Category: Research

Friend or Foe? Are Trees Protecting Your Home from Hurricanes—Or Putting It in Peril? (Tree Journal Club 8)

by Andrew Koeser
August 7, 2025

This afternoon, I received an email from a PhD student at a small but hard-hitting engineering and aeronautics school across the state. His research focuses on urban trees and hurricanes, and he had come across some of my work. He reached out ... READ MORE

Category: , Forests, Research, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: Rooted In Tree Research, Tree Research Journal Club, Urban Forest, Urban Forestry, Urban Forestry Extension

Determining How Much Pressure a Root Can Generate when it Expands (Show Us the Data! 3)

by Andrew Koeser
April 29, 2025

Basic Vs Applied Research In science, we often distinguish between basic and applied research questions. Basic questions are asked primarily to expand knowledge, without any immediate concern for practical application. There may never be a ... READ MORE

Category: , Horticulture, Research, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: Rooted In Tree Research, Show Us The Data!, Trees And Construction, Urban Forestry, Urban Forestry Extension

Florida Ag Expo Promotes Alternative Crops for Florida Growers

by ccooley
November 15, 2016

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

It’s Strawberry Planting Time at GCREC

by ccooley
September 19, 2016

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

Birdwatching on the Farm

by ccooley
April 26, 2016

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
Tags: Alligators, Bird Watching, Florida Wild Life, Gulf Coast Research, Hawks, IFAS, Sandhill Cranes, Southern Hillsborough County, University Of Florida

Florida Grown Hops – Alternative Crop for the Future? Well, Maybe.

by ccooley
April 6, 2016

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
Tags: Agriculture, Alternative Crops, Craft Beer, Farm To Table, Florida Crops, Hops

2016 Strawberry Field Day

by ccooley
January 25, 2016

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
Tags: Disease Control, Dover, Florida Strawberries, Florida Strawberry Growers Association, Gulf Coast Research, Labor Issues, Molecular Breeding, Nematode Control, Pest Control, Plant City Strawberries, Strawberry Breeding, Strawberry Growers, Strawberry Varieties, Weed Control

GCREC Says Goodbye to the Colorado Summer Nursery

by ccooley
November 5, 2015

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/IFAS
Tags: Breeding Stock, Colorado State University, GCREC Strawberry Breeding, Strawberry, Summer Nursery

Strawberry Time at Gulf Coast REC

by ccooley
October 15, 2015

If 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

2015 Caladium Field Day at GCREC

by ccooley
October 8, 2015

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
Tags: Caladiums, Environmental Horticulture, Field Day, Floriculture, GCREC, Gulf Coast Research, Lake Placid, Landscaping

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