By Yiannis Ampatzidis Traditional broadcast sprayers usually treat the entire field to control pest populations, potentially resulting in unnecessary application to areas that do not require treatment. These sprayers apply agrochemicals uniformly, even though distribution of weeds is typically patchy. This results in wastage of valuable compounds, increased costs, crop damage risk, pest resistance to chemicals, environmental pollution and contamination …
Speaker Spotlight: Nick Dufault
By Ashley Robinson Florida watermelon growers continue to struggle with fusarium wilt. Nick Dufault, plant pathologist with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS), will be discussing this disease during his seminar presentation at the Vegetable & Specialty Crop Expo. Fusarium wilt is a soilborne fungal disease that can affect watermelon plants at any point from …
Vegetable and Specialty Crop Seminars Cover Crucial Issues
By Ashley Robinson Last year, AgNet Media incorporated vegetable and specialty crop (VSC) seminars into the 28-year-old Citrus Expo. The change was met with positive feedback from both growers and industry members. Therefore, AgNet Media decided to expand that side of the program and debut the Vegetable and Specialty Crop Expo (VSC Expo) this year, being held in conjunction with …
Studying Muscadine Grapes for Sparkling Wine
By Karla Arboleda Florida sparkling wine is getting help from the scientists working with the muscadine grapes that are native to the deep Southeast. Andrew MacIntosh, assistant professor in the Food Science and Human Nutrition Department for the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agriculture Sciences (UF/IFAS), studies carbonation methods for sparkling wine for growers to learn more on …
Traveling Hemp Workshop Attracts Potential Growers
The University of Florida (UF) Hemp Pilot Project strives to keep growers informed on everything hemp. In an effort to do just that, Zachary Brym, agronomist at the UF Tropical Research and Education Center and Hemp Pilot Project coordinator, has put together a traveling hemp workshop. The first workshop was held on July 30 in Gainesville, Florida. The workshop was …
Beneath the Earth, the ‘Black Box’ of Soil Holds a Key to Crop Growth
IMMOKALEE, Fla. (UF/IFAS) — Like much of what lies just beneath the earth’s surface, soil microbes present a mystery. University of Florida scientist Sarah Strauss seeks to help untangle the web of intrigue surrounding soil microbes to improve agricultural production in Florida and globally. “There are microbial activities going on that we don’t exactly understand. It’s known as the ‘black …
Sneak Peek: July VSCNews Magazine
The 2019 Florida, Georgia and Alabama legislative sessions have officially wrapped up, and the July issue of VSCNews magazine will tell readers how agriculture fared in each state. Adam Basford, director of state legislative affairs for Florida Farm Bureau, discusses the successes and ongoing work in Tallahassee this session. Mary Ann Hooks, director of governmental affairs with the University of …
Industrial Hemp Growing in Florida for First Time in Decades
University of Florida pilot project plants seeds for new Florida crop GAINESVILLE, Fla. (UF/IFAS) — The University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) industrial hemp pilot project has passed a critical milestone towards understanding the potential of growing hemp throughout Florida. Hemp plants have been planted at the UF/IFAS Tropical Research and Education Center in Homestead Florida …
Tomato Bacterial Spot Management Begins with Transplant Health
By Gary Vallad Few diseases present a persistent year-to-year challenge to tomato production like bacterial spot. Under ideal conditions, the disease can cause massive defoliation leading to yield losses through lost photosynthetic capacity and fruit exposure to the elements. This increases sunscald and raincheck as well as direct fruit infection by the pathogen. DISEASE SPREAD AND SYMPTOMS Xanthomonas perforans is …
Working Toward Disease-Resistant Sweet Corn
By Karla Arboleda Northern and southern corn leaf blights (NCLB and SCLB) are global problems. Caused by different fungi, these diseases have a history of devastating results in the United States. While the fungi that cause NCLB and SCLB have been heavily researched in field corn, scientists have only just gained traction when it comes to resistance in sweet corn. …