Stronger Crops Ahead for Arkansas Growers

New funding aids disease control and berry production studies

The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture has secured new USDA Specialty Crop Block Grants to support research that benefits Arkansas fruit growers. The funding, administered by the Arkansas Department of Agriculture, targets projects that strengthen the state’s strawberry, blackberry, and muscadine grape industries. 

Associate professors Aaron Cato and Amanda McWhirt will lead research addressing Neopestalotiopsis, a newly identified strawberry disease responsible for yield losses of up to 20% across Arkansas. Their study will focus on developing best management practices through integrated pest management techniques such as varietal resistance and effective fungicide rotations. Collaboration with local berry growers in Rudy and Judsonia will help tailor results to real-world needs. 

Ryan Dickson, another associate professor, will explore the feasibility of growing blackberries in annual, soilless systems using primocane varieties. The system promises higher yields and off-season harvests while minimizing soilborne diseases like fusarium. His findings will be shared at upcoming agricultural conferences and field days. 

Renee Threlfall and McWhirt will continue expanding Arkansas’s muscadine grape industry through on-farm evaluations and pest-management trials for 15 new hybrid varieties. Threlfall emphasized the crop’s potential, calling muscadines a “unique treasure of the Southeast.” 

The Arkansas Department of Agriculture awarded six total projects $336,560 in funding, underscoring the growing importance of specialty crops to Arkansas’s rural economy. 

Photo Credit: gettyimages-d-keine