The Alabama Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association (AFVGA) will hold its Annual Conference & Trade Show Nov. 21-22 at the Clanton Conference and Performing Arts Center in Clanton, Alabama. During the opening day luncheon, the “Challenges and Opportunities in the Future of the Fruit and Vegetable Industry” will be discussed by Phil Brannon, professor of plant pathology, with the University of Georgia. This year’s conference sessions are grouped in four major areas:
Tree Fruit Production
- Improved growing systems – reducing labor and improving yields
- Scab and brown rot management update for Southeastern peach production
- Preventing cold damage – a grower’s perspective
- Advanced tactics for orchard weed management
Small Fruit Production
- Practical control of spotted wing drosophila in small fruit production
- Weed management in vineyards
- Best management practices for strawberry disease control
- Extending seasons with protected cultivation
- Growing blueberries in the Southeast
Vegetable Production and IPM Tactics
- Advanced trap cropping in Alabama
- Managing height of tomato transplants in greenhouses
- Specialty melons for Alabama – time to try something different
- Growing pumpkins in the Southeast
- Irrigation and nitrogen management in plasticulture
Business Management and Food Safety
- Navigating H-2A – growing your farm with guest labor programs
- USDA, RMA, NAP – What does it all mean? Understanding USDA crop insurance
- More than strawberries – picking up business with u-picks
- Get social – making marketing matter
- FSMA – a guide to better inspection