(UF/IFAS) — New technology being developed by University of Florida scientists identifies two dangerous tomato diseases with 99 percent accuracy. This finding is critical because diseases can cost growers millions of dollars annually in the state’s third most valuable crop. Thus, the earlier farmers detect those ailments, the better their chances of treating them before the diseases cause excessive damage. …
Scientists Developing Recipe for Growing Vanilla in South Florida
(UF/IFAS) — A tablespoon of vanilla goes a long way. As a key spice in baking, the intoxicating aromatic bean that reminds folks of delicious holiday desserts has a variety of uses throughout the year. As a bean, it is used to flavor foods and products from cakes to candles. As an extract, it is a basic ingredient in flavoring …
UF Scientists Join Multistate Blueberry Breeding Grant
(UF/IFAS) — A plant breeder and a food scientist, both with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS), will join a $12.8 million, multistate research grant to broaden the nation’s blueberry breeding capabilities. For the project, Patricio Muñoz, a UF/IFAS assistant professor of horticultural sciences and Charlie Sims, a UF/IFAS professor of food science and human …
New Precision Ag Facility Adds to UF/IFAS Arsenal to Fight Pests, Diseases
(UF/IFAS) — In a new, 8,500-square-foot building at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Gulf Coast Research and Education Center, weed scientist Nathan Boyd uses images of weeds to train computers to identify them. Those pictures can be used to help growers know when, where and how to control pests. Using this form of precision …
Kevin Folta Receives 2019 American Agri-Women’s Veritas Award
(UF/IFAS) — Kevin Folta, a University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences horticulture professor with a distinguished career in strawberry genetics, was honored with the Veritas award by American Agri-Women (AAW) at their recent convention in Tigard, Oregon. The Veritas award is the highest award given by AAW to a non-member. It is presented annually to a person who …
Pumpkin, Calabaza Breeding Program Set to Carve Out New Niche Market for Growers
(UF/IFAS) — Peanuts cartoonist Charles M. Shultz yielded popularity to an almighty pumpkin in the 1966 animated TV Special “It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown.” Today, pumpkin popularity for holiday decor, healthy snacking, and scrumptious recipes during fall and winter months has given rise to innovative research led by Geoffrey Meru, assistant professor of vegetable breeding, genetics and genomics at …
Tropical Research and Education Center to Host Open House
(UF/IFAS) — On Dec. 4, the South Florida community has an opportunity to engage in innovative, high-tech research at the UF/IFAS Tropical Research and Education Center (TREC) open house. The center, located at 18905 Southwest 280th Street in the heart of Homestead, is a hub of research and development that helps South Florida be one of the world’s leading agricultural and …
New Bed Design Can Save Growers Money
(UF/IFAS) — From Florida to Virginia, farmers are enjoying the fruits of Sanjay Shukla’s labor. His compact-bed geometry system allows growers to plant crops in tall soil beds, and the result is thousands of dollars in annual savings. New research by Shukla and his team shows that with savings of up to $102,000 per crop, annually, for a typical, 250-acre …
Florida Tomato Committee Names McAvoy Researcher of the Year
(UF/IFAS) — He may hold the title “emeritus,” which means “retired,” but Gene McAvoy remains active with University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Extension and research, helping bring farmers’ concerns back to UF/IFAS scientists. In fact, he just won the Researcher of the Year Award from the Florida Tomato Committee. For the past 22 years, McAvoy …
Research to Reduce Pepper Diseases; Boost Production
(UF/IFAS) — Pepper is popular. Consumers eat all kinds, including jalapenos, habaneros, chilis and more. Because people eat so much of the fruit, peppers are worth hundreds of millions of dollars a year to the Florida and national economies. In fact, in 2018, bell and chili peppers alone were a $181 million-a-year industry in Florida and a $628 million-a-year industry …