Category: UF/IFAS

Florida 4-H Hall of Fame medallions

2026 Florida 4-H Hall of Fame Inductees Announced

by Caylin Hilton
May 8, 2026

Gainesville, FL – May 8, 2026 – The Florida 4‑H Foundation and Florida 4‑H Youth Development Program are honored to introduce the 2026 Florida 4‑H Hall of Fame inductees. These remarkable individuals have shaped generations through ... READ MORE

Category: 4-H & Youth, Camp, Clubs & Volunteers, Community Volunteers, Events, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: #4HBeyondReady, 4-H, 4-H Alumni, 4-H Hall Of Fame, 4-H Youth Development, Citrus County, Florida 4-H Foundation, Jefferson County, Pinellas County, Taylor County
Un agente de Extensión de UF IFAS, vestido con una camiseta tipo polo azul con una placa de identificación, examina flores en un jardín durante un evento de día de campo, mientras otros participantes observan y toman notas cerca.

Beyond Bouquets: Expert Advice for Creative Mother’s Day Blooms

by Jamie Groh
May 8, 2026

As Mother’s Day approaches, UF/IFAS Extension horticulture expert Erin Harlow says meaningful flower gifts don’t have to come from a florist. With a little thought, she says, creative living gifts can feel more personal than traditional ... READ MORE

Category: UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: Backyard Garden, Beginner Gardening, Cut Flowers, DIY Bouquet, DIY Projects, Extension Education, Family Activities, Florida Gardening, Florida Landscapes, Flower Gardening, Fresh Flowers, Gardening, Gift Ideas, Grow Your Own Flowers, Herbs For Cooking, Home Gardening, Horticulture, Living Gifts, Mother’s Day Gifts, Outdoor Living, Pollinator Friendly Plants, Seasonal Flowers, Spring Gardening, Sustainable Gifts, UF/IFAS Extension
Close-up of a broccoli head with leaves, covered in water droplets.

UF scientists finding new way to keep broccoli – and perhaps other vegetables — fresher, longer

by Brad Buck
March 11, 2026

When consumers go to the grocery store, they want their produce, including broccoli, to look, feel and taste fresh. This desire compels University of Florida scientist Tie Liu to study ways to keep vegetables fresh. In newly published research, ... READ MORE

Category: UF/IFAS
Tags: Aging Process, Broccoli, Cold Chain, Controlled Atmosphere, Crops, Fresh, Horticultural Sciences, Jeff Brecht, Molecular Mechanisms, Plant Breeding, Postharvest, Produce, Tie Liu
A lone coyote walking in a grassy field under a clear blue sky.

Coyotes — the predator under watch by UF cameras, scientists

by Brad Buck
March 11, 2026

Every fifteen minutes, 365 days a year, University of Florida scientists can see how and where many coyotes move at two locations in the Sunshine state. Those images show coyotes in two different landscapes in Florida: pine flatwoods in North ... READ MORE

Category: UF/IFAS
Tags: Behavior, Cameras, Coyotes, Deer, DeLuca Preserve, Foraging, GPS Technology, Hance Ellington, Hunting, Jefferson County, Monitoring, Natural Resources, Osceola County, Predators, Range Cattle Research And Education Center, Tall Timbers’ Livingston Place Property, Turkeys, UF/IFAS Wildlife Ecology And Conservation
Close-up of a textured green leaf with a small pale orange insect.

UF study shows how strawberry growers can use less pesticide to control destructive chilli thrips

by Brad Buck
March 11, 2026

Florida strawberry growers can use less pesticide and save money as they try to control a mighty pest known as chilli thrips, University of Florida research shows. An invasive pest in the southeastern United States, chilli thrips was introduced ... READ MORE

Category: UF/IFAS
Tags: Chilli Thrips, Entomology And Nematology, Field-border, Gulf Coast Research And Education Center, Pest Control, Pesticides, Spray, Sriyanka Lahiri, Strawberries
Underwater scene of staghorn coral with sea urchins and marine vegetation in a coral reef.

Creating a sea urchin ‘baby formula’ to help save our reefs

by Brad Buck
February 18, 2026

Sea urchins are the “lawnmowers of the reefs,” a University of Florida scientist says. They tirelessly chew down the algae that would otherwise smother coral and block the sunlight reefs rely on. When they’re abundant, these spiky grazers ... READ MORE

Category: UF/IFAS
Tags: Adult Urchins, Algae, Apollo Beach, Baby Urchins, Caribbean, Casey Hudspeth, Coral Reefs, Ecosystems, Habitat, Josh Patterson, Juvenile Urchins, Lawnmowers, Microalgae, School Of Forest Fisheries And Geomatics Sciences, Sea Urchins, The Florida Aquarium’s Coral Conservation And Research Center
Close-up of ripe blueberries with some focus on a central berry with a pink spot.

Power through July, aka National Blueberry Month

by Brad Buck
March 11, 2026

As we celebrate National Blueberry Month in July, a University of Florida dietitian says the fruit could be called “power berries.” “Blueberries have fiber, vitamin C, vitamin K, manganese and potassium, and they have some of the highest ... READ MORE

Category: Health & Nutrition, UF/IFAS
Tags: Andrea Nikolai, Antioxidants, Breeder, Breeding, Cutlivars, Doug Phillips, National Blueberry Month, Nutrition, Patricio Munoz, Southern Highbush Blueberry, Statewide Blueberry Extension Coordinator, UF/IFAS Extension Polk County
Underwater scene with orange branched coral and surrounding marine life.

UF experts warn of potential peril caused by ocean acidification

by Brad Buck
March 11, 2026

The world’s oceans absorb about 30% of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which does not bode well for Florida’s 825 miles of coastline. Carbon dioxide can contribute to ocean acidification -- a reduction in the pH of the ocean -- which ... READ MORE

Category: UF/IFAS
Tags: Atmosphere, Carbon Dioxide, Clams, Coral Reef, Emissions, Florida Aquarium, Florida Sea Grant, Josh Patterson, Lisa Krimsky, Marine, Ocean Acidification, Oysters, Pathogens, School Of Forest Fisheries And Geomatics Sciences, Sea Urchins, Water Pollution
Tomatoes ripening on vines in a greenhouse.

UF scientists plan to study whether cover crops or compost can increase the efficiency, resiliency of tomatoes, other produce

by Brad Buck
March 11, 2026

Growers are always looking for ways to maintain or increase their yields and boost the ability of their crops to resist pests, diseases and heat brought on by climate change. That’s particularly the case when you grow crops in a high-intensity ... READ MORE

Category: UF/IFAS
Tags: Climate, Compost, Cover Crops, Fertilizer, Fumigation, Grant, High-intensity Production System, National Institute Of Food And Agriculture, Sarah Strauss, Soil Water And Ecosystem Sciences, Southwest Florida Research And Education Center, Tomatoes
A hand holding a small glass vial with a pond of lily pads in the background.

Natural ponds remove nitrogen more effectively than stormwater ponds

by Brad Buck
March 26, 2026

Summer brings daily storms in the Sunshine State, and with the rain, you need to control flooding in some neighborhoods. Florida is swimming in 76,000 stormwater ponds. Designed to control flooding, stormwater ponds are not as effective as ... READ MORE

Category: Conservation, UF/IFAS, Water
Tags: AJ Reisinger, Audrey Goekner, Denitrification, Dinitrogen Gas, Ecosystems, Flooding, Natural Ponds, Neighborhoods, Nitrogen, Nitrogen Fixation, Pollutants, Soil Water And Ecosystem Sciences, Stormwater, Stormwater Ponds, Subdivisions

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