A misconception between hemp and marijuana has Adam Rabinowitz concerned about how consumers view an up-and-coming agricultural commodity in the Southeast. Rabinowitz worked as an Extension economist at the University of Georgia before he moved to Alabama this summer to become an Auburn University Assistant Professor and Extension economist. At UGA, Rabinowitz helped conduct a survey to gauge consumer knowledge …
Citrus Advisory System Alerts Growers So They can Stem Post-Bloom Fruit Drop
October 22, 2020 By: Brad Buck, bradbuck@ufl.edu Beep. Beep. Beep. That’s the sound of the alert, telling a citrus grower it’s time to spray fungicide to help prevent fruit from falling off the tree. When the new fruit fall off a citrus tree, post-bloom fruit drop (PFD) can cause major losses for citrus growers. Infection of flowering citrus by the …
Problematic Pests of Florida Strawberries
By Sriyanka Lahiri Several arthropod pests occur in strawberries in Florida during the various stages of the crop cycle. Cyclamen mites (Phytonemus pallidus), if present, originate from strawberry nurseries as hitchhikers on transplants. Thankfully, a very small percentage of growers reported a cyclamen mite infestation during the strawberry season of 2019–2020. Soon after planting, armyworms (Spodoptera spp.), twospotted spider mites …
UF Scientists Make Big Stride Toward Greening-Resistant Citrus Trees
By: Brad Buck, 813-757-2224, bradbuck@ufl.edu University of Florida scientists achieved a major milestone in their quest to develop a citrus greening-resistant tree by sequencing the genome of a fruit plant that’s a close cousin to citrus trees. You’d need to print 54,000 pages of copy paper to see the complete genome sequence. But within it, scientists believe they’ve found genes …
Florida Hops Show Potential
By Shinsuke Agehara Craft beer brewed with Florida hops sounds very attractive. But can hops be grown in Florida? Will the crop produce high yields? The most important question is: Will it be profitable? There are lots of rumors, myths and hype about growing hops in the Sunshine State. That’s probably because hops have never been grown commercially in Florida …
What’s up With Growing Lemons in Florida?
Adventurous producers are still seeking ways to squeeze profit out of this appealing citrus fruit.
UGA researcher to study potential use of essential oils in organic blueberry production
By Josh Paine for UGA CAES News Organic fruit and vegetable growers want to meet the recent uptick in national consumer demand, but they need additional tools to battle pests and diseases that often accompany organic crop growth. One such tool may be the use of essential oils. That’s why the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and …
Establishing an Olive Industry in Florida
By Michael O’Hara Garcia With weather and soils similar to the Mediterranean Basin, olives grow in Florida and throughout much of the southeastern United States. Currently, Florida has approximately 800 acres of olives under active cultivation by 60 to 80 individual farmers in 20 counties. The groves range from backyard hobby plots with several trees to high-density commercial operations of …
COVID-19 risk factors vary by farm workers’ legal status; shows need for tailored measures
University of Florida/IFAS As laborers return to the fields this fall in Florida, both unauthorized workers and those authorized to plant and pick crops through a guest worker visa are vulnerable to the coronavirus. In fact, an estimated 75% of Florida crop workers have at least one underlying health issue that puts them at risk of developing COVID-19 complications, new …
Sneak Peek: October 2020 VSCNews Magazine
By Ashley Robinson The October issue of VSCNews magazine covers a variety of topics, including establishing an olive industry in Florida, the potential for hops and a strawberry spotlight. Currently, Florida has approximately 800 acres of olives under production. Although olives grow well in Florida’s warm climate, little formal research on Florida olive cultivation is available to support industry development. …