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Rainy weather impacting watermelon crop in Central Georgia

With all the recent rain, watermelon farmers are coping with the sporadic showers ruining their crops.

Joshua Grant with the University of Georgia’s agricultural extension office in Crisp County watches over their watermelon crops. He says they appear to be growing slower than they should be.

Due to the rain, farmers are having to deal with their crops being surrounded by standing water. They’re also having problems getting out into the fields to spray pesticides, deal with the weeds, and plant new crops.

The rain is taking away time in the field for farmers who need to fight possible diseases like gummy stem blight and downy mildew.

He says you won't notice any difference in the grocery stores, except maybe an increase in price, but that's just a prediction.

“With the tropical storm coming this weekend, we could see 6-8 more inches in some areas depending if the storm stalls or not,” said Grant.

While the sun is breaking through the clouds, Grant says the farmers he works with are back in their fields, trying to get work done before more rain.

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