Source: AgriLife Today
“This heat wave we’re currently having in East Texas is not good. It makes us glad we’re not living in New York, but it’s not good for the fruit industry,” said Monte Nesbitt, AgriLife Extension horticultural specialist, College Station.
First, there’s the risk for crops that have accumulated enough chilling hours to come out of dormancy and begin forming buds or fruit, Nesbitt said. If they then get hit by a late freeze, it can kill the new growth and developing flowers, and as a consequence, fruit production is severely knocked back.
Warm weather isn’t the only factor affecting Texas growers this season.
A wet 2015 is expected to bring the curse of a weedy 2016, said Dr. Jourdan Bell, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service agronomist in Amarillo.
We need to be proactive about weed control this year,” she said. “Weeds rob inputs – water and nutrients – from your soil that would otherwise be available for your primary crop. So we advise you to start clean and stay clean.”
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