Cooperative Extension Service
College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
The University of Georgia

Volume 4/Number 4

April 2000

George Boyhan, Extension Horticulturist-Vegetables
East Georgia Extension Center
Rosenwald Building, Third Floor
PO Box 8112
Georgia Southern University
Statesboro, GA 30460
912-681-5639 | 912-681-0376, Fax | 912-682-3481, mobile

Vidalia Onion and Vegetable Research Center Field Day

The VOVRC is having a field day on May 2, 2000. The field day will begin at 10 a.m.

The agenda indicates there will be tomato, watermelon and cantaloupe trials underway. These trials will not be in place before the field day, but we will have hondouts on what these experiments will be evaluating.

Please make every effort to come to this field day and please encourage your growers to come as well. Although we will be near the end of the onion harvest, there still will be onions in each of the plots. We should have some preliminary data available as well concerning yield and performance.

Directions to Vidalia Onion & Vegetable Research Center
From Atlanta:
Take I-75 south to I-16 east. Get off at the Swainsboro/Lyons exit (US 1) and head south on US 1 to Lyons. Continue south on US 1 to Hwy 178 south. Take this to Stanley Store and continue on Hwy 147. The farm is located just before the Tattnall County line. It will be on your left, and there is a black-and-brown sign out front. You will pull into the driveway for the house at the location and continue back through the gate to the farm. The house has a large U-shaped hedge in the front yard.
From Athens:
Take Hwy 15 south to Higgston and turn left on Hwy 292 to Lyons. Turn right on Hwy 178, which will turn into Hwy 147. The farm is on the left and has a black-and-brown sign out front. Pull into the driveway for the house and continue through the gate to the farm. The house has a large U-shaped hedge out front. If you've entered Tattnall County, you've gone too far.
Phone Numbers:
George Boyhan 912-681-5639 (office) 912-682-3481 (mobile)
Randy Hill, Farm Superintendent 912-565-7822 (office) 912-282-4453 (mobile)
	Please click on small map at left for larger version of map.

Handling Transplants

Transplants have become an important part of vegetable production. Using transplants rather than direct seeding has many advantages in production, the most important of which is earliness. As much as two to eight weeks can be eliminated from field production with transplants.

Transplants aren't without their problems, however. This season has seen many cantaloupe and watermelon transplants show up with Fruit Blotch, which many believe is spread more readily under greenhouse conditions.

One of the most important aspects of transplant production is hardening-off. Transplants grown under greenhouse conditions will have thin cuticles and an inability to withstand harsh environmental conditions. To overcome this, transplants have to be hardened-off. This process has generally involved either reducing the temperature the transplants are held at or reducing the amount of water applied, or both.

More recently, the use of antitransparents has been proposed as a method of reducing transplant shock. Recent work with Frostgard (Custom Chemicals) has shown that these compounds can be stressful in and of themselves. Work done at UC-Davis has shown that Frostgard increases the production of both CO₂ and ethylene in pepper transplants. The plants can be adversely affected by the use of Frostgard, particularly if the plants are held in the dark and at higher temperatures (above 68 degrees F). If these antitransparents are used, take care that the temperature is kept between 50-68 degrees F; plants should not be stored for more than two days in the dark; and air flow around the plants will help reduce the buildup of ethylene that can cause leaf yellowing and leaf drop.

From My Desk

I would like to re-emphasize our field day at the Vidalia Farm on May 2. Again, please make every effort to get the word out; it should be an informative event. The transplant story was based on an article in the April 2000 Vegetable Grower, "View from the West," by Marita Cantwell, UC-Davis Cooperative Extension Specialist. See you on May 2.