How Support for Public Scientists Pays Dividends for South Florida – Opinion
University of Florida’s Senior Vice President for Agriculture and Natural Resources and Leader of the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS), Dr. Jack Payne, shares his opinion on the South Florida Sun Sentinel about Dr. Thomas Chouvenc’s research, an assistant professor of Urban Entomology at UF/IFAS in Davie. Dr. Chouvenc’s work focuses on the […]
New UF-Led Study Finds Bacterial Similarities Among Diseased Coral Species
In 2014, an unprecedented disease outbreak affecting the soft tissue of many species of stony coral was first detected in Florida. Since then, stony coral tissue loss disease has been identified in nearly half of the 45 coral species on the Florida Reef Tract, the only living barrier reef along the continental United States. Researchers […]
Plant Improvement Specialist to Ensure New Citrus Varieties Have Best Traits
Many citrus growers want to replant their groves that are withering because of greening. But they need field data to know which varieties to plant. Gathering that information takes time. As a rule, though, it takes 15 to 20 years to develop a new citrus variety and get data on how it will perform in […]
A Breakthrough in the Battle Against Citrus Greening
Washington is known for apples, but researchers at Washington State University — along with colleagues at the University of Florida — may have discovered a long-sought holy grail in the quest to stem citrus greening, the disease that has decimated Florida’s flagship crop. WSU scientists are able to grow the bacteria that causes citrus greening […]
Updated Perishable Food Transportation Guidelines Now Available
A 1987 handbook published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Division of Agricultural Marketing Service (USDA-AMS) received a 21st-century update thanks to a team led by University of Florida researchers. “Many people in the food transportation industry had been asking for a revised handbook for years, to include all of the developments in technology, best […]
Cloud-Based Software Helps Farmers on the Ground
A University of Florida agricultural engineer has developed a 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, Ioannis Ampatzidis is leading an effort to refine the software so it can help growers even more. To help farmers protect […]
So-Called ‘Longevity Vitamin’ Might Hold More Importance Than Scientists Thought
New research from a University of Florida microbiologist shows that disease-causing bacteria compete with their human hosts for a key micronutrient. Although queuine (pronounced KYOO-in) has been identified as essential to human health – a 2018 study by Bruce Ames referred to it as a “longevity vitamin” – much is still unknown about the compound […]
UF Hosts Meeting of Blue-Green Algae Task Force
The University of Florida will host the next meeting of Florida’s Blue-Green Algae Task Force on August 30 at 9 a.m. The meeting is open to the public and will be streamed live on the Florida Channel. Two UF/IFAS researchers are members of the six-person task force. Tom Frazer, who leads the task force, is […]
Antibiotic Injections Could Help Better Kill Citrus Greening Bacteria
Researchers at the University of Florida released a study this month in the journal Phytopathology, saying there’s a way to more quickly and efficiently kill bacteria that causes citrus greening disease. Experiments have shown that injecting antibiotics directly into an infected citrus tree trunk is much more effective than spraying. “When you’re spraying the bactericides […]
UF/IFAS Researchers Close In on a Tastier Tomato
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 […]