UF/IFAS Leads Multistate Research to Reduce Pepper Diseases; Boost Production
Peppers are popular. Consumers eat all kinds, including jalapenos, habaneros, chilis and more. Because people eat so much of the fruit, they’re worth hundreds of millions of dollars a year to 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 […]
New Fertilizer Technology May Help Farmers Reduce Nitrogen Load
In the Suwannee Valley, farmers are diligently searching for solutions, or Best Management Practices (BMPs), to efficiently use fertilizers in crop production. At the UF/IFAS North Florida Research and Education Center – Suwannee Valley (UF/IFAS NFREC-SV), a team led by Bob Hochmuth, UF/IFAS Extension regional specialized agent for vegetable crops and assistant center director, has […]
Growers Should Manage Tomato Bacterial Spot While Seedlings are in Transplant Facilities
New findings from the University of Florida scientists could help tomato growers nationwide in their battle against a damaging disease. With 37,000 acres, Florida’s tomato industry is a $520 million-a-year crop, so it’s critical to find sources of diseases so growers can avoid or treat them to sustain their yields. But a bacterium called Xanthomonas can […]
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 […]