Tag: diseases

Florida strawberry season bursts with sweetness

by Brad Buck
December 3, 2025

Florida’s late fall and winter don’t just bring cooler, less humid weather. The seasons bring the sweet burst of locally grown strawberries. Juicy, vibrant and fresh from the fields, these Sunshine State gems are waiting for you at your ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS
Tags: Aroma, Consumers, Diseases, Ember, Encore, Flavor, Florida Strawberry Season, Genetics, Growers, Gulf Coast Research And Education Center, Horticultural Sciences, Pests, Pineberry, Plant Breeding, Strawberries, Strawberry Breeder, Strawberry Season, Vance Whitaker

AI center goal to put technology directly into growers’ hands to solve problems

by Brad Buck
December 2, 2025

It’s one thing to listen to a farmer describe the challenges of battling pests, unpredictable weather or dwindling resources — and quite another to hand them a tool that can tackle those problems head‑on. Imagine technology that manages ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Crops, UF/IFAS
Tags: #aiatuf, Agricultural And Biological Engineering, Agriculture, Center For Applied Artificial Intelligence In Agriculture, Climate, Dana Choi, Diseases, Drones, Economy, Farmers, Growers, Gulf Coast Research And Education Center, Horticutural Sciences, Kevin Wang, Nathan Boyd, Pests, Prec-ag, Precision Spraying, Prototype, Technology, Weather

Groundbreaking for AI center part of 100th anniversary celebration of UF Gulf Coast Research and Education Center

by Brad Buck
October 22, 2025

Agriculture isn’t just rows of citrus groves and fields of strawberries – it’s Florida’s second largest economic powerhouse, trailing only tourism. With more than 133,000 jobs riding on its success, farming fuels communities across the ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, SFYL Hot Topic
Tags: #aiatuf, 100th Anniversary, Agricultural And Biological Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, Center For Applied Artificial Intelligence In Agriculture, Dana Choi, Digital Twin, Diseases, Economy, Environment, Farming, Food, Fruits, Groundbreaking, Gulf Coast Research And Education Center, J. Scott Angle, Jack Rechcigl, Jobs, Kevin Wang, Labor, Nathan Boyd, Ornamental Plants, Pests, Plant Breeding, Prec-ag, Precision Spraying

Better mangoes, papayas and other tropical fruit: Breeding fruits consumers love, growers need

by Lourdes Mederos
August 27, 2025

Florida has long held a special place in America's fruit bowl. With its subtropical climate, the state remains one of the few parts of the continental United States where exotic fruits -- from mangoes and avocados to papayas and dragon fruit ... READ MORE

Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture, Crops, Farm Management, Fruits & Vegetables, Health & Nutrition, Horticulture, Pests & Disease, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Avocado, Consumers, Crops, Cultivars, Diseases, DNA, Dragon Fruit, Exotic Fruits, Flavor, Florida, Gardens, Genetic Markers, Genetic Tools, Growers, Health, Jugpreet Singh, Laurel Wilt, Mango, Nutrition, Papaya, Papaya Ringspot, Pests, Production, Shelf Life, Subtropical Climate, Tropical Fruit, Tropical Research And Education Center

UF study traces complex history of the strawberry

by Brad Buck
June 18, 2025

If you eat fruits or vegetables, how often do you think about their history? Former University of Florida post-doctoral researcher Zhen Fan did, as he traced the strawberry back over centuries. In a new paper published in the Proceedings ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Pests & Disease
Tags: Chromosome, Cross, Diseases, DNA, Doug Soltis, Evolution, Florida Museum Of Natural History, Genetic Diversity, Genetics, History, Hybrid, Octoploid, Pam Soltis, Pests, Plant Breeding, Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences, Species, Strawberries, Strawberry, Vance Whitaker, Zhen Fan

Hurricanes can bring crop diseases, but plant clinics help farmers quickly and accurately battle pathogens spread by storms

by Brad Buck
May 28, 2025

Last fall, strawberry fields in the Tampa Bay region and at the UF/IFAS Gulf Coast Research and Education Center (GCREC) were riddled by colletotrichum crown rot disease, which was spread by winds and rain from Hurricane Milton. The Category ... READ MORE

Category: UF/IFAS
Tags: Crops, Crown Rot, Disease Control, Diseases, Florida Strawberry Growers Association, Gulf Coast Research And Education Center, Hurricane Milton, Hurricanes, Kenneth Parker, Marcus Marin, Mathews Paret, Mid-Florida Research And Education Center, Natalia Peres, North Florida Research And Education Center, Pathogens, Plant Diagnostic Clinic, Plant Diseases, Plant Pathology, Rapid Diagnosis, Southwest Florida Research And Education Center, Soybean Rust, Strawberries, Tropical Research And Education Center
De-Fen Mou, entomologist at Everglades Research and Agriculture Center in a sugar cane field

Protecting your plate and farmer’s harvests: UF/IFAS entomologist fights for Florida’s crops against costly pests

by Lourdes Mederos
March 31, 2025

Behind every fresh head of lettuce and pepper on your plate, there’s a team of scientists working tirelessly to protect crops and farmers’ harvests from pests and plant diseases. De-Fen Mou, an assistant professor of entomology at ... READ MORE

Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture, , Conservation, Crops, Events, Farm Management, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Agricultural Pests, Aphids, De-Fen Mou, Department Of Entomology And Nematology, Diseases, Entomology, Entomology And Nematology, EREC Agricultural Vector Entomology Lab, Everglades Research And Education Center, Hemiptera, Institute Of Food And Agricultural Sciences, Invasive, Leafhoppers, News, Pests, Plant Diseases, Planthoppers, Samira Daroub, Thrips, Thrips Parvispinus, Thysanopterans, UF-IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, Whiteflies
Monica Navia Urrutia frente a un cultivo de caña de azúcar.

New UF/IFAS plant pathologist brings hope and relief to Everglades Agricultural Area farmers battling crop diseases

by Lourdes Mederos
March 24, 2025

Farmers in the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) have a powerful new ally in the fight against crop diseases. Meet Monica Navia-Urrutia a plant pathologist at the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences ... READ MORE

Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture, , Conservation, Crops, Events, Farm Management, Pests & Disease, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Agriculture, Belle Glade, Celery, Cutting-eduge Research, Disease-resistant Cultivars, Diseases, EAA, Economy, EREC, Everglades Agricultural Area, Everglades Research And Education Center, Food Production, Green Beans, Lettuce, Microgreens, Monica Navia-Urrutia, News, Pests, Plam Beach, Plant Breeding, Plant Pathology, Radishes, Rice, Samira Daroub, Sugarcane, Sweet Corn, TREC, Tropical Research And Education Center, UF IFAS Everglades Research And Education Center, UF-IFAS, University Of Florida

From problem to on-farm solution: The journey of one UF/IFAS AI technology

by Brad Buck
February 11, 2025

A few weeks after Yiannis Ampatzidis started working at the University of Florida in 2017, Hurricane Irma wreaked havoc on the Florida peninsula and its citrus groves. Growers needed to count their trees with precision to get crop insurance, ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, UF/IFAS
Tags: #aiatuf, Agricutural And Biological Engineering, Agroview, Artificial Intellgience, Citrus, Counting, Crop Insurance, Diseases, Farms, Insurance, Inventory, Lab, Pests, Prec-ag, Southwest Florida Research And Education Center, Trees, Yiannis Ampatzidis

Subscribe For More Great Content

IFAS Blogs Categories