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| This Week's Titles: |
| Nutrient
Being Tested In Pecan Groves |
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Concerns About Imported
Food Products |
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| Before
Selecting Young Plants, Read The Label |
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| Market
Prices For Cotton Move Up |
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| Growing
Vidalia Onions Organically |
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| Nutrient
Being Tested In Pecan Groves |
1:40 |
A nutrient being tested in
pecan groves could help improve pecan quality. |
Research in California
has shown the nutient boron can increase production in almonds
and other tree crops. But no data was available regarding the
use of boron for pecan production. For the past three years,
scientists with the University of Georgia's College of Agricultural
and Environmental Sciences have been conducting studies in several
commercial pecan groves across the state that involve boron
applications. "Basically what we have found is that we do get
an increase in fruit retention and also in the percent kernel
or quality of the pecans that are produced with foliar boron.
Boron is a relatively cheap nutrient to apply. They just apply
it when they're making their fungicide sprays early in the season."
That was Lenny Wells with the College of Agricultural and Environmental
Sciences. Results from the studies found three properly timed
foliar boron applications will generate a net return of eighty-six
dollars per acre. This could possibly generate an additional
income of more than twelve million dollars for Georgia pecan
producers, based on the estimated Georgia pecan acreage of one-hundred
forty thousand acres. John Harrell, University of Georgia College
of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, reporting from Tifton. |
Links to audio files:
(files include a brief quote from the source for your use.)
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| Concerns
About Imported Food Products |
1:42 |
Food products imported from
foreign countries could make more people sick. |
In 2004, the United States
imported more food than it exported for the first time. Mike
Doyle, director of the University of Georgia Center for Food
Safety says if this trend continues, the occurrence and size
of foodborne disease outbreaks in the U.S. could increase dramatically.
He adds fresh vegetables are becoming a major vehicle for the
transmission of foodborne pathogens. "Foods that we consume
in this country that are not further processed that we're not
likely to further cook or treat are going to be of highest risk
such as vegetables that we eat raw would be of major concern
because there's nothing in the process that would make them
safe if they're not already produced and grown under good agricultural
practices." Mike Doyle with the College of Agricultural and
Environmental Sciences who adds the U.S. food supply overall
is safe. The increase of imported foods has swamped the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration. U.S. inspectors are only able
to visually check one percent of the shipments. University scientists
say safety standards for imported foods will have to be changed.
If things remain the same, we are likely to see even more foodborne
illness outbreaks, and more people get sick. John Harrell, University
of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences,
reporting from Tifton. |
Links to audio files:
(files include a brief quote from the source for your use.)
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| Before
Selecting Young Plants, Read The Label |
1:30 |
Before selecting plants for
that landscape garden, you need to read the label. |
For years experts have
told us the importance of reading labels on food products before
purchasing them. Reports indicate Georgian's also need to take
some time to read labels on plants before purchasing them. Bobby
Smith, a county extension agent in Morgan County says a plant
label contains a lot of important information that will help
a plant give you it's best. "Those labels give you a lot of
information that a lot of consumers need to have. The name of
the plant, as well as information on whether it needs to be
full or partial sun. It also gives you whether you need to add
some amendments and the type of soil that it usually likes and
it also gives you the mature heights and width of the plant
that is very important whenever homeowners are selecting those
plant materials." Bobby Smith with the University of Georgia's
College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, who adds
the most overlooked detail on the plant label is the plant's
mature size. Knowing how tall and wide a plant will be at maturity
is important for proper site selection. This information will
prevent you from placing the plant or tree too close to a house
or structure. John Harrell, University of Georgia College of
Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, reporting from Tifton. |
Links to audio files:
(files include a brief quote from the source for your use.)
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| Market
Prices For Cotton Move Up |
1:29 |
Market prices for cotton have
been moving on up the last several weeks. |
Cotton farmers have been
wishing and hoping for higher crop prices. As we move closer
to spring, it appears those wishes are coming true. But an agricultural
economist with the University of Georgia's College of Agricultural
and Environmental Sciences say higher prices that look good
to farmers don't look good to merchants that buy cotton. "This
has been a great run in price but merchants tell us that they
can't sell cotton at that price, there is no demand for ninety-five
cent cotton. We can't move cotton to China or anyplace else
in the world for that kind of price so, the market will unfortunately
have to settle down some and come back lower and merchants get
back into the market and be able to sell cotton again before
farmers will have an opportunity to sell." That was Don Shurley
with the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences,
who predicts things will settle down, and the merchants will
return to the market to buy cotton. Once the speculators begin
to cash out, prices will drop back to levels that reflect actual
supply and demand. But right now university economists can't
predict when this will happen. John Harrell, University of Georgia
College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, reporting
from Tifton. |
Links to audio files:
(files include a brief quote from the source for your use.)
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| Growing
Vidalia Onions Organically |
1:29 |
Research continues by college
scientists on growing Vidalia onions organically. |
Organic production is a
very small part of the overall vegetable production in Georgia.
Right now there are about seventeen-hundred acres of certified
organic vegetable production in the state, which is up from
three-hundred acres in the year 2000. There continues to be
some interest in producing Vidalia onions organically in counties
where Vidalia onions are grown. George Boyhan, a horticulturist
with the University of Georgia's College of Agricultural and
Environmental Sciences says the biggest challenge with organic
Vidalia onion production is weed control. "The biggest problem
is weed control. With conventional onions growers can use modern
herbicides which are extremely effective. With the organic onions
there are some things they can do, they are allowed to use plastic
mulch, but surprisingly only about half of the organic onions
are grown on plastic mulch and the other half on bare ground."
George Boyhan with the College of Agricultural and Environmental
Sciences, who adds the research on growing Vidalia onions organically
has been encouraging. More research is planned in the coming
years in Athens, Tifton, and the Vidalia Onion and Vegetable
Research Center in Lyons. John Harrell, University of Georgia
College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, reporting
from Tifton. |
Links to audio files:
(files include a brief quote from the source for your use.)
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