Vegetable Plantings Swamped by Hurricane Ian? Here Is Some Guidance for Reducing Loss
October 8, 2022 More than a foot of rain in a little more than 24 hours? Yep. Some areas of Florida got that — and then some — from Hurricane Ian. Produce growers across the Sunshine State were witness to all this water flooding fields and groves alike. Some are still swamped as of this post.
All this standing water is not good for anything, especially the health of vegetable plantings. One of the many useful resources out there to help growers in this case is a document titled, “Hurricane Preparation and Recovery in Florida: Tomato, Pepper, and Eggplant Producers Guide.”
Compiled by USDA’s Forest Service, the guide focuses on two main things:
- Pre-event steps to minimize loss due to a hurricane event in tomato, pepper, and eggplant crops; and
- Short-term recommendations for reducing loss of tomato, pepper, and eggplant crops after a hurricane event
The latter now being top of mind for all growers and industry stakeholders.
Here is a portion of the guide regarding post-storm field inspection and harvesting:
- When inspecting fields, determine whether a crop has enough fruit remaining to maintain it in the field or whether it should be terminated at this point. For hurricanes occurring early in the season, check to see whether newly set fruit is damaged or flowers have been destroyed. If fruit is not set in a timely fashion, delayed losses may occur.
- Any fields that were damaged but not flooded and are able to be harvested should be prioritized from the least to most damaged to minimize profit losses.
- Prop up or trellis stakes or plants that have blown over. Also, since defoliated plants can result in sunburned fruit, apply both a shade protectant and preventative fungicide/bactericide spray.
- Drain excess floodwaters (those not contacting fruit) from fields within 2 or 3 days; otherwise, plant roots will be subjected to anaerobic conditions and plants
will likely die. - Assess equipment damage and take this into account for upcoming harvest operations. This will help in developing a plan for the coming weeks and months.
For more, you can review, download, and/or print the “Hurricane Preparation and Recovery in Florida: Tomato, Pepper, and Eggplant Producers Guide at Climatehubs.usda.gov.
Loading ...Subscribe Today For
