US Crop Scientists: Tomato Pollination Failing In US Deep South, FL Too Hot For Summer Snap Beans

[hatrack]

EDIT

What would breadbaskets like the U.S. Midwest, the Central Asian steppes, the north China Plain or Argentine and Brazilian crop lands be like without normal rains or water tables? Those were seen as longer-term issues of climate change.

But scientists now wonder if a more immediate issue is an unusual rise in day-time and, especially, night-time summer temperatures being seen in crop belts around the world. Interviews with crop researchers at American universities paint the same picture: high temperatures have already shrunken output of many crops and vegetables.

"We don't grow tomatoes in the deep South in the summer. Pollination fails," said Ken Boote, a crop scientist with the University of Florida. The same goes for snap beans which can no longer be grown in Florida during the summer, he added.

"As temperatures rise we are going to have trouble maintaining the yields of crops that we already have," said Gerald Nelson, an economist with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) who is leading a global project initially funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to identify new crop varieties adapted to climate change. "When I go around the world, people are much less skeptical, much more concerned about climate change," said David Lobell, a Stanford University agricultural scientist.

EDIT

http://news.yahoo.com/crop-scientists-now-fret-heat-not-just-water-021909743.html

[Tsiyu]

1. The Yankees will have to start growing the tomatoes

All there is to it.

There are more than a few posts on the gardening forum about the lousy tomato production this year in the South.

If it's indicative of a trend, those Yankee gardeners better take up the slack for us...

[Atypical Liberal]

3. Wow! My tomatoes did poorly this year, too.

They are only now just producing and have been since the weather turned cooler. But it was a poor crop this year. I thought it was just me.

[hatrack]

5. Weirdest tomato year ever

We didn't get squat during the summer - a solid month of 100F+ temperatures probably had lots to do with that.

And when did we finally begin to haul in a bumper crop of tomatoes? October.

I've never seen anything like it. Three days to Halloween and we're still bringing them in.

[Autumn]

2. Here in Co my tomato plants were huge, healthy and

beautiful. I was lucky if I got four 3 inch tomatos off of 8 plants. The rest were slightly larger than cherry tomatos. Never had this happen before.

[phantom power]

4. advantage -- Canada!

:woohoo: