Arkansas strawberries are ready now

By Mary Hightower
U of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture

NEWPORT, Ark. — If you love fresh Arkansas strawberries, farmer Bill Landreth has a simple message: Come and get ‘em now!

A relatively warm winter and spring has prompted some farms to have strawberries three weeks earlier than usual. Landreth, who owns Berries by Bill in Jackson County, is no exception.

AVAILABLE NOW — Arkansas strawberries are ready for picking now. (U of A System Division of Agriclture file photo).

“On average, we’d start picking somewhere around April 20 or 25th,” Landreth said. This year, “I started a week ago, Friday,” which was April 5.

“Eight out of ten phone calls I get during the day are asking ‘when will your berries be ready?’” Landreth said. “I tell them we started picking a week ago.”

“I don’t even have that many peddlers calling,” he said, referring to people who buy his berries and sell them on the roadside. “Usually, they pester the dickens out of you.”

“Eight out of ten phone calls I get during the day are asking ‘when will your berries be ready?’” Landreth said. “I tell them we started picking a week ago.”

“I don’t even have that many peddlers calling,” he said, referring to people who buy his berries and sell them on the roadside. “Usually, they pester the dickens out of you.”

Early wake-up call

Amanda McWhirt, extension specialist-horticulture crops for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, said warm temperatures from late February and into March were an early wake-up call for berry plants. The plants take about 30 days from bloom to ripe fruit.

“Plants ‘woke’ up earlier and started flowering,” she said. “We were able to protect blooms through several freezes.”

Landreth said he worries about whether the three-week-early start will also mean a three-week-earlier-end to the season, with regular buyers missing out because of the shift.

Earlier farmers market starts?

Matthew Davis, Jackson County extension staff chair for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, said “customer volume is a big factor for these groups — the strawberries, peaches, any fruit and vegetable crop this year.

“Farmers markets could open sooner this year along with many roadside stands if weather is favorable,” Davis said.

He said fruit and vegetable growers, are always at the mercy of Mother Nature. Severe weather that usually happens in the spring can have a major impact on an early harvest, like this year.

“Call your producers now and check in to see if early harvest may happen. Waiting may not be a good option with the unpredictable nature of the weather,” Davis said. We could have a storm tomorrow with hail and lose all production instantly. Currently, strawberries are moving readily for our area, but we may see other items potentially move up later in the season."

To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on X and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu. Follow on X at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on X at @AgInArk.

Extension horticulture specialist receives national recognition

By Ryan McGeeney
U of A System Division of Agriculture 

LITTLE ROCK — The American Society for Horticulture Science has recognized a Cooperative Extension Service horticulturist for her extensive public education and outreach efforts.

NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED — Amanda McWhirt, extension fruit and vegetable horticulture specialist for the Division of Agriculture, will receive the American Society for Horticulture Science's ear;y career award for extension and public outreach. (Division of Agriculture photo.)

Amanda McWhirt, extension fruit and vegetable horticulture specialist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, will receive the ASHS Professional Early Career Award, specifically for “excellence and outstanding contributions to extension or outreach of horticulture science or horticulture-related disciplines.”

There are four categories for the early career award. In addition to the award for extension and outreach, three other individuals are recognized each year for academic instruction, commercial and professional consulting and research and innovation, all within the field of horticulture. Nominees are only considered for seven years after completion of their final academic degrees.

McWhirt joined the Division of Agriculture in 2016 as an assistant professor and extension specialist, shortly after completing her Ph.D. in crop science and agroecology at North Carolina State University. In addition to her outreach and education efforts across Arkansas, she conducts fruit and vegetable research at the Division of Agriculture’s Fruit Research Station in Clarksville, the Vegetable Research Station in Kibler and elsewhere.

“I was aware that I’d been nominated, but it wasn’t really on my radar,” McWhirt said. “Of course, it’s always nice to be recognized by your peers.”

McWhirt was nominated by Wayne Mackay, chair of the Division of Agriculture’s Horticulture Department. In his nominating letter to ASHS, Mackay described McWhirt’s work with the Cooperative Extension Service as “extremely impactful,” detailing her efforts in creating more than 22 webinars and 75 online videos that have been viewed more than 100,000 times. She has also trained “hundreds of agents and thousands of growers” in strawberry, blueberry and blackberry production.

“Dr. McWhirt is active in traditional written and in-person extension activities,” Mackay wrote. “Since 2016, she has authored or co-authored 23 extension publications, given more than 120 extension talks, and developed over 30 in-person workshops that have impacted more than 3,000 growers on a state, regional and national level. She is also the state coordinator for the Arkansas SARE Program.”

SARE stands for Sustainable Agriculture Research Education.

“Dr. Amanda McWhirt truly embodies the best of ASHS and deserves recognition for her excellence and outstanding contributions to extension and outreach in horticulture,” Mackay said.

McWhirt will receive the award at the ASHS national meeting in August. The meeting will be held in Orlando, Florida.

To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu/. Follow on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @AgInArk.

Overnight freezing poses potential damage to Arkansas fruit

By Ryan McGeeney
U of A System Division of Agriculture

LITTLE ROCK — With the official start to spring less than a week away, winter is throwing one last curveball at fruit growers in Arkansas and the surrounding region.

COVER UP! — Crop covers like those seen here can help protect horticulture crops such as strawberries, blackberries and blueberries during cold weather. (Division of Agriculture photo.)

Below-freezing temperatures throughout much of the state made an appearance Monday night and Tuesday morning, with more cold weather on the way, particularly in the northwestern corner of the state.

The National Weather Service on Wednesday forecast temperatures in the 20s for Washington County beginning Thursday night, with an overnight low of 22 degrees Fahrenheit on Sunday. The plummeting temperatures are part of a major storm front expected to enter the state Thursday.

While below-freezing temperatures are never particularly welcome for many Arkansans, the timing is particularly worrisome for growers of strawberries, blackberries and blueberries. Amanda McWhirt, extension fruit horticulture specialist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, said that blooms are currently visible on many strawberries.

“Strawberry blooms can be damaged at around 29 or 30 degrees, but a lot of growers use row covers, so that gives them a few extra degrees of protection when temperatures dip below that mark,” McWhirt said. “But the other thing that’s happening is that there are blooms on blueberries in some places, and blackberries have broken bud,” making the plants especially vulnerable to freeze damage when temperatures get into the low 20s.

About 200-300 acres each of strawberries, blackberries and blueberries are grown in Arkansas annually, McWhirt said. While the extent of damage caused by Monday night’s freeze is largely unknown at this point, growers need to take steps to protect their crops throughout the expected winter storm, she said.

“Producers can use row covers on certain crops,” she said. “In blackberries, they can use covers if they’re using the cross-arm rotating trellises. I’m recommending people put on their row covers now, especially as we’re likely to have rainfall, so growers need to get those on before it starts raining.”

As much as 2 inches of rain is expected in central and southern Arkansas on Thursday, potentially triggering flash flooding in several areas, according to the National Weather Service. Additionally, the likelihood of severe winds of 58 miles per hour or more is projected as high as 44 percent in southwestern Arkansas, with the probability of severe hail reaching 29 percent for the state’s westernmost tier of counties, from Sebastian to Miller County.

McWhirt, who co-authors the Arkansas Fruit, Vegetable & Nut Update Blog with several other Division of Agriculture horticulture specialists, said the key to protecting budding or blossoming fruits from cold weather damage is to know the thresholds of a given plant at a given stage and protect them when temperatures are expected to dip (or plunge) below those respective points. The Division of Agriculture offers many online resources for growers, including a chart of critical temperatures for several popular Arkansas fruit crops.

“In some areas, especially the northwest corner of the state, growers may want to consider double-covering — put two row covers on instead of just one,” McWhirt said.

To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu/. Follow on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @AgInArk.