Hurricane Floyd could strike a major blow to Georgia crops.
The 140-mph-plus
sustained winds in Floyd could cause more damage than even
hurricane-related
water damage, say University of Georgia scientists.

Pecan crop in
particular danger

Georgia’s pecan crop is in particular danger. “The trees are
really loaded with green nuts right
now,” said Tom Crocker, an Extension Service horticulturist with
the UGA College of
Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. “Wind from Floyd could
easily break the already
stressed branches right off the tree.”

Crocker said about 30 percent of Georgia’s pecan orchards are
in the southeast corner of the
state. Experts have estimated the 1999 crop at 100 million
pounds, and economists say prices are
likely to be strong, too, with low carry-in stocks.

But wind damage from Floyd could change all that, Crocker
said. “Unfortunately, we’ll just have
to wait and see.”

Cotton lint
vulnerable to wind

Cotton farmers are in much the same situation. But with
harvest already under
way in many areas, some farmers may have already made their
crop more susceptible
to wind damage.

Extension cotton scientist Glen Harris said some fields have
already been defoliated, so the leaves
aren’t there to provide some protection against the wind. His
advice to cotton growers: “If the
field has been defoliated, try to go ahead and get that cotton
picked. If you haven’t defoliated,
don’t yet.”

Leafy cotton plants can also provide support to each other,
preventing further losses from plants
breaking under the wind, which can make them nearly impossible
to harvest.

A combination of rain and heavy wind could be disastrous for
Georgia cotton
farmers. Rain can weigh down and string out open cotton bolls,
making the crop
more susceptible to strong winds. Once cotton hits the ground,
it’s gone, Harris
said.

Soybeans helped
more than hurt,
but wind damage probable

Soybeans in southeast Georgia are likely to take a hit, too,
said Paul Raymer, a research
agronomist with the CAES. “The crop, overall, will be helped
more than hurt by rain from Floyd,”
he said. “But wind at more than about 40 mph could cause
lodging – the plants to bend and break
– and cause problems at harvest.”

He also noted that fields that have come through the drought
and still look
good are the ones most likely to be hurt by Floyd’s wind and
rain. About 60
percent of the Georgia soybean crop is grown in the area most
likely to be hit
by Floyd.

To dig or not to
dig? That is
the question for peanut farmers

Peanut farmers are facing relatively good news. “Wind is
a ‘non-factor’ for peanuts,” said John
Beasley, an extension peanut agronomist.

That leaves southeast Georgia peanut farmers asking one very
important question: To dig or not
to dig? Beasley offers these rules:

* If the vines are in good shape, leave them in the ground
until the storm passes and fields are
dry.

* If vines are in poor condition and could not stand several
days of wet conditions, dig
immediately. Waiting could cause heavy losses. Once they’re out
of the ground, storm-soaked
vines can dry quickly and be harvested. Waiting can further
weaken vines, resulting in more
peanuts falling off during digging.

“As dry as it’s been, several inches of rain probably won’t
hurt,” Beasley said. “If the system stalls
and brings 10-plus inches of rain, we could have problems later
getting back into fields on a timely
basis.”