Category: Pests & Disease

November 2025 First Friday with Florida First Detector

by Morgan Pinkerton
November 10, 2025

Recap of November 2025 First Friday with Florida First Detector This month’s Florida First Detector webinar took a closer look at Hymenoptera. This is an order of insects that includes wasps, bees, ants, hornets, and sawflies. Hymenopterans ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Crops, Farm Management, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, Horticulture, Invasive Species, Livestock, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, Professional Development, Turf, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: Bees, Biosecurity, Early Detection, Eradication, FFD25-26, FloridaFirstDetector, Honeybees, Hornet, SeminoleCountyAg, Wasp

What’s New on Ask IFAS: Veterinary Medicine (Sept.–Oct.)

by Amanda Quintos
November 5, 2025

Pregnancy Toxemia (Ketosis) in Ewes and Does Kari Hancock, Martha Mallicote, Sally DeNotta, and Brittany N. Diehl. This article is meant to provide producers with a general overview of pregnancy toxemia, or ketosis, in small ruminants. First ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Livestock, Pests & Disease
Tags: College Of Veterinary Medicine, First Aid, Horses, Ketosis, Pregnancy Toxemia, Small Ruminants

Plant Status Change – Tropical Milkweed is Now Listed as a Category II Invasive

by Tia Silvasy
November 5, 2025

Tropical Milkweed is now Invasive! Tropical milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) was once a go to larval host plant for monarch butterflies. As of June 2025 the plant status has changed. It is now listed as invasive in the entire state ... READ MORE

Category: , Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, Horticulture, Invasive Species, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: Asclepias, Butterfly, Invasive Species, Native Plants, Tropical Milkweed, Tsilvasy

Reassessing Meatless Monday: A Scientific Perspective on the Role of Meat in Sustainable Diets

by Bridget Stice
November 3, 2025

By Bridget Stice, UF/IFAS Extension Polk Meatless Monday campaigns urge the public to skip meat one day a week to "improve health and protect the planet". While reducing excessive consumption of any food can be beneficial, blanket campaigns ... READ MORE

Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture, Conservation, Crops, Farm Management, Health & Nutrition, Livestock, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease, SFYL Hot Topic, Turf, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Research, , Water, Wildlife
Tags: Agriculture, Beef, Bstice, Featured, Livestock, Meat, Polk County, Polk County FL, Polkco, SFBF, Sustainability

Golden oyster mushrooms cultivated, sold in Florida: Scientist urges caution

by Lourdes Mederos
November 3, 2025

The golden oyster mushroom, with bright yellow pillowy caps, are a popular buy that are sold in grow-your-own kits as well as standard grocery stores, farmer and gourmet markets. A University of Florida researcher warns it is quietly invading ... READ MORE

Category: , Conservation, Forests, Invasive Species, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Research, Wildlife
Tags: Citizen Science, Culinary Connoisseurs, Culinary Mushroom Enthusiasts, Cultivating, Disrupt Ecosystems, Ecosystems, Farmer Market, Fungal Communities, Fungal Diseases, Golden Oyster Mushrooms, Gourmet Market, Grocery Stores, Grow-your-own Kits, Human Activities, Inaturalist, Institute Of Food And Agricultural Sciences, Invasive, Invasive Species, Michelle Jusino, Mushroom Observer, News, Research, School Of Forest Fisheries And Geomatic Sciences, Transporting, UF-IFAS, University Of Florida

What’s New on Ask IFAS: UF/IFAS Gulf Coast REC (Sept.–Oct.)

by Amanda Quintos
October 31, 2025

Using Banker Plants as an Additional Tool in Strawberry Integrated Pest Management Allan Busuulwa, Lovely Adhikary, and Sriyanka Lahiri. The invasive Scirtothrips dorsalis Hood (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) is currently the most significant pest ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Crops, Home Landscapes, Lawn, Pests & Disease
Tags: Banker Plants, Flowering Plants, Integrated Pest Management, Irrigation, Strawberries, Turfgrass And Lawncare Industry

What’s New on Ask IFAS: Animal Sciences (Sept.–Oct.)

by Amanda Quintos
October 31, 2025

What Backyard Flock Owners Need to Know about Bird Flu (Influenza H5N1) Ashley McLeod-Morin, Benjamin D. Anderson, Glenn Morris, Cynthia B. Sanders, Colleen Larson, Ricky Telg, and Annabel Henson. Bird flu is caused by the H5N1 subtype of ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Livestock, Pests & Disease
Tags: Animal Sciences Department, Backyard Flocks, Bird Flu, Poultry, Sincronización, Vacas

Garlic and Vampires: The Science Behind the Myth [Part 2]

by Suzanne Holloway
October 30, 2025

In part one, we explored garlic’s history and its remarkable ability to help protect against germs, health problems, insects, and even unwanted company. Now, in this post, we’ll take a deeper look into vampire lore, the creatures and conditions ... READ MORE

Category: Fruits & Vegetables, Health & Nutrition, Horticulture, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, Work & Life
Tags: Bats, Folklore, Garlic, Halloween, Health, Holiday, Leech, Leeches, Mosquitoes, Sanguivore, Spooky Season, Supernatural, Vampires

The benefits of an early start in scouting vegetable crops

by Yvette Goodiel
October 30, 2025

Vegetable production season brings a bounty of food for us and, unfortunately, also for crop pests. Thankfully, many naturally occurring beneficial insects, fungi, nematodes, wildlife, and other organisms (AKA beneficials) find their food forest ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Pests & Disease, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: Agribusiness, Agriculture, Commercial Horticulture Digest, Insects, IPM, Martin County, Small Farms, UF/IFAS Extension

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