Southern Blight in Tomatoes and High Temps in Late August
From the Ag Information Network, this is your Agribusiness Update.
**Spurred by moisture and warm soil temperatures, the fungal disease southern blight” is typically a perennial problem of processing tomatoes in the southern San Joaquin Valley.
But for the past two years, growers and pest control advisors have seen it in scattered Sacramento Valley fields where it’s historically rare.
Kurt Richter, who grows processing tomatoes and other row crops found southern blight in his tomato fields for the first time this year.
**Temperatures are soaring across much of the country this final week of August with a threat of downpours and severe weather from Texas to the Carolinas.
AccuWeather reports the large heat dome of high pressure that’s building from the Midwest to parts of the East will break down over the weekend as a strong cold front slides to the southeast.
Meantime, a heat wave will continue baking the Midwest.
**U.S. Wheat Association commended the USDA for its thorough, science-based process resulting in the deregulation of the HB4 drought-tolerant trait from Bioceres Crop Solutions.
The farmer leaders are confident the trait has the potential to deliver significant producer and consumer benefits.
Although USDA’s ruling clears the regulatory pathway for the cultivation of HB4 wheat in the U.S., there are several additional steps needed before those benefits are realized and it is grown commercially.
