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Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Research”
By Doug Phillips With rising costs and declining availability of harvesting labor, blueberry growers are increasingly interested in considering machine harvesting for their crops. Cost is a particularly important factor because of declining profit margins due to competition from lower-cost areas of production. PROS AND CONS Hand harvesting produces high-quality fruit, but can cost between $0.70/pound and $0.90/pound for local …
Different species of caterpillars can be detrimental to fruit and vegetable crops in the Southeast. Ayanava Majumdar, Extension entomologist with the Alabama Cooperative Extension Service, says although recent storms in the Southeast have slowed down moth activity, pests are still looming due to the heat. According to Majumdar, armyworms seem to be active. Beet armyworms are usually the first insects …
Microbial communities are at the center of Sarah Strauss’ presentations during the Citrus Expo educational program. Strauss, an assistant professor of soil microbiology at the Southwest Florida Research and Education Center, will speak in the vegetable and specialty crop session at Citrus Expo. Strauss will focus on microbial communities in vegetable crops. She will discuss how manipulation of these communities …
Fusarium wilt has been a problem in watermelon for several years. A new race of the disease makes it even more of a struggle to deal with. Nicholas Dufault, assistant professor and Extension specialist in the Plant Pathology Department at the University of Florida (UF), says race three fusarium wilt was recently found in the United States. According to Dufault, …
By Jack Payne, jackpayne@ufl.edu, @JackPayneIFAS Kelly Morgan is a more reliable water source than rain is. You don’t know when or if you’ll get water from the sky, but what Morgan can teach you makes every drop you have go farther. His focus on the farmer as customer is what has made him so successful as the state’s best management …
Whiteflies vector diseases that can deteriorate crops and drastically reduce yield. Whiteflies have proven to be a major pest in Florida tomatoes and cucurbits. According to Stansly, whiteflies can cause severe problems in tomatoes. “You can have irregular ripening, so even if you’re using a variety that’s resistant to the viruses, you can still run into trouble if the populations …
Contact: Beverly James, 352-273-3566, beverlymjames@ufl.edu HOMESTEAD, Fla. – They don’t wear capes and tights, but the new University of Florida (UF) faculty members hope their research will help grow the state’s agriculture and natural resources, and stave off enemies that threaten industry. The eight scientists, based at the Tropical Research and Education Center (TREC) in Homestead, Florida, are bringing new …
Labor continues to be a pressing issue for southeastern agriculture. However, in Florida, new technology on the horizon may offer a glimmer of hope. Gary Wishnatzki, owner of Wish Farms and co-founder of Harvest CROO Robotics, is working to create a mechanical harvester that could revolutionize the strawberry industry. LOOKING AHEAD TO LABOR Wishnatzki said he started seeing changes in …
Two-spotted spider mites are a major issue in Florida strawberries. Justin Renkema, former assistant professor at the University of Florida (UF), says mites make their way into Florida fields by blowing in from neighboring fields, but they may also be coming on strawberry transplants from nurseries. After proving that spider mites were coming to Florida on transplants, Renkema wanted to …
By Breanna Kendrick Rachel Itle, assistant research scientist in fruit production and genetics at the University of Georgia (UGA), and Dario Chavez, assistant professor at UGA, recently spent two weeks in Australia collecting seeds from wild raspberries, peaches and citrus. Itle and Chavez plan to use this seed collection to breed new varieties of raspberries and peaches specifically for the …
