Modern agriculture varies drastically depending upon particular regions and climates. In Israel, the foliar industry has grown tremendously as the country experiments with new and innovative ways of farming to increase yields and boost features like sweetness, fruit and vegetable size, and overall productivity. As a highly developed industry, farming in Israel has thrived in spite of the facts that the country is not naturally favorable to agriculture given its geography. Since over half of the region is desert, Israel suffers from climate restraints and a lack of water that give the land its unfavorable farming conditions. However, agriculture in Israel today represents 3.6 percent of the country’s exports as well as 2.5 percent of its total GDP.

In fact, Israel is able to produce 95 percent of its own food requirements where crops range drastically due to the diversity of the land. From avocados to guavas in the Mediterranean coastal plain to cucumbers, tomatoes, zucchini, and peppers grown throughout the country’s land, Israel boasts an amazing abundance of fruits and vegetables. In the current winter months, Israel is able to grow excellent melons in its valleys. While in the northern hills, Israel is able to produce an abundance of cherries, apples, and pears. As one of the leaders of fresh citrus exporters and producers worldwide, Israel is known for its grapefruit, oranges, tangerines, and most notably, a hybrid of a pomelo and grapefruit know as the pomelit.

There are more than 40 different types of fruits grown in Israel. The following are some of the standout fruits:

• Cherries
• Nectarines
• Plums
• Dates
• Persimmon
• Avocados
• Prickly Pears
• Bananas
• Pomegranates
• Loquat

Israel happens to be the second leading producer of loquats in the world, as Japan is the only country which produces more. Due to their ability to innovate agriculturally, Israel has continued to improve crop quality and increase crop yields for many years.

It’s time to prepare the gardening world for 2014. Each year, foliar industry experts take to the internet to share their projections of the trends for the coming year. Garden Media has provided us with a list of 12 trends in their 2014 Garden Trends Report. An overall sentiment seems to surround the fact that homeowners have had a bit of a change in heart of the last year that will continue into 2014. In years past it seemed as though the average homeowner focused on the home’s interior, decorating their living rooms and dining rooms to impress. Today and into the future, however, homeowners will shift their efforts from inside of the home to the outdoors. As such, gardens are projected to grow tremendously in 2014.

Let’s take a look at the 12 trends as anticipated by Garden Media:

1. Recycling is changing, now people will recycle food scraps to create compost
2. People will continue to grow their own food at rapid rates to stay healthy and fit
3. Fruits are expected to grow in abundance as people use fresh raspberries and blueberries in the cocktails and smoothies that they make at home
4. Garden furniture and accessory sales will skyrocket as people place more value on their home’s exterior
5. Bees will be buzzing as consumers plant pollen rich flowers, vegetables, and trees
6. People are going local to grow on their own what is native to their region
7. Simplicity will emerge as people stick to one color flower to bring a touch of elegance to their gardens
8. Garden designs will continue to get more and more creative as people move away from the style of clean lines
9. Young men are beginning to take interest in their gardens and spending in this demographic is expected to increase
10. More gardens are arising in hospitals, schools, and offices as they have been proven to increase mental capacity and productiveness
11. As with most sectors of the economy, the gardening industry will benefit from technology, particularly mobile apps for gardens
12. All Americans will be encouraged to plant trees as we continue to battle the loss of trees throughout the nation

On behalf of Growers Trust, have a happy, healthy, and fruitful New Year!

Powdery mildew of soybeans has become more of a problem over the last several years in harvests throughout the world. Caused by the fungus Micropaera diffusa, powdery mildew in soybeans can wreck serious havoc amongst these precious crops. Powdery mildew thrives most readily in cool temperatures paired with low humidity. As such, this is the time of year that growers must be extra careful about, especially in regards to their soybean crops. Late-planted soybeans are the most vulnerable to powdery mildew infestations as the timing of cooler weather late into the grow season alters soybean yields. Due to the fact that powdery mildew epidemics occur every few years, growers are warned that another invasion could be coming at any time this winter season.

Identifying powdery mildew infestations on your soybean crops early is essential to being able to eradicate the issue before the entire harvest is lost. Look for powdery mildew to be present on stems, cotyledons, pods, and most notably on the upper surface of leaves. Unfortunately, symptoms of powdery mildew are far less noticeable compared to the signs of the pathogen. Be aware of the following symptoms of powdery mildew on your soybeans:

• Interveinal necrosis
• Yellow and green islands on the leaves
• Leaf blades crinkle
• Necrotic specks
• Defoliation

It is also important to note that while powdery mildew certainly threatens your soybean crops, the disease is often paired with additional pathogens. As such, it may be difficult to determine just how much powdery mildew was involved in the damage compared to other pathogens. When compared to untreated crops, soybeans yield losses when treated with an organic fertilizer faired far better than those who were untreated. Using a powdery mildew killer, growers are encouraged to regularly apply organic fertilizer to their soybeans in order to prevent the onset of a powdery mildew invasion.

Cool weather is among us and while this means hot chocolate, warm fires, and sweaters, it can also mean trouble for your precious harvest. Cool weather spider mites are in full force right now and for those landscapers, gardeners, winery owners, and organic growers, we suggest you start paying attention. In addition, those cannabis growers must understand that spider mites, when left unattended, have the ability to completely destroy your crops. For marijuana growers, this means lost profits and a lot of extra work to do. The most successful way to circumvent a spider mite invasion is to recognize the onset of an attack before it begins.

Many growers stay true to a false conception that spider mite infestations are easily detectable. Surely you have heard things such as “use a magnifying glass” or “just search for webbing on your plant leaves”. While these are certainly indicators of a spider mite attack, they are not the only cases where spider mites are present. In some cases, growers simply cannot see the problem and this can lead to intense infestations where spider mites completely destroy your harvests. The problem is that most growers wait until they can see the infestation, indicating they have waited too long. In these cases, the leaves may appear “burned”. At this point in time there are probably millions of spider mites running around your crops.

The most important signs to note early to stop a spider mite invasion include:

1. Slowed growth
2. Plant stress
3. Damaged leaves

The damaged leaves will at first only affect a couple of leaves. This is the time that action must be taken in order to prevent the loss of harvest. Spider mites lay eggs within a week upon entrance into your crops and will produce about 10 to 20 eggs per day. In addition, a spider mite duplicates itself 10 times a day, rapidly growing into massive populations. At this rate, it is clear why infestations arise so quickly. Therefore, it is ideal to treat a spider mite attack immediately. Using a spider mite killer that attacks the eggs is optimal. In doing so, the spider mites will die off and new eggs will be prevented from hatching.

As the buzz surrounding organic foods wears off people of all opinions come out of the woodwork to voice their advocacy and concern regarding consumption of organic fruits and vegetables. While the complaints and objections run rampant, the most common of them is by and far a cost issue. However, what if we were to say the benefits of consuming organic fruits and vegetables outweigh the costs…by tenfold? Even worse, what if we were to say that the government played a role in boosting the costs of organic food items? The bottom line is that when it comes to purchasing foods, spending that extra dollar may be well worth your while, maybe even more than you think.

Let’s take a quick look at the top 10 reasons why organic food is worth the price:

1. Chemicals have been proven to be terrible for your health. Organic foods will keep your body healthy, strong, and ready to fight off the most common illnesses faced in the United States today.
2. Absolutely no government subsidies or handouts are given to organic farmers. This means that the price goes up because your tax dollars are funding the cheap, unhealthy food consumed daily.
3. Purchasing organic foods supports farm families and businesses across the country. This just makes the world a happier, better place to live in.
4. Buying organic makes you an environmentalist without even knowing it. Forget the charities and donations, simply eat organic and play your role in helping the environment.
5. Every day you can look in the mirror and know that you are playing a role in making the world a safer, healthier environment, which is a charitable donation in itself.
6. Preventing floods and droughts is aided by organic food purchases, seriously. Organically grown plants sit in organic soil that is much more absorbent than its chemical counterpart.
7. Organic foods help to keep the fossil fuel emissions at bay, giving you the opportunity to help prevent climate change.
8. As an entire population, those who eat organically are truly leaving the world a better place than it once was, now that is powerful.
9. This may be a stretch, but from a karma-standpoint, there is simply no comparison to organic food. You are giving back to farm families, reducing your carbon footprint, and making the world a better place.
10. Finally, organic food just tastes better! This may be the easiest part of convincing in the entire list. Feed your taste buds what they crave: delicious, fresh, and environmentally-friendly organic grub.

Simple, right? It’s time to go organic today!

Powdery mildew infestations are common to all sorts of plant species. With the ability to completely destroy a harvest, powdery mildew is a disease that must be taken very seriously as it becomes costly for any farmer looking to make a profit. Pumpkins, however, are especially vulnerable to powdery mildew infestations. When left untreated, powdery mildew on pumpkins may result in over 30 percent reduction of yields, leaving growers frustrated. When the weather conditions are dry the powdery mildew may start to grow and in humid conditions the infestation will spread rapidly.

Pumpkin plants are an important part of fall. When October rolls around, people from all across the country flock to pumpkin patches in order to pick out the prettiest pumpkins to carve at their homes. In addition, many fall recipes call for pumpkin and growers want to ensure that they capitalize on the many pumpkin purchases during the month of October. Therefore, the ability to recognize powdery mildew infestations early on is imperative to maintaining a healthy harvest and preventing costly losses. Even better, however, is the ability for growers to prevent powdery mildew attacks from occurring all together.

The following are some of the most common signs of a powdery mildew infestation on your pumpkin harvest:

• White, powdery spots (blotches) on the upper and lower leaf surfaces
• Entire plant is covered with the white and dusty spores from the fungus
• Leaves eventually turn to a yellowish or brownish color and die
• Pumpkin may become deformed
• Pumpkin develops sunscald caused by the lack of coverage from leaves

Controlling and preventing powdery mildew attacks is the key to keeping your pumpkin harvest healthy and thriving. Using an organic powdery mildew killer is the most safe and effective method. However, it is vital that the fungicide bottle reads a few critical elements. Be sure to check that the fungicide is non-toxic, safe for the environment, and made of all natural plant extracts. Click here to learn more about powdery mildew killer.

Growing cannabis today in a productive, fruitful manner requires a wide variety of essential elements. While the theories behind cultivating a thriving crop of cannabis vary, recent scientific research indicates that organic fertilizers play an instrumental role in supplying the nourishment and nutrition necessary to encourage healthy growth while fighting off harmful elements that prevent a prosperous harvest. Organic farming is no new concept; however, marijuana growers across the world have expressed skepticism regarding organic fertilizers in their growing habits. However, as time goes on more research becomes readily available which proves how important and effective organic farming is for marijuana crops.

The promotion of cycling of resources paired with biodiversity preservation and ecological harmony lays the foundation for organic growing in marijuana plants. In fact, new research supports the fact that marijuana plants fertilized with USDA approved organic fertilizers maintained over 60 percent more important nourishment and nutrition than those that did not use organic product. The standard method of cultivating marijuana has become antiquated and as more growers begin to realize the power of organic fertilizers, these methods will soon become obsolete.

Organic methods, in contrast to many hydroponic and chemical methods, allows for productive, high quality yields of marijuana crop. Many growers speak to the variety of challenges that they face while attempting to grow organically in their indoor environment. In order to battle the many different types of fungus, bacteria, algae, mold, and airborne, water-born, and soil born pests, organic pesticides and fertilizers must be used. Attempting to battle these pests without using fertilizers and pesticides will result in reduced yields and eventually killed harvests.

When looking to purchase organic pesticides and fertilizers for your cannabis crops, be sure to read the label. Far too many growers find themselves thinking that a product is organic when they neglect to read the fine print. In reality, if the label does not say things such as “non-toxic”, “safe for the environment”, “made from all natural plant extracts” or “100% organic” there is a strong likelihood that many elements within the product are not in fact organic. Growing organically is critical to crop yields and overall health of your cannabis harvests.

A threat to both germinating seeds and young seedlings, damping off has the ability to truly destroy plants of all kind. Damping off refers to a number of diseases that may form from soil-inhabitating pathogens, affecting plants in fields to gardens to planter boxes. When seedlings in these regions fail to come up or die quickly after they emerge from the soil there are a number of possible problems underneath the ground. More often than not the seeds rotted prior to germination, there were attacks at the soil line near the stems of seedlings, or the shoots were decayed prior to emerging. Growers who are able to control and prevent damping off will find that their crops are flourishing through each season.

Recognizing the symptoms associated with damping off is a critical step in maintaining a healthy, prosperous harvest. Plants that fail to emerge are often affected by damping off. When a set of seeds are attacked with pathogens prior to germination, they will eventually become soft, turn a dark brownish color, and then decay. Seeds that are attacked following emergence will cause the plant to die, often recognized by a decayed soil line near the stem tissue. In cases where damping off has attacked the roots, the plant will remain upright yet stunted. After time, these decayed roots will eventually cause the plant to wilt and then die.

Damping off pathogens live off of dead organic matter, producing spores that are able to survive over long period of time. These pathogens are present in virtually every type of soil. The seedlings are most vulnerable to damping off attacks as young tissue when they are barely resistant to infection as plants grow slowly in wet, cold soil. On the contrary, seedlings that are growing vigorously are quite resistant to infection and are thus more equipped to withstand the effects of damping off.

Good sanitation is typically the most successful way to control damping off. Using environmental and cultural controls paired with high quality planting material will give crops the best shot of avoiding the damaging effects of damping off. Carefully monitoring each harvest is imperative to protecting crops from the dangers of damping off.