Blackberries, hops, pomegranates and more were highlighted at our recent Florida Ag Expo with a focus on providing alternative crops for central Florida growers. With the citrus greening issues nearly devastating Florida's top crop in recent ... READ MORE
Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture, Crops, Events, Farm Management, Fruits & Vegetables, Horticulture, Research, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension
Now that fall has arrived, the farm crew, faculty and staff of our strawberry program are hard at work preparing for another strawberry season in central Florida. It's one of the highlights of the year for our center when we get those bare ... READ MORE
Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture, , Crops, Fruits & Vegetables, Horticulture, Research, UF/IFAS
We had a recent employee, Bill Dermott, who upon his departure gave me a list of all the birds he had observed at our research center over the last 6 months or so. We're talking about 80 different kinds of birds. This list consisted of the ... READ MORE
Category: Academics, Agribusiness, Agriculture, Crops, Farm Management, Horticulture, Natural Resources, Research, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, Wildlife
There has been a lot of media attention regarding the possibility of a new alternative crop for Florida growers - hops. Hops are the buds or flowers of the hop plant. Used as a flavoring and stability agent in beer, hops can give this popular ... READ MORE
Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture, Crops, Horticulture, Research, UF/IFAS
Although Gulf Coast Research Center is located in southern Hillsborough County, we found from past experience that strawberry growers tend to feel the center is a little removed from the action, which is located in Plant City. Therefore, in ... READ MORE
Category: Agriculture, , Crops, Events, Horticulture, Pests & Disease, Research, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension
Because Florida summers make it nearly impossible to grow strawberry plants outdoors, we send thousands of seedlings from our breeding program west to cooler more temperate climates for the summer. Our strawberry breeding team works year round ... READ MORE
Category: Agriculture, Crops, Farm Management, Fruits & Vegetables, Horticulture, Research, UF/IFASIf you lived in a northern state at one time or another, maybe you have a little strawberry patch in your backyard. After your last harvest and before the first frost, you would take some straw or a load of grass clippings and cover your berry ... READ MORE
Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture, Crops, Farm Management, Fruits & Vegetables, Horticulture, Research, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension
Each fall part of our research fields are full of beautiful caladiums. Caladium is a genus of flowering plants in the family Araceae. These plants are ideal for all sorts of landscape. They thrive in shady areas and are very low maintenance. ... READ MORE
Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture, Crops, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, Horticulture, Research, UF/IFAS
Gulf Coast REC, like all RECs throughout the state, showcase research and share information to local growers and industry representative during Field Days. These events draw large crowds to the center and the programs involve educational sessions ... READ MORE
Category: Agribusiness, Crops, Events, Farm Management, Fruits & Vegetables, Horticulture, Research, UF/IFASThe 2015 Fall Peach Seminar was held at the Univ. of Florida/IFAS Gulf Coast Research Center Thursday, 9/17 and the expected attendance was around 50-60 people. However, much to the surprise and delight of the meeting's sponsors and organizers ... READ MORE
Category: Agriculture, Research, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension