos vine for maximum production of top-quality fruit.
Weed competition in lettuce reduces both yield and head quality. This cool-season crop faces competition from winter annuals as well as early summer weeds. Learn about the cultivation and herbicide options that growers can use to control weeds in lettuce, including advice for lettuce grown with plastic mulch.
This publication discusses how residents of the North Carolina Triad area perceive the benefits of local wine tourism.
Boron (B) is an essential element that frequently exhibits deficiency symptoms if it is in limited supply. Growers often apply additional B to avoid deficiencies, but if too much B is applied, there is the risk of B toxicity symptoms developing. Boron toxicities initially appear on the lower, older leaves. Early symptoms of boron toxicity will appear as wrinkling of the lower leaves and interveinal chlorosis along the leaf margin. The wrinkling is most likely caused by the lack of cell expansion when toxic levels of B are present. This wrinkling will develop across the leaf’s surface resulting in leaf deformation. Over time the interveinal chlorosis will move inward and develop over most of the leaf. Cells will rapidly die when excess B is supplied, resulting in necrotic spotting. With advanced symptomology, chlorosis and necrosis will progress up the plant to other leaves.
This document was developed in workshops with North Carolina growers to provide a framework for them to develop their own food safety plans. Each grower's conditions are different. Some may find that th eplan does not adequately address their specific conditions. In those cases, the plan will need to be supplemented.
This guide provides an overview of the community supported agriculture (CSA) program at Research Triangle Institute International (RTI). Filled with ideas, examples, and lessons learned from this workplace CSA pilot project, the guide provides information for farmers, businesses, Extension agents, and others who are considering starting a workplace CSA program.
Corn starter fertilizers have been used successfully to increase early plant growth, nutrient uptake, and yields in research trials and on the farm. They also promote earlier maturity, improve southern corn billbug control, and help suppress weeds through earlier shading. Use of starter fertilizers is increasing in North Carolina and the southeastern United States. This factsheet presents the principles of successful starter fertilizer use, research results relevant to North Carolina, and management suggestions for corn producers.
This factsheet traces the progress that has been made in achieving conservation compliance, describes conservation practices that can be used to reduce erosion and discusses the economic factors to be considered when implementing conservation practices.
This publication, chapter 4 of the North Carolina Soybean Production Guide, discusses how to choose a variety of soybean to plant.
This publication, chapter 6 of the 2019 Peanut Information handbook, provides details on how to use integrated methods to manage major peanut diseases.
This publication, chapter 2 of the 2019 Peanut Information handbook, presents information on peanut seed.
This publication discusses using chemical plant protectants for disease control on greenhouse vegetables.
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This publication is an introduction to the three production protocol guidelines developed by North Carolina State University and Amazing Grazing to assist producers in creating beef finishing systems.
This publication provides production protocol guidelines developed by North Carolina State University and Amazing Grazing to assist producers in creating beef finishing systems.
This publication summarizes the findings of a three-year study that analyzed the effects of fungicides, bio controls, and Bt hybrids on reducing mycotoxins in corn. It reviews effectiveness, application rate, and yield for each control option.
Agritourism venues require a significant amount of planning, marketing, and promotion to create successful enterprises. The primary focus of all marketing and promotion activities is to inform potential visitors about the operation and its activities and to attract visitors to the farm. Marketing involves the identification of a potential customer’s needs and wants. This requires thorough planning and execution with focus on identifying a target audience and their needs, attracting the targeted audience to the farm, getting the targeted audience to spend their money by selling to their needs and wants, and creating an inviting environment that will cause the targeted audience to come back again. A marketing plan includes researching the potential market for the products, setting financial goals, establishing a marketing mix, developing a budget, monitoring customer response, making a contingency plan, and making a list of tasks necessary to put the plan into action.
There are a number of questions that must be asked and honestly answered when considering whether to start and operate an agritourism operation. For example, you should evaluate factors such as personal characteristics and skills, target markets, market potential, land and property resources and characteristics, individual and family goals, time and labor considerations, and financial needs and resources. An honest evaluation of these factors will help you understand your potential for success.
Fresh fruits, vegetables, and flowers must be in excellent condition and have excellent quality if maximum shelf life is desired. The best possible quality of any commodity exists at the moment of harvest. From that point on, quality cannot be improved, only maintained. Remember that shelf life begins at harvest.
This publication lists the references used in parts 1-4 of the Postharvest Handling and Cooling of Fresh Fruits, Vegetables, and Flowers for Small Farms series.
Asparagus has been considered a garden delicacy since Roman times. Any home gardener can grow and enjoy this spring vegetable. Asparagus is a perennial. If you plant and manage properly it will produce for 15 years or more. Since this crop will occupy the land for many years you should start the asparagus bed properly -- location, soil type, soil fertility, size and age of crowns and correct planting are important.
Sweetpotato seed roots should be pre-sprouted for maximum transplant production. Presprouting is the process by which sweetpotato seed stock is conditioned to produce sprouts (transplants) prior to bedding. Some refer to this as "waking up" the sweetpotatoes after they have been asleep in storage during the winter. This reinforces the often overlooked fact that sweetpotatoes are still alive.
This bulletin publishes the results of eight experiments that addressed aspects of nutritive value and quality of perennial warm-season forages preserved as hay, baleage, and silage.
Grapevines require 16 essential nutrients for normal growth and development (Table 9.1). Carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen are obtained as the roots take in water and as the leaves absorb gases. The remaining nutrients are obtained primarily from the soil. Macronutrients are those used in relatively large quantities by vines; natural macronutrients are often supplemented with applied fertilizers.The micronutrients, although no less essential, are needed in very small quantities. When one or more of these elements is deficient, vines may exhibit foliar deficiency symptoms, reduced growth or crop yield, and greater susceptiblity to winter injury or death. The availability of essential nutrients is therefore critical for optimum vine performance and profitable grape production.
Like other perennial plants, mature grapevines have extensive root systems and therefore, unlike shallow-rooted annual plants, they are fairly tolerant of mild droughts. Nevertheless, a certain amount of moisture is necessary to support growth and development. Lacking sufficient moisture, vines will suffer water stress, which can reduce productivity as well as fruit quality. Supplemental moisture can be provided by permanent (solid-set) or temporary irrigation systems. Drip irrigation has become the standard water delivery system for North Carolina vineyards in recent years. Drip irrigation can represent a substantial investment (see chapter 2 for details), but the benefits can far outweigh the costs in many vineyards. In 2005, it was estimated that drip irrigation would cost $22,743 to purchase and install the equipment required for a 10-acre drip system, or $2,274 per acre. Drip irrigation can be as effective on steep slopes as on rolling and flat surfaces.
Crop prediction or estimation is the process of projecting as accurately as possible the quantity of crop that will be harvested. Why estimate the crop? The most obvious reason is to know how much crop will be present for sale or utilization. Beyond that fundamental reason, it is also important to know whether vines are undercropped or overcropped. In the absence of methodical crop estimations, the experienced grower can rely on past vineyard performance.This approach is subject to error, however, especially in grape regions subject to spring frosts or winter injury, which can greatly affect a vineyard’s productivity from year to year.
This publication presents tables of average monthly precipitation values for several North Carolina cities and towns.
This publication provides information to help produce growers understand the variety of insurance coverage or policies available to best cover their farms.
This technical bulletin reviews earlier research that evaluates the influence of grazing livestock, primarily beef cattle, on water quality. This publication will help producers make informed choices and consider strategies to protect water quality and maintain productive pasture-based livestock operations.
This online publication describes how cover crops affect the soil, how to establish cover crops, and how to manage their residue. It includes a review of the winter and summer cover crops recommended for North Carolina. The authors also discuss the economics of planting cover crops and some concerns to consider when planting cover crops.
This publication explains the functions of drylots and how to manage them to preserve forage quality in a pasture by reducing or eliminating grazing time during droughts and periods of heavy rainfall.
Keeping weeds out early in the season is very important for cole crops that are marketed by size. Learn how to use both cultivation and herbicides to achieve good early-season weed control and avoid losses in yield and profits.
Increasingly, food service managers are choosing to recover and reuse food scraps and other organic materials instead of throwing them away. This publication was developed to assist businesses and institutions with food recovery and waste reduction efforts. Businesses that could benefit include restaurants, bakeries, grocery stores, caterers, food distributors and vendors, produce markets, food processing plants, and any business or institution operating a cafeteria, such as hospitals, prisons, adult homes, colleges or schools, hotels, and ski resorts. Food recovery methods discussed include donating edible food to donor programs, giving food scraps to local livestock farmers, composting, and vermicomposting.
This question and answer worksheet is designed to help farmers evaluate their pest management practices and figure out how to implement an effective pest management program. Pest identification, life cycles, pesticide application, soil testing and implemented integrated pest management are discussed in the publication.
This publication addresses the two major soil problems found on residential properties and how to rectify them: lack of the three necessary nutrients (phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium) and soil pH.
In our drive to meet the food and fiber needs of ever-increasing populations, we are taxing the resilience of the planet’s natural resources. This fevered quest to pursue ever-increasing crop yields has had devastating impacts: widespread soil erosion, atmospheric pollution, over- grazed forage areas, over-cultivated fields, salinated water supplies, cleared land that is unsuitable for crops, and desertification —the loss of agricultural land to desert. The serious degradation of our soil resources has motivated some researchers and farmers to investigate management systems that are less input-intensive and generally more sustainable.
With the increasing diversity of North Carolina agriculture, it is important to document and assess the presence of the commodities produced in the state. Crop data are publicly maintained on only the top 20 or so specialty crops, yet state and federal decisions impact hundreds of individual crop species. Because little information is available for most specialty crops, it must be gleaned from many different sources.
Gardens bring communities together. Not only are community gardens a good way to get more fresh fruits and vegetables in our diets, they also allow us to be active outdoors and build a strong community.
This publication, part of the 2019 Peanut Information handbook, provides information on North Carolina extension personnel that work with peanuts.
This educational resource for children aged 9-12 explains how to make a composting bin to house earthworms and recycle food scraps.
A new group of cover crops for winter and summer use include mustards, oilseed radishes and turnips. When young, these plants resemble turnip greens, are very succulent and have a low C:N ratio, resulting in rapid decomposition when incorporated into the soil. However, if allowed to mature, bolt and flower, they produce a large amount of biomass in a short period of time and become woody, resulting in slower decomposition than when killed at an immature stage.
This publication explores the different types of agritourism activities that are available to farmers and explains some of agritourism's benefits.
This publication discusses best practices management to prevent agricultural activities from contaminating groundwater. It covers the role of soil on the quality of groundwater, soil characteristics, characteristics of potential pollutants and management practices such as nitrogen and pesticide management.
Field heat should be removed from fresh fruits, vegetables, and flowers as quickly as possible after harvest. Each commodity should be maintained at its lowest safe temperature.
Vegetables are 80 to 95 percent water. Because they contain so much water, their yield and quality suffer very quickly from drought. When vegetables are sold, a "sack of water" with a small amount of flavoring and some vitamins is being sold. Thus, for good yields and high quality, irrigation is essential to the production of most vegetables. If water shortages occur early in the crop's development, maturity may be delayed and yields are often reduced. If a moisture shortage occurs later in the growing season, quality is often reduced even though total yields are not affected.
This bulletin brings together 18 independent experiments that address aspects of nutritive value and quality of perennial warm-season forages preserved as hay.
This guide provides home gardeners with instructions for growing strawberries, blueberries, brambles (blackberries and raspberries), and grapes.
Supplemental hand weeding accounts for the majority of landscape bed maintenance costs. When used exclusively, it can cost 10 to 100 times as much as an effective herbicide or mulching program. However, many of the costly and unsightly weed problems can be avoided or at least minimized with a little planning. Developing a landscape weed management plan involves five basic steps.
Vineyard establishment involves careful planning, thorough site preparation, vineyard design, planting, and trellis construction. Unlike dormant pruning or other annual activities, designing and establishing a vineyard must be done correctly the first time. In addition, the process must be tailored to the particular site and the grower’s intentions. This chapter discusses the basic steps in establishing a vineyard and offers suggestions for practical methods and materials.There are many alternatives. Although this chapter may be used as the sole source of information for vineyard establishment, it is advisable to obtain and compare information from additional sources before beginning. References provided here include more detailed information on particular aspects of vineyard establishment, such as trellis construction. It is also helpful to visit existing vineyards to examine their design, compare trellising materials, and discuss plant and row spacing.
High-quality wines — those that command premium prices — can be produced only from high-quality grapes. Grape quality can be defined in various ways, but ripeness and freedom from rots are two of the chief qualities. Producing ripe fruit with minimum rot and maximum varietal character is not easy in North Carolina. As described elsewhere in this publication, the combination of climate, soils, and vine vigor often leads to excessive vegetative growth. For reasons that will be discussed, luxurious vegetative growth can reduce vine fruitfulness, decrease varietal character, degrade other components of fruit quality, and hamper efforts at disease control. Canopy management practices can help alleviate these problems.
This publication contains a glossary of the terms used in The North Carolina Winegrape Grower's Guide.
Molybdenum (Mo) deficiency has not been reported under field conditions. (Descriptions based on the book, Hunger Signs of Crops, 3rd Edition, edited by H.B. Sprague.) Under controlled greenhouse conditions, tobacco plants are slightly stunted when Mo is limited. The lower foliage of the plant develops a chlorosis, initially as a pale green, then the spots progress to a necrosis. The leaves may be crinkled and become bent or twisted.
This publication summarizes results from 26 studies addressing the establishment, cell wall content, cultivar improvement, defoliation management, nutritive value, and utilization of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) as pasture, or its conservation as hay or silage or harvested as biomass. Both lowland and upland commercial cultivars and lowland germplasms were evaluated and, in some experiments, compared for yield, nutritive value, and quality characteristics. Comparisons were also made with other warm-season grasses. Switchgrass is a forage species having very flexible potentials as a pasture, stored forage, or biomass crop. Cytotypes, also referred to as ecotypes, and cultivar selections within cytotypes are important considerations when growing switchgrass in the Mid-Atlantic because they depend on its intended use and the crop’s geographic location
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) can be defined as a sustainable approach to managing pests by combining cultural, biological, and chemical tools in a way that minimizes economic, aesthetic, health, and environmental risks. A first step in implementing an effective IPM program is to maintain healthy, vigorous plants, which are much less likely to have pest problems. Therefore, an integrated pest management program will also consider cultural practices that lead to healthy and resilient plantings.
This publication lists some of the companies that supply medicinal herbs and botanicals by mail order in the United States.
This publication lists sources of shiitake mushroom spawns for cultivation.
Throughout this manual we have discussed how organic farmers strive to build healthy soil in order to create the best possible environment for plant growth. A healthy soil is primarily defined by its fertility, which in turn depends largely on the interactions of its physical, chemical, and biological properties.
This publications offers the latest wheat recommendations based on variety tests conducted in North Carolina in the last few years.
Do you have sweetpotatoes that have been gleaned that you plan on using or donating? This resource provides storage information along with family friendly recipes and quick tips about preparation. Great resource for food pantries or anyone who might be receiving gleaned sweetpotatoes that haven't been cured.
This publication, chapter 9 of the 2019 Peanut Information handbook, discusses the interactions of agrochemicals used in peanut production.
This publication, chapter 8 of the 2019 Peanut Information handbook, contains information on the North Carolina Peanut Growers Association's annual peanut production contest.
In this Brassica carinata (Ethiopian mustard) update, we highlight the symptoms of nitrogen deficiency. These images are part of a project by the Southeast Partnership for Advanced Renewables from Carinata (SPARC) to develop a diagnostic series for the identification of nutrient disorders of Carinata. Carinata is an exciting new crop used for a wide variety of primary and secondary agricultural products including cover crops, feed stock, high protein meal, and rocket jet fuel. It is similar in management to Canola given both Canola and Carinata are winter annual Brassica oilseed crops.
Phoma macrostoma, a potential biocontrol agent for turfgrass weeds, was isolated from Cirsium arvense plants in Canada and is being tested in other regions of North America for control of broadleaf weeds in turf. This research was conducted to investigate the effects of varying temperature conditions on Phoma macrostoma control of seedling broadleaf weeds. Experiments were conducted in growth chambers to compare the efficacy of three doses of Phoma macrostoma on two species, Senecio vulgaris and Lamium amplexicaule grown in 4 temperature regimes – 15/20, 20/25, 25/30 and 30/35°C (dark / light period) temperatures. These data suggest that high temperatures common in the southeastern United States should not be an impediment to activity of Phoma macrostoma efficacy, and may actually improve the control of some broadleaf weed species.
This publication, chapter 12 of the 2019 Peanut Information handbook, discusses organic production of peanuts in North Carolina.
This publication contains color photos and detailed descriptions used to help growers identify and control strawberry diseases.
The most important key to quality maintenance of fresh fruits, vegetables, and flowers is careful handling; Tender Loving Care! Symptoms of injuries incurred during harvesting, handling, grading, and packaging usually are not evident until the products reach retail or consumer levels; too late to do anything about your quality image. Bruises and other mechanical damage not only detract from the appearance of the product, but are good avenues of entrance for decay organisms.
The objective of this leaflet is to discuss weed-control considerations and herbicide options for grape vineyards in the Southeastern United States. It should be used as a guide for growers making vineyard floor management decisions. It should not be used as an alternative to a pesticide label.
This factsheet offers a list of materials available from libraries, publishers, institutions or on the web regarding growing greenhouse vegetables. Superscripts indicate a source for ordering from the address list at the end of the publication.
At times, it is necessary to transport or store different commodities together. In such mixed loads, it is very important to combine only those commodities that are compatible with respect to their requirements for: Temperature, Relative humidity, Atmosphere; oxygen and carbon dioxide, Protection from odors, Protection from physiologically active gases, such as ethylene.
This bulletin brings together 13 independent experiments that address aspects of fermentation, nutritive value, and quality of cool-season and warm-season annual forages preserved as silage.
This bulletin publishes the results of two experiments—one with switchgrass and one with gamagrass—that address responses of dry matter yield and nutritive value to nitrogen fertilization when the grasses are cut as hay.
Grapes are subject to attack by many different pests, including nematodes, fungal, bacterial, and viral pathogens, insects, and wildlife, such as deer and birds.Weeds, which compete with the vines for soil moisture and nutrients, may also be included in this list. Recognizing and understanding the nature of these pests is essential to minimizing crop losses.This chapter briefly describes the major pests that routinely threaten bunch grapes in North Carolina and discusses control measures.
Growing Chardonnay grapes, the number one vinifera variety grown in North Carolina, can be a profitable venture in certain areas of the state.The profitability analysis in this chapter, based on 2005 costs, shows that it will take an estimated $12,876 per acre to bring a vineyard up to full production in the fourth year.The vineyard would begin to yield $1,097 per acre in the eighth year, and the producer may be able to break even by the eighth year.
This chapter discusses the principles of grapevine dormant pruning, reviews reasons for vine training, and describes systems appropriate for use in North Carolina. Profitable grape production requires that grapevines be managed so that a large area of healthy leaves is exposed to sunlight. Such vines are likely to produce large crops of high-quality fruit each year. Grapevines must be trained and pruned annually to achieve this goal. The training system chosen generally dictates how the vines are pruned. Thus, pruning practices and training systems are discussed together in this chapter.
To grow more consistent crops and improve your cash flow in years with damaging frost events, this chapter will show you how you can: 1) identify an active protection system to protect your vineyard during budbreak and early shoot development, 2) use the basic principles of frost and frost/freeze protection to deal with complex cold protection scenarios, so that you use your active protection system(s) efficiently, and 3) operate the equipment correctly.
New and current grape growers will find practical information on site appraisal, establishment, and operation of commercial winegrape vineyards in the North Carolina Winegrape Grower’s Guide. This publication focuses on production of vinifera and hybrid wine grapes.
This publication contains contact information for the authors of The North Carolina Winegrape Grower's Guide.
Passage of the the National Organic Program’s final rule in 2001 marked the beginning of an exciting era of growth for organic livestock production in the United States. The 2001 national standards replaced multiple and often conflicting sets of standards that private and state- sanctioned certifying groups established beginning in the early 1970s. Conflict- ing interpretations frequently arose on farms and in the marketplace as the various certifying organizations tried to enforce multiple sets of standards. As a result, organic proponents lobbied through the 1980s for passage of federal legislation to establish uniform rules and unite the fractionalized organic farming community. The Organic Foods Production Act was passed in 1990, but it took another 10 years of work by proponents and legislators to produce the 2001 final rule.
For organic soybean producers increased seeding rates improve early soybean canopy density, which shades out weeds in the early stages of weed competition. Organic soybean producers can increase seeding rates with much less of a negative impact on economic return than for conventional production with herbicides.
Zinc (Zn) deficiency has not been reported under field conditions. Most of the time, the soil will have enough micros to supplement any gaps in the chosen fertilizer plan. To present a more robust set of data, we induced zinc deficiency under controlled greenhouse studies for accurate diagnosis if the problem should arise. In NC State University trials, ornamental tobacco developed a silver cast to the leaves as the initial symptom of zinc deficiency.
This publication lists some of the companies that supply herb seeds and/or plants by mail order in the United States.
This factsheet explains how proper land application of municipal biosolids can protect public health and maintain or improve environmental quality and it encourages the beneficial use of wastes.
This publication covers the signs and symptoms of freeze injury in winter wheat.
Each year, growers throughout the Southeast must face more and more environmental issues. Federal, states, and even local regulations are addressing concerns such as surface and groundwater contamination, water usage, pesticide usage, solid waste disposal, and energy consumption. Many of these regulations have affected and will continue to affect both business and cultural practices within the greenhouse industry.
This factsheet, part of a series on forestry impacts in North Carolina, offers information specific to Cumberland County.
This publication, chapter 11 of the 2019 Peanut Information handbook, describes integrated pest management and pesticide stewardship in peanut production.
