In the December issue, VSCNews magazine is ending the year with new ideas for growers in the deep Southeast. Broccoli is a staple vegetable in grocery stores across the county, but most of the crop is produced on the West Coast. Researchers involved in the Eastern Broccoli Project are working to change that. From Maine to Florida, vegetable specialists are …
Sneak Peek: November VSCNews Magazine
The November issue of VSCNews magazine is all about water management issues. Andrea Albertin and Mark Lusk, both with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS), discuss plans in the works to improve Florida’s water quality. The authors look at Florida’s current water issues, how septic tanks may be a part of the problem and ways …
PACA Can Help Protect Your Company
By Travis Hubbs Since its foundation in 1930, the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA) has been promoting fair trade practices in the fresh and frozen fruit and vegetable industry. In enforcing a code of fair business practices, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) resolved approximately 3,400 PACA claims involving more than $58 million in the past three years alone. PACA …
Blueberry Grower Considerations for Fall and Winter
By Jeff Williamson As winter approaches, blueberry plants respond to the changing environment in ways that should be addressed through management practices. Shorter days and cooler nights are environmental cues that stimulate changes in blueberry plant growth and development, such as terminal bud set and the cessation of shoot extension growth, the initiation and development of flower buds, the onset …
Strawberry Advisory System Helps Growers Cut Costs
Protecting crops from pathogens is always top-of-mind for growers, but crop protection products can quickly burn a big hole in a grower’s wallet. A researcher-developed strawberry advisory system aims to keep that from happening, while still ensuring the crop gets the care it needs. According to Adrian Zuniga, a doctoral student in Natalia Peres’ lab at the University of Florida, …
A Fresh, New Look at Florida Ag Expo
By Ashley Robinson More than a decade ago, growers Tony DiMare and Jay Taylor attended a fruit and vegetable tour and expo in Mexico. They realized Florida needed a similar type of event. As members of the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Gulf Coast Research and Education Center (GCREC) Advisory Council, both growers worked with …
The Basics of Breeding Horticultural Crops
By Doug Phillips and Patricio Munoz Plant breeding has been described as the art and science of the genetic improvement of plants. It essentially involves using the heritable genetic variability in plants to develop varieties with certain targeted, desirable traits, such as high yield, disease resistance and superior fruit quality. Breeding of horticultural crops, such as tomatoes and strawberries, may …
Inside the University of Florida Blueberry Breeding Program
By Patricio Munoz and Doug Phillips The University of Florida (UF) blueberry breeding program has a long history of pioneering the development of southern highbush blueberries (SHB) that can thrive in Florida’s hot, humid climate. The breeding program focuses on developing varieties with high yield, good fruit quality and early ripening within a shrinking market window. The success of Florida’s …
Advanced Technologies Speed Up Strawberry Breeding
By Seonghee Lee Strawberry is a genetically complex fruit crop. The use of conventional breeding approaches to combine many important characteristics in a single variety is difficult and takes a long time. These characteristics can include disease resistance, fruit quality attributes such as sugar content or aroma, or any other trait that naturally occurs in cultivated strawberry. Traditionally, University of …
Can a Lower Rate of Hydrogen Cyanamide Be Used in Peaches?
By Tripti Vashisth and Bikash Adhikari The Florida peach industry has an advantage of producing fruit in the early-market window before Georgia and South Carolina fruit hits the market. CHILL HOUR ACCUMULATIONMild winters and fluctuating temperatures in fall continue to be some of the biggest challenges for peach production in Florida. Peach trees are deciduous; therefore, they need a certain …