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Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Florida”
By Clint Thompson Paper mulch is a management option that watermelon producers could be using in the near future. While plastic mulch has long been utilized in vegetable production, paper mulch provides growers a more efficient and effective product to use during the season. Bob Hochmuth, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Regional Specialized Extension agent …
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Rick Scott sent a letter to Department of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo last week reiterating his request for the immediate termination of a 2019 suspension agreement. Mexico’s tomato imports continue to flood the domestic market. The practice, also known as dumping, hurts local farmers and has forced some to close the farming operations, according to Scott. …
By Clint Thompson Florida strawberry growers are still feeling the impact of inclement weather last weekend. Dustin Grooms with Fancy Farms in Plant City, Florida, confirmed on Wednesday that he is processing strawberries this week that were damaged by rainfall. The damage was restricted to one variety, but that still involves a lot of acreage. “Going back and checking the …
By Clint Thompson An exciting but anxious season awaits watermelon farmers in the Suwanee Valley region of North Florida. That is the mindset shared by one industry expert who is concerned about what a potential increase in acres will mean for the market in the spring. Bob Hochmuth, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Regional Specialized …
If you have eaten at various Caribbean, Central or South American restaurants, you might be familiar with a specialty pumpkin called the calabaza. It is the center of the plate for a team of University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) researchers hoping the gourd is ripe for a new industry in the Southeast. With two years …
By Clint Thompson Wet weather in recent weeks has challenged strawberry production in South Florida. One grower is forced to throw away a substantial amount of one variety because of rain damage. “We’re picking (Monday). We’re definitely a little bit wetter,” said Dustin Grooms with Fancy Farms in Plant City, Florida. “We took a lot of rain damage. Going around …
By Clint Thompson Research is at the heart of crop sustainability in Florida’s watermelon industry. If producers are to continue thrive with production, they require research assistance with focuses on pest and disease management. The Florida Watermelon Association (FWA) highlighted some of those key points during the Suwanee Valley Watermelon Institute meeting on Nov. 30 in Fanning Springs, Florida. Laura …
By Clint Thompson Specialty crop producers should be wary that the number of chlorothalonil spray applications could soon be reduced by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Nick Dufalt, a plant pathologist with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS), discussed the issue at the recent Suwanee Valley Watermelon Institute meeting in Fanning Springs, Florida, on Nov. …
By Clint Thompson Sustainability in the tomato industry likely will rely on automation. It only makes sense for tomato breeding research at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) to focus on developing varieties that can be harvested mechanically. Edgar Sierra, a post-doctoral researcher at the UF/IFAS Gulf Coast Research and Education Center, discussed tomato breeding …
By Frank Giles Estimates vary, but plant-parasitic nematodes take a huge bite out of global agricultural production and profits each year. An often-cited figure is that the many species of the pest cause about $125 billion worth of crop losses each year. That equates to roughly 5% of crop yield losses globally. There are about 20,000 described species of nematodes, …
