Alachua County Beekeepers Struggle Against Mites
A recent national survey of beekeepers showed a significant loss rate of colonies, which may impact the future of commercial beekeeping. The annual survey from the Bee Informed Partnership found that 37.7% of honeybee colonies died this past winter. This is about 9% higher than the average winter loss. More than 4,700 beekeepers managing over […]
UF Agricultural Researchers Cultivate Industrial Hemp
With the help of state lawmakers, industrial hemp is now a growing crop across the state of Florida. A new law makes it legal for state industrial programs to administer and oversee the cultivation of hemp. Researchers at the University of Florida are growing industrial hemp. Industrial hemp is not marijuana, but they are the […]
Beneath the Earth, the ‘Black Box’ of Soil Holds a Key to Crop Growth
University of Florida scientist Sarah Strauss seeks to help untangle the web of intrigue surrounding soil microbes to improve agricultural production in Florida and globally. “There are microbial activities going on that we don’t exactly understand. It’s known as the ‘black box’ in soil,” said Strauss, an assistant professor of soil and water sciences at […]
UF Researchers Take Integrated Approach to Protect Trees from Citrus Greening
While citrus growers continue to look for best management approaches to deal with the deadly greening disease, some scientists at the University of Florida will take an integrated look at how to protect young trees, by using tools growers already can use. Five scientists from the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences will compare […]
Orange Peels May Improve Cardiovascular Health, UF Study Suggests
Yu Wang, an assistant professor of food science and human nutrition at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, has been awarded a $500,000 grant from the U.S. Agriculture and Food Research Initiative, part of the USDA. With the award, Wang plans to lead a research team to study extracts from orange peels […]
Automated System Would Deliver Chemicals to Help Ward Off Citrus Greening
Imagine using a robotic arm to grip and puncture the trunk of a citrus tree to deliver chemicals into the vascular parts of the plant, reducing its susceptibility to the citrus greening disease. Ozgur Batuman, an assistant professor of plant pathology at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, leads a team […]
UF/IFAS Scientist to Work with Team Developing New Greening-Tolerant Citrus
When Nian Wang pieces together sequences of genes, he hopes to make citrus varieties that are more tolerant to the deadly disease known as greening, which has devastated a multibillion dollar-a-year industry in Florida. Wang, a professor of microbiology and cell science with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, will help […]