By: Samantha Murray, grenrosa@ufl.edu, 949-735-1076 Recognizing visionary leadership and diversity in educational programming, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), Cooperative Extension, and the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) announced that Jamie Ellis of the University of Florida will receive the 2020 Excellence in Extension Award. USDA-NIFA and Cooperative Extension have sponsored …
New AI Technology ‘Agroview’ Named UF Invention of the Year
September 23, 2020 By: Brad Buck, 813-757-2224, bradbuck@ufl.edu Yiannis Ampatzidis and his research team combined their collective minds to find the artificial intelligence technology to best help farmers save money and better care for their crops. Out of that process, they invented a system known as Agroview. The system utilizes images from drones and satellites and from the ground – …
World Outreach Helps UF Strawberry Breeding Program
By: Brad Buck, 813-757-2224, bradbuck@ufl.edu, 352-875-2641 (cell) BALM, Florida — UF/IFAS-bred strawberries are grown in over 70 countries across six continents. One of those countries, Egypt, ranks among the top strawberry-producing nations in the world. So, it seems fitting that an Egyptian-American scientist is leading an effort to facilitate the expansion of production of UF/IFAS-bred strawberries internationally. Behind the United …
2020-’21 UF/IFAS Citrus Production Guide Available
By: Ruth Borger, 517-803-7631, rborger@ufl.edu LAKE ALFRED, Fla. — While the coronavirus pandemic has changed much of the University of Florida citrus programming, one annual tradition continues, albeit with some changes. The 2020-2021 UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Citrus Production Guide is now available to growers, just as it has in years past. The difference is that growers …
UF/IFAS scientist named fellow of American Phytopathological Society
By: Brad Buck, 813-757-2224 (office); 352-875-2641 (cell); bradbuck@ufl.edu Working at her lab and fields at the UF/IFAS Gulf Coast Research and Education Center, Natalia Peres diagnoses and helps manage diseases that might otherwise ruin strawberries, a $300 million per year crop in Florida. In her efforts to beat back diseases, Peres helped develop the Strawberry Advisory System, which tells farmers …
UF Researchers Expand Vanilla Project
By: Brad Buck, 813-757-2224 (office); 352-875-2641 (cell); bradbuck@ufl.edu You can taste it now. A refreshing scoop of vanilla ice cream or milkshake can be tasty and help cool you down in the sweltering Florida heat. To meet growing consumer demand for vanilla, Alan Chambers, a UF/IFAS tropical plant geneticist, is studying which beans to grow in Florida, and when and …
UF/IFAS to Host Vegetable Growers Meeting
The University of Florida/IFAS will host a vegetable growers meeting on Aug. 20 from 10 a.m. to noon. It will be a virtual meeting and feature talks from Extension agents and specialists. Extension agent Craig Fey will discuss fundamentals of weed management and focus on principles such as exclusion, prevention, cultural and chemical strategies. UF/IFAS weed scientist Ramdas Kanissery will …
UF/IFAS Experts Outline Hurricane Prep, Recovery for Citrus Growers
By: Brad Buck, 813-757-2224 (office); 352-875-2641 (cell); bradbuck@ufl.edu Like all farmers, Florida’s citrus producers must prepare for the worst before a hurricane strikes. That’s why Fernando Alferez co-wrote a manual that gives growers tips on how to get their citrus farm ready for – and recover from — the potentially dangerous storms. It’s not just coastal counties, where the storms …
UF/IFAS Extension To Assist in FDACS Project Connecting Food-Insecure Families With Florida-Grown Produce
By: Kirsten Romaguera, 352-294-3313, kromaguera@ufl.edu GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The UF/IFAS Extension Family Nutrition Program (FNP) is among the organizations partnering on a Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS)-led grant project to fight food insecurity in several rural Florida communities. In a virtual press conference last Thursday, Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried announced the project, funded by a $100,000 Walmart …
UF/IFAS Scientists Develop a Specialty Pepper With Better Resistance to Root-Knot Nematodes
By: Brad Buck, bradbuck@ufl.edu Bell peppers make for a delicious snack. Among additional choices, you can add them to sandwiches and pizzas, as they’re tasty and full of vitamin C, making them a popular vegetable. As a $235 million-a-year business in Florida, bell peppers are also an important crop, especially in the southeast and southwest parts of the state. As …