Category: UF/IFAS Research

Sargassum Summer: Florida’s 2026 Record Sargassum Bloom Is More Than a Beach Problem

by Dana Saunders
August 10, 2026

Quick Facts What it is: Sargassum is a free-floating brown seaweed that drifts across the open ocean. Where it comes from: The Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt, a massive accumulation of floating algae stretching from West Africa to the Gulf ... READ MORE

Category: Coasts & Marine, Events, Invasive Species, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Research,
Tags: Department Of Microbiology And Cell Science, Sargassum Bloom, UF-IFAS, University Of Florida, University Of Florida Institute Of Food And Agricultural Sciences
FFL Plants WITH Florida Natives

Native Plants Play Key Role in Wildlife Gardens

by Maria Quirico
August 9, 2026

 Native plants are increasingly promoted as a cornerstone of wildlife-friendly gardening, but experts say gardeners do not need to limit themselves exclusively to native species to support pollinators and other wildlife. What are Native ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, Horticulture, Lawn, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Research, UF/IFAS Teaching, Wildlife
Tags: Ecological Value, Florida Native Plants, Florida-Friendly Plants, Low Maintenance, Non Invasive
Dandelion_Sedge01

Florida Lawn Weed Control

by Maria Quirico
August 6, 2026

How do we control Florida Lawn Weeds? We begin by identifying the weeds into three groups: Broadleaf Weeds, Grass Weeds and Sedge Weeds. To control common Florida lawn weeds, use a combination of proper lawn care practices, targeted chemical ... READ MORE

Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture, Crops, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, Horticulture, Lawn, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, Turf, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Research, UF/IFAS Teaching
Tags: Chemical Control, Cultural Control, Dollarweed, Integrated Pest Manangement, Nonselective Herbicide, Preventative Control, Selective Herbicide, Torpedo Grass, Yellow Nutsedge
Broadleaf vs sedge weeds

Identifying Florida Lawn Weeds

by Maria Quirico
August 6, 2026

The definition of a weed is any plant that is unwanted in your yard or garden.  There are three types of weeds: broadleaf, grasses, and sedges. Identifying the weed type will assist in weed control methods. Broadleaf Weeds Broadleaf Weeds ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Home Landscapes, Home Management, Horticulture, Lawn, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, Turf, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Research, UF/IFAS Teaching
Tags: Broadleaf Weed, Crabgrass, Dandelions, Florida Lawn Weeds, Grass Weed, Sedge Weed, Yellow Nutsedge
Buttonwood with Butterfly

Florida Weeds to Grow (Some are Great Butterfly Plants)

by Maria Quirico
August 6, 2026

A weed is a plant in an unwanted place. However, this depends on your point of view! Sometimes we are surprised that these weeds are host plants for butterflies. Host plants provide food for the caterpillars of these butterflies. Here are ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, Home Management, Horticulture, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Butterfly Host Plants, Checkered White Butterfly, Dainty Sulphur Butterfly, Frogfruit, Great Southern White Butterfly, Porterweed, Spanish Needle, Tropical Buckeye Butterfly, Virginia Pepperweed, White Peacock Butterfly
Person seated beside a stereomicroscope in a laboratory workspace, facing the camera. Shelving, labeled containers, laboratory supplies, buckets with marker flags, and scientific equipment are visible throughout the room, with the microscope positioned prominently on the workbench in the foreground.

Intern Profile: Cassidy Dalton’s Journey in Research and Learning

by Joe McQueen
August 4, 2026

Cassidy Dalton, an undergraduate student at the University of Florida studying environmental management, natural resources and agriculture, has spent her summer as an intern at the Hayslip Biological Control Research and Containment Laboratory, ... READ MORE

Category: Conservation, Invasive Species, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Biological Control, Intern, Invasive Species, Pasture Mealybug
Triad with Jeffrey Williamson Teaching a pruning course, the middle image showcases blueberries on a branch, and third is a peach on a tree with the stadium in the background

UF/IFAS Professor Retires: Jeffrey Williamson on Florida Blueberries and Mentorship

by Eva Sailly
July 29, 2026

“The very fact that we’re growing blueberries at all is because of UF/IFAS. If we didn’t have those varieties, we wouldn’t be growing blueberries commercially. The breeding program is really what turned blueberries into an important ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Crops, Horticulture, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Research, UF/IFAS Teaching, Work & Life
Tags: Blueberry, Extension, Horticultural Sciences Department, Jeffrey Williamson, Retirement, Rootstock, Stone Fruit, Teaching, UF IFAS Horticultural Sciences, UF/IFAS CALS

The Grape That Loves a Southern Summer

by Molly Jameson
July 24, 2026

The Grape That Loves a Southern Summer Late summer in the Panhandle has a flavor, and for a lot of us it tastes like muscadines. If you grew up here, one bite can send you straight back to a hot afternoon spent picking grapes off a backyard ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Crops, Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes, Horticulture, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: FAMU, Grape Harvest Festival, Home Orchard, Muscadine, Muscadine Cultivars, Muscadine Grapes, Native Plants, Panhandle Gardening, Scuppernong, Seedless Muscadine, Viticulture, Vitis Rotundifolia, Wine Grapes

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