Tuesday, May 21, 2013

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The drought's influence on vegetables
Posted: 08.13.2012 at 7:05 PM
Vanessa Alonso

Vanessa Alonso is a meteorologist and news reporter with KTVO.

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KIRKSVILLE, MO -- With the drought conditions all summer long, many people have been concerned about which vegetables would survive in these very hot and dry conditions.

According to the University of Missouri's Adair County Extension, many of the vegetable crops that have been affected include green beans, carrots, cabbage, sweet corn, potatoes, broccoli and cauliflower since they are cool-season crops that need water constantly.

Okra crops should usually be 4-6 feet tall and have only grown up to 2-3 feet due to lack of moisture.

Raised beds were wonderful to grow crops in the past 4 years because of the very wet weather, but not this year since they tend to dry out quickly due lack of water.

Even though the lack of rain has prevented the spread of crop diseases, it has led to more cases of Blossom-end Rot Disorder.

"Blossom-end Rot can occur on both tomatoes and peppers, those are the two main crops that it is worse on. That is actually a calcium deficiency. Calcium is in the soil, but it must be taken up through the water. If the plant is not getting enough water. The cells on the bottom end collapse because they are not getting enough calcium," said University of Missouri Extension Horticulture Specialist Jennifer Schutter.

Despite the severity of the drought tomatoes, cucumbers and zucchini crops have been thriving.

Fruits such as apples, pears and peaches have been growing and thriving as well.

Berries, such as blackberries, have shriveled up due to the dry conditions.

The main key to prevent the lost of your crops is to just simply water them.

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