A $130 Million Drain: UF Researcher Looks to Genetics To Rein In Wasteful Strawberry Runners (UF/IFAS)

sooyoungryu — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 19:44:20 +0000

Strawberry growers pour roughly $130 million a year, nationally, into a surprisingly stubborn problem: a part of the plant that sabotages fruit production. These fast-growing offshoots – called “runners” – stretch out from the mother plant like botanical escape artists, siphoning energy that would otherwise go into plump, market-ready berries.

University of Florida doctoral student Kaitlyn Vondracek wants to help farmers solve this costly problem. She’s digging deep into the genetics behind runner formation, hoping to dial down the plant’s impulse to sprawl.

UF Researchers Find Genes Responsible for Several Flavor Compounds in Strawberries

Sara Dagen — Fri, 12 Aug 2022 00:00:00 +0000

In their quest to improve strawberry flavor, University of Florida scientists have found the genes behind several aromatic chemicals that enhance the fruit’s taste.

These findings will help UF/IFAS researchers Vance Whitaker and Seonghee Lee as they study the sources of the unique aroma in strawberries. As with many fruits, the genes that control aroma and flavor are connected.

“Finding the sources of a strawberry’s smell gets complicated. Aroma comes from more than 100 chemicals, so studying the genetics can become byzantine,” said Whitaker, a professor of horticultural sciences at the Gulf Coast Research and Education Center.

Learn more about UF Researchers Find Genes Responsible for Several Flavor Compounds in Strawberries

Seonghee Lee – UF Innovate

A $130 Million Drain: UF Researcher Looks to Genetics To Rein In Wasteful Strawberry Runners (UF/IFAS)

UF Researchers Find Genes Responsible for Several Flavor Compounds in Strawberries