YOU WANT HOME GROWN CARROTS...

At 48 days to maturity, Mokum is a tasty, early season treat for the home grower. You probably won't see it at your grocer as it is best eaten fresh and fragile tops mean it must be hand harvested, unlike machine harvested commercial production carrots which are bred for longer storage.

According to the UGA Crop Profile for Carrots in Georgia, "nearly all commercial growers apply dichloropropene before planting, an herbicide at planting, and herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides during the season... Most growers have tractors with an enclosed cab," to protect themselves from chemical exposure during commercial carrot growing.

"A typical carrot operation would apply pesticide to their carrot fields up to 15 times per season. Nearly all growers use insecticides at planting to manage soil pests. Growers regularly apply foliar insecticide
to control pests.

Insecticides. Nearly all commercial carrots are treated with insecticides.
● Diazinon. Nearly all growers apply diazinon (3-4 lb a.i./acre) at planting.
● Foliar insecticides. About 20% of the carrot acreage is treated with one application of a pyrethroid (e.g. cyfluthrin (0.025 0.044 lb a.i./acre) or endosulfan (0.5-1.0 lb a.i./acre). The exact pesticide will depend on the foliar pests involved and the relative prices of the products.

Carrot growers typically apply herbicides at planting and during the season to control weeds.
Herbicides.
● Trifluralin. Growers typically apply trifluralin (0.5-0.75 lb a.i./acre) at planting.
● Linuron. Growers typically apply three applications of linuron (0.5-1.5 lb a.i./acre), one at
planting and 1-2 more during the season.

Growers commonly use fungicide at planting and may apply a nematicide.

Fungicides. Fungicides are critical for carrot production in Georgia. Growers typically apply fungicides
on a 7-14 day schedule, depending on disease pressure and weather conditions favoring disease
outbreaks. A typical spray schedule would include 9-13 applications.
● Chlorothalonil: very important for management of diseases and for preventing/delaying disease
resistance to other products. Nearly all growers use chlorothalonil in their fungicide rotation.
Chlorothalonil (1.0-1.5 lb a.i./acre) is typically applied 6-9 times per season.
● Azoxystrobin: commonly used in rotation with chlorothalonil. Azoxystrobin (0.15-0.3 lb a.i./
acre) is typically applied 2-3 times per season.
● Iprodione: commonly used in rotation with chlorothalonil. Iprodione (0.5-1.0 lb a.i./acre) is
typically applied 2-3 times per season.
● Dichloropropene: nearly all commercial acreage is treated with dichloropropene (2.6-21.2 oz
formulated material/100 ft row)."

Reply to this comment