By Frank Giles
John Chater joined the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Science (UF/IFAS) in January as an assistant professor of horticultural sciences. His job also comes with a significant Extension component, which will allow him to work closely with growers.
“Extension helps make the research conducted at the university worthwhile, because this is how that knowledge is applied to the real world to help people,” Chater said. “My primary job duty will be identification and evaluation of advanced selections of scion and rootstocks for the Florida industry. And to study combinations of these scion and rootstock combinations for production and fruit quality.”
Having heard reports of soft fruit and quality problems with certain varieties, Chater has initiated a survey to seek potential common causes of the issue. The fruit were reported to be too soft to pack by affected growers. The survey intends to find out where and why this is happening so action can be taken to develop a solution.
Growers are asked to complete the survey online. Those who would prefer to discuss their observations, please call Dr. Chater at 863-956-8662 or email, jchater@ufl.edu.
