Early rains might bring in weeds and disease
Heavy spring rains have presented Gilmer farmers with challenges going into summer.
“With weather this year, everything sort of depends. Everything is kind of finicky,” University of Georgia Extension agent Anna Bass said.
While the rain has helped crops grow, it also has provided conditions that favor disease and weeds, she said.
“The year started out with a lot of rain, which is good because, you know, plants need the rain to grow. But then that comes with challenges too,” Bass said.
Many kinds of fruit crops can get diseased when they are consistently wet.
Some crops like hay have also suffered because of the rain, she added. Hay requires dry weather to mow, and this year’s rains mean this year’s hay harvest might be lower quality than usual.
Right now, the heat comes as a welcome relief for farmers. Generally, agricultural diseases don’t handle heat well, she said.
“They’re not as prevalent when it is like in that hot, high heat of the summer. And so hopefully they’ll see that presence go down,” she said.
When temperatures reach between the mid-70s and 60-degree range, disease can pick back up, she said.
As always, farmers have to respond as best they can to the weather they have, she said.
Many farmers have asked the extension office about how to deal with weeds.
Bass advised local farmers to use sprays to keep pests and weeds under control, especially as the weather cools in fall.
Checking the weather before spraying is important, Bass said.
“You don’t want to spray when it is consistently raining, because then you’re just washing that product off and that’s a waste of money,” she said. “Don’t spray when it’s windy. You can get a loss of product that way too, and it won’t be as effective, and especially when it’s too hot out.”
No one can fully predict the future, Bass said. But she hopes this year will bring good weather for Gilmer farmers.
“Hopefully it’ll be good,” she said. “I know last fall we had a drought, and I’m really hoping we don’t have that again this year.