Specialty Crop Grower Magazine: GCREC Celebrates Major Milestones

Clint ThompsonFlorida

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

Clint ThompsonFlorida, Tomatoes

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

Web AdminAgriculture Research

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

Web AdminFlorida, innovation, Top Posts

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

Web AdminFlorida, Top Posts

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

Web AdminFlorida, Florida Ag Expo, Research, Top Posts

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. …

Expo Presentation: Cover Crops Important Management Tactic

Clint ThompsonFlorida

By Clint Thompson Cover crops remain an integral part of nematode management in Florida. But they should be part of specialty crop growers’ management strategies every year, according to 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. Desaeger provided an update about …

New Nematicides Safer to Use, Stay Longer in Soil

Clint ThompsonFlorida

By Clint Thompson Effective nematicides were a focal point of a presentation on nematodes at the recent Citrus & Specialty Crop Expo event in Fort Myers, Florida. Johan Desaeger, assistant professor of entomology and nematology at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Gulf Coast Research and Education Center, updated growers and industry leaders about what chemical …

Scientists Try to Limit Tomato Disease from Spreading Via Grower Spraying

Clint ThompsonFlorida

Bacterial spot disease isn’t just a nuisance for tomato growers – it’s a relentless, weather-powered villain that can ruin a field of promising fruit. When warm rains roll in and humidity hangs in the air, the pathogen behind bacterial spot comes alive, spreading fast and scarring tomatoes so they can’t be sold. Growers rely on fungicides to fight the disease, …

Web-Based Tools to Predict Strawberry, Tomato Yields Faster

Clint ThompsonFlorida

To make a successful return on their investment, growers need to accurately predict how much crop they might produce in a given season. University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) researchers are developing web-based tools that incorporate artificial intelligence to help producers with yield predictions. Such forecasts are critical. In Florida, the production value for strawberries was …