Category: UF/IFAS

What the Moss Can Tell Us (Journal Club 6)

by Alyssa Vinson
July 18, 2025

The icon of the south, a sweeping live oak draped in the filamentous curtains of Spanish moss (Tillandsia usneoides). Shrouded in misconception, dripping in cultural significance and once upon a time adding the fluff to the cushions of early ... READ MORE

Category: Home Landscapes, Natural Resources, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Rooted In Tree Research, Tree Research Journal Club, Uf/ifas Extension, Urban Forestry Extension

Tree-SI (Tree Scene Investigation) – Using Genetic Barcoding to Identify Tree Species from a Stump – Part 1 (Show Us the Data! 4)

by Andrew Koeser
June 11, 2025

A Real-Life Case of Stump the Forester One of the best aspects of working in the tree care industry is the collegial and collaborative mindset shared by its experts and practitioners. If I have a question, I can send it to my peers in academia ... READ MORE

Category: , Forests, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: Rooted In Tree Research, Show Us The Data!, Urban Forest, Urban Forestry, Urban Forestry Extension

A Fork in the Road: How Pruning Decisions Impact Codominant Unions (Journal Club 4)

by Andrew Koeser
April 15, 2025

As readers of this blog and our work may know, codominant branches are unreliable predictors of tree failure during storms. At the same time, numerous studies have found that codominant branch unions are weaker than those with more favorable ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Forests, Horticulture, Natural Resources, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: Pruning, Rooted In Tree Research, Tree Care, Tree Research Journal Club, Urban Forestry, Urban Forestry Extension

COVID-19 and UF/IFAS Extension

by Nick Place
March 15, 2020

Updated 03/15/20 As we continue to monitor COVID-19 in Florida, I wanted to take a moment to update our UF/IFAS Extension community about our current status, best practices and next steps. The personal health and safety of everyone in the ... READ MORE

Category: 4-H & Youth, Agribusiness, Agriculture, Camp, Clubs & Volunteers, Coasts & Marine, Community Volunteers, Conservation, Crops, Curriculum, Disaster Preparation, Events, Farm Management, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Food Safety, Forests, Fruits & Vegetables, Health & Nutrition, Home Landscapes, Home Management, Horticulture, Invasive Species, Lawn, Livestock, Money Matters, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, Professional Development, Recreation, Relationships & Family, SFYL Hot Topic, Turf, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Research, UF/IFAS Teaching, , Water, Wildlife, Work & Life
Tags: Covid-19, Featured Hot Topic, Hot Topic

Inspiring Future Scientists

by ccooley
March 21, 2017

There's nothing better than having a group of young students visit GCREC for a tour. Well, most groups. No offense to middle school children or their parents, but that age group is a little difficult to keep engaged. They can come up with ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Events, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: Entomology, Future Scientist, GCREC, Gulf Coast Research Center, Hands On Learning, Plant Pathology, Strawberries, Student Tour Groups, Tomatoes

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

Creating Kid Locavores

by ccooley
June 24, 2016

One of the best part of my job at GCREC is hosting tour groups from local schools. We recently had the opportunity to entertain a group of 45 STEM students from a local school, R. Bruce Wagner, and we introduced them to something new called ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Crops, Events, Fruits & Vegetables, Horticulture, UF/IFAS
Tags: Blueberries, Elementary School Kids, Farmers Markets, Fruits And Vegeables, Gulf Coast Research Center, Locavores, Produce, Strawberries, Student, UF/IFAS

GCREC Bug Week 2016

by ccooley
May 23, 2016

For the past month, I have asked our staff to bring me whatever bugs they might find on our 475-acre farm. This is a very busy time for our faculty and staff, so I only received a few specimens so far, but they are beauties. There's nothing ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Crops, Events, Farm Management, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, Wildlife
Tags: Bagmoth, Bug Week 2016, Bugs, Dragonfly, Entomology, Gulf Coast REC, Horsefly, IFAS, Insects, Mole Crickets, Pests, UF

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

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