Announcements & News
The 2007 Proceedings of the Florida Tomato Institute are accessible on-line
Click here to view them now.
Proceedings from previous years (2002-2006) are available at http://gcrec.ifas.ufl.edu
/vegetables.htm
All Vegetarian Newsletter Issues Are Available On-line!!!
Back issues of the Vegetarian Newsletter (VN) have been scanned and are accessible from this site, thanks to support from the Horticultural Sciences Department and Dr. Steven Sargent's efforts. The VN is now in its 58th year and I'm sure readers will find the back issues both useful and interesting from an historical perspective. We hope to be able to categorize these previous articles by subject in the future. Click here to visit our archives!!!
The electronic version of the 2007-2008 Vegetable Production Handbook is available online!
New EDIS Horticulture Publications
"Rootstocks for Florida Peaches, Nectarines, and Plums" is now available on EDIS at: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/HS366. This publication, written by J. Ferguson and J. Chaparro, describes recomended rootstocks for Florida, rootstocks no longer recomended for Florida stone fruit, and proceedures for harvesting, cleaning and stratifying 'Flordaguard' seed prior to cleaning. Click on the link in the description above to read this great publication!
" Florida Subtropical Peaches: Production Practices " is now available on EDIS at: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/HS348. This publication, written by J. Ferguson, J. Chaparro, J. G. Williamson, R. Rouse and R. Mizell, describes topics in Florida subtropical peach production such as nursery practices, site selection, orchard design, planting and much more. Click on the link in the description above to read this great publication!
"Critical Issues for the Tomato Industry: Preventing a Rapid Postharvest Breakdown of the Fruit" is now available on EDIS at: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/HS363. This bulletin represents a summary of the all work done and current guidelines for tomato growers and packer/shippers to minimize risk for rapid postharvest breakdown. Click on the link in the description above to read this great publication!
"Strategies for Subtropical Peach Production in Florida" was released by EDIS (http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/HS364). This publication, written by J. J. Ferguson, J. X. Chaparro, D.M. Omalley & L. Harrison, describes strategies for growing subtropical peaches in Florida and gives the number of chilling units different varieties require.Click on the link in the description above to read this great publication!
"Training and Pruning Florida Peaches, Nectarines, and Plums" was released by EDIS (http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/HS365). This publication, written by J. Ferguson, is a valuable resource on how to prune and train peach, nectarine and plum trees. Click on the link in the description above to read this great publication!
"Guidelines for Enrolling in Florida's BMP Program for Vegetable Crops" was released by EDIS (http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/HS367). This publication, written by Aparna Gazula, Eric Simonne and Brian Boman, describes the process for enrolling in Florida BMP program for vegetable crops as well as where you can find additional resources and help with the implementation of your BMP program. Click on the link in the description above to read this great publication!
Other sources of Hortcultural Information.
Direct link to the BMP Manual for Vegetables & Agronomic Crops in Florida
Click here for a PDF printer friendly version of this article.
Effect of Applying Preplant Nitrogen on Strawberry Yields
By Dr. Bielinski M. Santos , Assistant Professor, Gulf Coast Research and Education Center , IFAS, University of Florida
Introduction
Nitrogen (N) is the most absorbed plant nutrient in per weight basis of most vegetable crops. This nutrient is an essential component of basic structures in all plant species and its deficiency can severely affect growth and development. Most of the N is absorbed through plant roots in the form of the ion nitrate (NO 3 - ) dissolved in the solution. In soils with low organic matter content, such as the sandy soils throughout Florida , natural N supply is low and supplemental fertilization is required to cover the crop demand of this essential nutrient. In strawberry production, this is achieved in two ways: a) through application during the growing season of all N through drip lines (fertigation), or b) a combination of this practice and the application of dry preplant starter N before bed formation.
Recent surveys among strawberry growers in west central Florida showed that about one-half of them apply preplant fertilizer formulas that include N. Application rates usually ranged between 20 and 40 lb/acre of N. Environmental concerns over leaching nitrates to Florida ground waters has brought to the forefront the necessity of conducting research on best management practices that could reduce the use of starter fertilizers in production systems where fertigation is available, such as in strawberry fields. Therefore, studies were conducted to determine whether using preplant starter N fertilization increases strawberry early and total yield.
Response to Starter Fertilizer
Field studies were conducted during 2005 and 2006 at the Gulf Coast Research and Education Center (GCREC) of the University of Florida , on a Myakka fine sandy soil with 1.2% of organic matter and pH 7.2. Planting beds were pre-formed with a standard bedder and were 28 inches wide on the base, 24 inches wide on the top, and 8 inches high. ‘Strawberry Festival' bare-root transplants from Canadian nurseries were transplanted in the first week in October of each year.
Plant nutrients, other than N, were applied through drip lines according to IFAS recommendations to ensure non-limiting conditions. Calcium nitrate was used as the starter fertilizer at a rate of 40 lb/acre of N. A non-treated control was also included. The fertilizer was broadcast incorporated 4 inches deep on bed tops before final bed pressing. Afterwards, beds were fumigated and covered with black high-density polyethylene mulch immediately after fumigant injection. Simultaneously, a single drip line was buried on bed centers. Strawberries were grown following recommended local practices. The results showed that applying starter N fertilizer did not improve monthly or total strawberry yield (Figure 1). This indicated that growers can avoid using preplant starter N fertilizer and still obtain the same yields, provided that appropriate fertigation rates are used to ensure satisfactory crop growth and development.
Figure 1. Strawberry marketable yields per month and total in response to the application of starter (preplant) N fertilizer at a rate of 40 lb/acre.
Contributing Authors
Dale Bennett County Extension Director & Extension Agent IV
Jeffrey K. Brecht Professor, postharvest physiology
Jacque Breman County Extension Director & Extension Agent IV
Daniel J. Cantliffe Distinguished Professor and Chair, greenhouse production
Craig K. Chandler Professor, breeding/ genetics
Dan Culbert
Extension Agent III
Phyllis Gilreath Extension Agent IV
Bob Hochmuth Extension Agent IV
Chad M. Hutchinson Associate Professor, vegetable production
Mary Lamberts Extension Agent IV
Yuncong Li Associate Professor, soils
Tom MacCubbin Extension Agent IV
Gene McAvoyCounty Extension Director & Extension Agent III
Teresa Olczyk Extension Agent IV
Stephen M. Olson Professor, small farms
Rafael Munoz-Carpena Associate Professor, hydrology
Mark A. Ritenour Associate Professor, postharvest
Ed Skvarch Extension Agent I
Bielinski Santos Assistant Professor, vegetable production
Steven A. Sargent Professor and Scientific Editor, postharvest
Eric H. Simonne Associate Professor, vegetable nutrition
William M. Stall Professor, weed science
Danielle Treadwell Assistant Professor, organic/sustainable production
Richard Tyson Extension Agent IV
Alicia Whidden Extension Agent II
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