Increased rainfall across South Georgia in recent weeks is not ideal timing for the area’s watermelon producers in the middle of harvesting.
원본 콘텐츠
By Clint Thompson Increased rainfall across South Georgia in recent weeks is not ideal timing for the area’s watermelon producers in the middle of harvesting this year’s crop. “We’d prefer it, obviously, like we’ve talked about many times, the drier the better for most vegetables, especially, all watermelons are (already) under irrigation,” said Tim Coolong , professor in the University of Georgia (UGA) College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. “So ideally, particularly during harvests when the crews are out there and stuff, it would be dry, ideally.” The next two weeks provide a peak harvesting window for growers hoping to capitalize on the July 4 holiday. However, increased moisture can lead to disease buildup and decrease the quality of the fruit. “I mean, you’d prefer it to be dry during harvest just to drive up sugars and so forth. And so, disease is probably what a lot of folks are worried about, especially as you walk through the fields and so forth; you kind of ...