Texas Agriculture Daily News
South Texas onion crop reeling from storms
Friday, April 20, 2012
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The South Texas onion crop was pelted by hail and damaged by high winds recently as powerful storms blew through the area.
Fields that were green turned brown almost overnight after the rains,” said Dr. Juan Anciso, vegetable specialist at the Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Weslaco. Heavy rainfall also causes blight in onion fields. Farmers have struggled with the root disease for more than 10 years.
“We’re not sure about the root cause, but for the past 17 years or so, rains cause blighting,” Anciso said. “Two or three days after a rain, the mixture of fungus and bacteria just becomes uncontrollable and foliage dies. Insect thrips populations and damage also increase dramatically, especially if they weren’t treated early on. They just get out of hand.” The South Texas onion harvest of about 7,300 acres began in mid-March, about two weeks before the rains. Despite the blight, harvest will likely continue through mid-May. Acreage was down from 10,000 acres planted last year due to low market prices.
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