Watermelons, blueberries devastated by summer rain
RAYMOND, Miss. (MSU PRESS RELEASE) – Sources from an MSU press release say that, while some areas of Mississippi are still experiencing drought, recent double-digit rainfall in southern portions of the state devastated fruit and vegetable crops.
Watermelons and blueberries are primarily grown in the southern half of the state, and growers there have seen high yield losses.
“Some watermelon growers say they lost as much as 90% of their crop,” said Heath Steede, Mississippi State University Extension Service agent in George County. “Others say their losses fall somewhere between 60% and 90%.”
Both Steede and Eric Stafne, Extension fruit and nut specialist based in Poplarville at the South Mississippi Branch Experiment Station, said they have received at least 30 inches of rain during mid-May to mid-June. Some areas have gotten even more.
Farmers are losing even the remaining percentage of melons that were harvested.
“They get the melons harvested and in the back of the truck, and they go out there and see the fruit leaking out of the back of the truck,” Steede said. “It’s not worth it to try and send the loads they do get. They’d have to pay for shipping both ways if the fruit got to the store and the buyers wouldn’t accept them because they’ve started to burst and leak.”
Vegetable crops in the area were also affected.
Steede said while the vegetables may look good while on the vine, once harvested, they also begin to break down.
“I was in a field the other day and the bell peppers looked really good. But once you harvest them, they start to get black spots on them,” he said.
Blueberry growers were dealt a triple whammy of adverse weather this season, leading to high yield losses.
“During the harvest period, we have had 30 inches of rain, and some areas had more than that,” Steede said. “Some growers have lost their entire crop or most of it.
“This year has been extremely bad for blueberries. We had two unusually cold events in January and February. Then, we had a late freeze in March and now excessive rainfall.”
Such high amounts of rain cause berries to become very soft, burst or fall to the ground. On top of that, disease risk increases.
“I’m not sure of the status of all growers in the area,” Stafne said. “I know some are harvesting, but it may be for processing only at this point. Others have used insurance because of the losses.”
Stafne said statewide losses are hard to assess because some areas may not have gotten as much rain, but he knows some growers in south Mississippi lost at least 50% of their crop.
Row crops, on the other hand, are faring much better.
Steede said in his area, row crops are doing well.
“The rain caused growers not to be able to get in there and spray for weeds and insects, but it’s drying out,” he said. “They should be able to get in there now.”
Overall, the rain has not had a negative effect on soybeans, cotton or rice.
Justin Calhoun, Extension soybean specialist, said he has had no reports of widespread flooding damage.
“I have heard a few reports of some loss in the central part of the state where it seems growers there caught every rain that came into Mississippi,” he said. “But there is nothing that I am aware of that is incredibly widespread. It all seems to be isolated to river valleys.
“Fortunately, our soybeans in the state are really early and far enough along in their growth cycle where they aren’t as prone to flooding as they are in earlier stages,” Calhoun said.
Insect and weed management have been the main challenges for cotton producers because of frequent rains, said Brian Pieralisi, Extension cotton specialist.
“Most of the cotton is squaring, and some of the earlier cotton is starting to bloom,” said Pieralisi. “Once cotton starts fruiting, it is important to accumulate heat units, or DD-60s, daily to help mitigate stress and limit fruit shed.”
Degree Days 60, or DD-60s, is the measurement used to calculate the daily heat accumulation required for plant growth and development.
Pieralisi noted that cotton has an indeterminate growth habit that allows it to compensate for variability in its growing environment.
“There is still a lot of time left in the 2026 crop that will determine yield potential. If July turns out cloudy and wet like June, we may have some problems,” he said.
Rice is also on target after producers used irrigation earlier this year to flush, or run water into their fields, to help rice germinate and emerge.
“Once the rice emerged, things progressed smoothly,” said Will Eubank, Extension rice specialist. “Producers were able to make timely fertilizer and herbicide applications before flood.
“Because our rice acres have reliable access to irrigation once we establish the flood, most fields have not been affected by ongoing drought conditions.”
