Some livestock, pets and even children occasionally nibble on poisonous plants, presenting a potential pitfall to the animals and youth. Now, a new, free app designed by UF/IFAS researchers and Extension faculty helps you identify toxic plants. Not only is this the first app to identify strictly Florida plants, it’s also the first to distinguish between toxic weeds. “This app …
December 2020 Final Outlook Shows No Strong Trend
According to the UGA Extension Climate and Agriculture blog, the NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center released the latest 30-day climate outlook on Monday. It shows that there is no strong trend towards warmer or colder conditions in December except in southern Florida. Early December will be colder than normal. It is still expected to be warmer than normal in late December. …
Cold Week Good for Florida Strawberries
Cold temperatures this week in Florida were just what the doctor ordered for the state’s strawberry crop – especially since temperatures were not well below freezing. Vance Whitaker, strawberry breeder at the University of Florida Gulf Coast Research and Education Center, said the cold weather Floridians experienced this week should aid in the development of the strawberry plants. “If it …
Freeze Warning Tonight for Parts of Florida
University of Florida/IFAS is warning its vegetable and specialty crop growers of low temperatures expected tonight in some parts of the state. In an email sent by Gary England, UF/IFAS Extension Agent IV Emeritus, he reminds growers that the National Weather Service has issued free warnings for all north Florida locations west of the St. Johns River tonight. The warning …
White Strawberry One of Two New UF/IFAS Varieties Ready for Harvest Season
December 1, 2020 By: Brad Buck, 813-757-2224, bradbuck@ufl.edu, 352-875-2641 (cell) BALM, Fla. — A white strawberry? Not red? Yes, you “read” that right. And it smells a little like a pineapple. It’s also novel in that it’s the first white strawberry to go to market in the United States. Just in time for the west-central Florida strawberry harvesting season, which …
Neopestalotiopsis Disease Confirmed on Georgia Strawberry Plants
Georgia strawberry producers need to be wary of Neopestalotiopsis; a disease that has already devastated Florida production and could have wide-ranging impact on Georgia’s crop if farmers are not proactive. Phil Brannen, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Fruit Disease Specialist, cautions farmers that while the disease has been found in just one Georgia location and only as leaf spotting, there …
New H-2A Wage Rule a Win for Farmers
Vegetable and specialty crop producers who utilize the H-2A program will not have to stress over wage increases for the 2021 and 2022 growing seasons. This is incredibly helpful for farmers in Georgia and Florida – avid users of the program – who will navigate a growing season amid rising expense costs, another potential COVID-19 shutdown and trade that is …
Uncertainties for 2021 Growing Season
While 2020 is nearly in the books, farmers are looking ahead to 2021 with the same outlook of uncertainty they had this year following the coronavirus outbreak in March. There’s uncertainty regarding COVID-19 and a risk of not knowing if there will be another nationwide shutdown that could lead to more market disruptions like the ones that impacted Florida farmer …
University of Florida Citrus Faculty Highly Sought After As Research Partners in Fight Against Greening
(UF/IFAS) — University of Florida citrus researchers continue to be sought out as partners in ground-breaking research projects to fight Huanglongbing, also known as citrus greening disease. The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), recently awarded nearly $4.5 million in grants to UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences faculty to find novel ways to fight the disease. But UF/IFAS researchers are serving leadership roles in four other multi-million-dollar grants awarded to colleague institutions from …
UF Still Calculating Damages Following Eta
The University of Florida Food and Resource Economics Department estimates between $85 million and $320 million in agricultural losses and damages stemming from Tropical Storm Eta. Christa Court, assistant professor of regional economics, said the storm’s timing was significant since it impacted Florida’s vegetable crops two weeks before Thanksgiving. “I know that we grow a lot of the vegetables and …