By Doug Phillips and Patricio Munoz Plant breeding has been described as the art and science of the genetic improvement of plants. It essentially involves using the heritable genetic variability in plants to develop varieties with certain targeted, desirable traits, such as high yield, disease resistance and superior fruit quality. Breeding of horticultural crops, such as tomatoes and strawberries, may …
FTE: New Suspension Agreement Is Step in Right Direction
Washington, D.C. (FTE-September 19, 2019) — The Florida Tomato Exchange (FTE) welcomes the signing by the U.S. Department of Commerce and Mexican tomato exporters of a new agreement suspending the antidumping investigation of fresh tomatoes from Mexico. The new suspension agreement includes strong monitoring, enforcement and anti-circumvention provisions, including border inspections, that should help eliminate the injury to American tomato …
Cloud-Based Software Helps Farmers on the Ground
A University of Florida agricultural engineer has developed software that can help farmers find the best places to plant crops and to identify fruit and vegetable varieties that perform better against diseases. Now, Yiannis Ampatzidis is leading an effort to refine the software so it can help growers even more. To help farmers protect and even increase their harvests, Ampatzidis, …
‘It’s More Than Just Work’
University of Florida Extension Agent Gene McAvoy retires. If you ask any Florida grower if they know who Gene McAvoy is, they’ll probably reply with a smile and say “yes.” That is the kind of impact McAvoy has had in his 22-year run as an Extension agent in Hendry County, Florida. On July 31, McAvoy officially retired from the University …
Disease Watch for Florida Vegetables and Specialty Crops
By Karla Arboleda Gene McAvoy, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) emeritus vegetable Extension agent, discussed South Florida crop diseases during the 2019 Vegetable and Specialty Crop Expo seminars. McAvoy mentioned diseases that are currently prevalent in the United States, like black tar spot in field corn, and how basil downy mildew has affected production in …
Tomato Brown Rugose Spreading Globally
By Karla Arboleda Tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV) is not currently in Florida produce, but the virus has a global track record. Detected first in 2015 in Jordan, and with outbreaks as recent as 2018 in California, ToBRFV is easily transmitted through contact. Ozgur Batuman, citrus pathologist at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Southwest …
U.S. Tomato Growers Applaud the New Suspension Agreement
Commerce Department Commits to Strong Enforcement of U.S. Unfair Trade Law Washington, D.C. (FTE) – After 23 years of suspension agreements that never worked to protect American tomato growers from injurious dumping of Mexican tomatoes, the Mexican tomato industry agreed to a strong new suspension agreement, which U.S. growers support. The agreement establishes unprecedented measures and enforcement provisions that will …
UF/IFAS Researchers Close in on a Tastier Tomato
GAINESVILLE, FL (UF/IFAS) — In their quest for a tastier tomato, University of Florida scientists are finding traits they believe will tempt consumers with flavor that triggers their senses even more. They’re making significant progress on improving the UF-developed Tasti-Lee™ tomato – and it will feature improved flavor and aroma. “Modern tomato cultivars typically have poor flavor as compared to …
Florida Tomato Exchange: ‘Mexican Tomato Growers Resort to Blackmail’
Mexican tomato growers and the Mexican government are trying to blackmail the U.S. government into backing down on President Trump’s commitment to strong and aggressive enforcement of U.S unfair trade law. They claim the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) isn’t negotiating fairly in talks for a new Tomato Suspension Agreement, and that they are being forced into an unreasonable agreement. …
Closing the Information Gap on the Produce Safety Rule
By Karla Arboleda A study conducted by researchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service showed that growers across the United States expressed uncertainty over new food safety requirements for their operations due to an information gap. Researchers compared illness outbreaks associated with tomatoes, strawberries, cantaloupes and apples between 1998 and 2016. In order to have the first …











