Category: Pests & Disease

What’s New on Ask IFAS: UF/IFAS Gulf Coast REC (Sept.–Oct.)
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 & DiseaseTags: Banker Plants, Flowering Plants, Integrated Pest Management, Irrigation, Strawberries, Turfgrass And Lawncare Industry

What’s New on Ask IFAS: Animal Sciences (Sept.–Oct.)
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 & DiseaseTags: Animal Sciences Department, Backyard Flocks, Bird Flu, Poultry, Sincronización, Vacas

Garlic and Vampires: The Science Behind the Myth [Part 2]
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 & LifeTags: Bats, Folklore, Garlic, Halloween, Health, Holiday, Leech, Leeches, Mosquitoes, Sanguivore, Spooky Season, Supernatural, Vampires

The benefits of an early start in scouting vegetable crops
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 ExtensionTags: Agribusiness, Agriculture, Commercial Horticulture Digest, Insects, IPM, Martin County, Small Farms, UF/IFAS Extension

Una proteína segura podría ayudar a que los cítricos sean más tolerantes a la letal enfermedad del enverdecimiento
October 29, 2025
Creado por Brad Buck, especialista sénior en relaciones públicas para UF/IFAS. La enfermedad del enverdecimiento de los citricos, conocida como citrus greening o Huanglongbing (HLB), ha devastado los cultivos de cítricos en Florida, ... READ MORE
Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture, Crops, Farm Management, Pests & Disease, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS ResearchTags: Arabidopsis NPR1, AtNPR1, Brócoli, Calidad, Centro De Transformación De Cultivos De UF/IFAS, Citricos, Citrus Greening, Coliflor, Control De Psílidos, Defensa Natural, Departamento De Entomologia, Diaphorina Citri, Enfermedad, Enverdecimiento De Los Cítricos, EPA, Eric Triplett, Español, FDA, Gen, Genes, Genetica, Hamlin, HLB, Huanglongbing (HLB), Infección, Inmunidad Vegetal, Insectos, Institute Of Food And Agricultural Sciences, Jugo De Naranja, Microbiología Y Ciencia Celular, Naranjas, NuCitrus, Patogenos, Plantas Libres De Patógenos, Proteina, Proteína Natural, Psílido Asiático De Los Cítricos, Psílidos, Rendimiento, Sintomas, Spanish, Tolerancia, UF-IFAS, University Of Florida, USDA, Vegetales, Zhonglin Mou

A protein can help make some citrus more tolerant to the deadly citrus greening disease – and it’s safe
October 29, 2025
Greening disease has devastated the citrus crop in Florida, but University of Florida scientists are using genes from another plant and putting them into Hamlin oranges to develop citrus plants that fight the disease. Scientists have developed ... READ MORE
Category: Agriculture, Pests & DiseaseTags: AtNPR1, Citrus, Citrus Greening Disease, Citrus Growers, Crop Transformation Center, Eric Triplett, Greening Resistant, Greening Tolerant, Hamlin Oranges, Microbiology And Cell Science, NuCitrus, Pathogen, Symptoms, Toxic, Transgenic, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Food And Drug Administration, USDA Research Farm, Zhonglin Mou

Nov. 5: UF’s palm tree team brings science, solutions to South Florida at Palm Short Course in Davie and online
October 28, 2025
Florida’s palm trees don’t just define the Sunshine State’s skylines. They are a cornerstone of the state’s environment and economy. Yet, pests, diseases and nutrient issues can make it tough to keep the many varieties healthy. To ... READ MORE
Category: Conservation, Crops, Events, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS ResearchTags: Arborists, Conservation, Entomology And Nematology, Environmental Horticulture, Fort Lauderdale Research And Education Center, Growers, Horticultural Sciences, IFAS, Institute Of Food And Agricultural Sciences, Mica McMillan, News, Nutrients, Palm, Palm Disease, Palm Tree Short Course, Property Managers, UF-IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, University Of Florida

Trailblazing entomologist’s gift creates a home for students, future scientists – and a legacy of belonging
October 23, 2025
The University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) will celebrate a milestone moment on Nov. 1 at 4:30 p.m., when the doors open to the Pauline O. Lawrence Student Residence at the UF/IFAS Tropical Research ... READ MORE
Category: Agriculture, Crops, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Research, UF/IFAS TeachingTags: Agriculture, Dormitory, Edward "Gilly" Evans, Edward Evans, Emeritus Professor Carlton Davis, Empathy, Entomology, Enviroment, First Black Female Graduate Student, Food And Resource Economics, Fruit Flies, Future Scientists, Graduate Students, Groves, IFAS, Institute Of Food And Agricultural Sciences, J. Scott Angle, Miami-Dade County, Natural Resources, News, Pauline O. Lawrence Student Residence, Resilience, Richard Baranowski, South Florida, Students, TREC, TREC Dormitory Fund, Tropical Fruit, Tropical Research And Education Center, Tropical Vegetable, Tropics, UF, UF-IFAS, UF/IFAS Tropical Research And Education Center, University Of Florida

Garlic and Vampires: The Science Behind the Myth [Part 1]
October 23, 2025
You’ve probably heard the old myth that garlic repels vampires, but is there any truth behind this? There’s no scientific evidence to support the existence of vampires or their aversion to garlic. However, the myth likely has roots in garlic’s ... READ MORE
Category: Food Safety, Fruits & Vegetables, Health & Nutrition, Horticulture, Pests & Disease, Work & LifeTags: Allicin, Garlic, Halloween, Health, Holiday, Insect Repellent, Lentil Soup, Recipe, Repellent, Soup, Spooky Season, Vampire, Vampires, Wellness