“Root-knot nematode is really our number one nematode problem in Florida,” nematologist Johan Desaeger said at Florida Ag Expo in November. Desaeger is a University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences researcher at the Gulf Coast Research and Education Center. “It’s the most widespread nematode we have in Florida, and the most damaging,” he added. Florida has at …
Interest in UF/IFAS Hops Experiment Grows
(UF/IFAS) — Tampa Bay microbreweries have a hankering for hops, and some see a University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) experimental farm as a source for the crop that will help quench their customers’ thirsts. Several Tampa Bay area breweries have come to the UF/IFAS Gulf Coast Research and Education Center (GCREC) to pick up hops …
UGA Researchers Working on Disease Control in Vidalia Onions
By Karla Arboleda After some growers reported seeing center rot, downy mildew and Botrytis leaf blight in their fields, University of Georgia (UGA) researchers are working on better disease control for Vidalia onions. UGA researchers work with both organic and conventional Vidalia onions to develop ways to deal with fungal and bacterial diseases. Bhabesh Dutta, an Extension vegetable pathologist at …
Bringing Better Broccoli to the East Coast
By Karla Arboleda While the West Coast is known as the main U.S. region for broccoli production, the East Coast may soon be on its heels, thanks to the Eastern Broccoli Project. Thomas Björkman is a professor of vegetable physiology at Cornell University and project director of the Eastern Broccoli Project. He leads a group of collaborators, from Maine to Florida, …
UF Researchers Developing Combinations of Fumigants to Fight Nutsedge
By Karla Arboleda Researchers at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) are developing fumigant combinations to fight nutsedge. Nathan Boyd, an associate professor of horticulture at UF/IFAS, said options are limited when trying to control the weed. “Nutsedge is a problem because it’s the only weed that punctures the plastic mulch that we use,” Boyd …
How Many Hives Are Best for Florida Blueberries?
By Karla Arboleda University of Florida (UF) researchers are working to establish honeybee hive recommendations specific to Florida blueberries. Right now, Florida blueberry growers rely on honeybee hive recommendations from research based in other states. Rachel Mallinger, an assistant professor in entomology at UF and part of the research team, said the amount of honeybees available to pollinate blueberries is …
Hemp Helps Draw Record Crowd at Florida Ag Expo
By Ernie Neff and Tacy Callies A record crowd of almost 1,000 filled the seminars and trade show at Florida Ag Expo (FAE). The event took place on Nov. 21 in Wimauma at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Gulf Coast Research and Education Center (GCREC). The number of growers attending also set a record …
Commissioner Fried on ITC Ruling on Mexican Tomato Threat
(FDACS) — The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) voted 4-0 affirming that imported Mexican tomatoes unfairly threaten the American tomato industry. The ruling came after the U.S. Department of Commerce recently reopened the antidumping investigation that began in 1996, and after finding that Mexican tomatoes had been dumped into the U.S. market at prices 21 percent below fair market value, on average. In …
New Rules Aimed at Protecting Tomato Crops
(NSF) — New federal inspection rules are now in place for tomatoes and peppers, a month after Florida agricultural officials expressed concern that a virus had been found in tomatoes imported from Mexico. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced that tomatoes and peppers from Mexico, Israel and the Netherlands must be inspected for tomato brown rugose fruit virus, …
Georgia Pecans Enter Taiwanese Markets
The Georgia Department of Agriculture expands trade efforts. (GDA) — More than 51,000 pounds of Georgia pecans are headed to Taiwan and are expected to enter retail stores by mid-December. The pecan purchase from a grower in Ocilla, Georgia, is a direct result of bilateral trade efforts between Georgia and Taiwan. During October, Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Gary W. Black joined representatives from the …