By Frank Giles The annual Florida Ag Expo, which is held in early November at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Gulf Coast Research and Education Center (GCREC), took a break this year to make way for the recognition of two milestones — the center’s centennial celebration and groundbreaking for the Center for Applied Artificial …
UF Tomato Breeder Discuss New Role at GCREC
Jessica Chitwood-Brown is the new tomato breeder at the University of Florida Gulf Coast Research and Education Center (GCREC). Chitwood-Brown coordinates the lab where she earned Ph.D. and conducted her post-doctoral research, in the northern end of Florida tomato country. She’s taken the position of her doctoral adviser, Sam Hutton, at the GCREC. “I really admire Sam, so I have a …
Center for Applied Artificial Intelligence in Agriculture Coming to GCREC
To protect crop yields and the environment, the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) is increasingly leveraging powerful tools such as technology driven by artificial intelligence (AI). In an effort to expedite such development, UF/IFAS will build a 19,000-square-foot AI hub at the Gulf Coast Research and Education Center (GCREC) in Balm, about 25 miles southeast of Tampa. …
Artificial Intelligence to Improve Plant Breeding at UF GCREC
BALM, Fla. — Kevin Wang trained as an engineer and gave little thought to agriculture. But then, life took a few turns. When Wang joined the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers robotics competition, he gradually realized how much of a difference an engineer could make in agriculture. “It is much harder than I thought it would be to …
UF/IFAS GCREC Welcomes Tomlin Middle School STEM Students
Faculty, staff and students at University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Gulf Coast Research and Education Center (GCREC) welcomed 65 seventh graders Tuesday from Tomlin Middle School in Plant City on Tuesday. The annual tour provides the students exposure to labs, greenhouses, fields and up-close demonstrations of techniques and research at the center. The morning began with …
A Look Inside the GCREC
Faculty members at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Gulf Coast Research and Education Center (GCREC) pride themselves on providing cutting-edge research for Florida’s agriculture industries. Located in Wimauma, the 475-acre facility sits in the heart of Hillsborough County. The center features large fields of research plots, laboratories, educational programs and space for student living. …
Florida Tomato Field Day Scheduled for May 26
By Clint Thompson Florida tomato farmers and industry leaders should mark their calendars for this month’s Tomato Field Day, scheduled for Tuesday, May 26, at the Gulf Coast Research and Education Center (GCREC) in Wimauma, Florida. Multiple University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) scientists will present research pertinent to the tomato industry. Tomato breeder Jessica Chitwood-Brown …
$130 Million Drain: UF/IFAS Researcher Looks to Genetics to Rein in Wasteful Strawberry Runners
Strawberry growers pour roughly $130 million a year, nationally, into a surprisingly stubborn problem: a part of the plant that sabotages fruit production. These fast-growing offshoots – called “runners” – stretch out from the mother plant, siphoning energy that would otherwise go into plump, market-ready berries. University of Florida doctoral student Kaitlyn Vondracek wants to help farmers solve this costly …
Field to Fork: UF/IFAS Scientists Uncover Artichoke’s Health Power
Are you craving a nutrient-packed bite to eat? The artichoke might just be your new super-snack, a University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) researcher says. “Artichokes are not only a tasty vegetable, but they are also rich in nutrients that are good for our bodies,” said Tie Liu, an associate professor of horticultural sciences at UF/IFAS. …
Cover Crops Cost Effective Way in Reducing Nematodes
By Clint Thompson Cover crops remain a cost effective way of managing nematodes in Florida. That was a message touted by Johan Desaeger, assistant professor of entomology and nematology at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Gulf Coast Research and Education Center, at the recent Florida Citrus Show in Fort Pierce, Florida. Desaeger updated attendees …















