Tag: Horticultural Sciences Department

Several paper bags holding freshly picked, unblemished peach fruit.

What’s New on Ask IFAS: Horticultural Sciences (Jul.–Aug. 2026)

by Gillian McGuire
September 2, 2026

Specialty/Tropical Fruit Maprang (Bouea macrophylla Griff.) Fruit Trees: Botany and Commercial Cultivation in South Florida By Federico W. Sanchez, Jonathan H. Crane, and Bruce Schaffer Maprang (Bouea macrophylla Griff.), also known as ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Fruits & Vegetables, Horticulture, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease
Tags: Ask IFAS, Blueberry, EDIS Journal, Horticultural Sciences Department, Peach, Postharvest And Handling, Tropical Fruits, Weed Management In Ornamentals And Turf
Naples Botanical Garden Nursery Interior

Plant Science Major Spotlight: Edilzon Ramirez

by Eva Sailly
September 1, 2026

Edilzon “Edi” Ramirez has become a familiar face around Fifield Hall, home to several UF/IFAS departments and programs, including the Plant Science major, where he is a junior. Carrying homemade cupcakes, welcoming incoming students ... READ MORE

Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture, Clubs & Volunteers, Horticulture, Professional Development, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Teaching
Tags: Edilzon Ramirez, Environmental Horticulture, Florida Landscaping, Horticultural Sciences Department, Plant Science, Student, Teaching, UF/IFAS CALS, Undergraduate
Three-panel image showing a rocket launch, a gloved researcher handling a small plant sample in a laboratory tube, and a ripe passion fruit growing on the vine.

Alumni Spotlight: Dr. Garcia Uses Plant Science to Support Future Space Exploration

by Eva Sailly
August 24, 2026

Ellen Garcia is a recent graduate of Horticultural Sciences, earning her Ph.D. in August 2025 and immediately starting as a postdoctoral research associate with NASA at Kennedy Space Center in September 2025.  Her research uses hyperspectral ... READ MORE

Category: 4-H & Youth
Tags: Alumni, Alumni-feature, Dr. Ali Sarkhosh, Dr. Ellen Garcia, Dr. Tie Liu, Horticultural Sciences, Horticultural Sciences Department, Kennedy Space Center, NASA, Ph.D., Postharvest And Handling, Space Science, Student, UF/IFAS CALS
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
Close-up on a cluster of pink flowers.

What’s New on Ask IFAS: Horticultural Sciences (May–June 2026)

by Gillian McGuire
July 6, 2026

Demonstration Gardens in UF/IFAS Extension By Lisa S. Strange, Wendy Wilber, and Brenna Sturgis This publication provides a comprehensive directory of Extension demonstration gardens across Florida, highlighting their educational focus, ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Home Landscapes, Horticulture
Tags: Asian Vegetables Emerging In Florida, Ask IFAS, Demonstration Gardens, Edamame, Edis, Horticultural Sciences Department, Snapbean, Trees

From fields to space farming, new tool detects crop drought stress before it’s visible

by Jamie Groh
June 30, 2026

When it comes to drought stress, timing can be the difference between saving a crop and losing it, whether in a greenhouse or the high-stakes environment of future space missions.   In a recent study published in Plant Phenomics, researchers ... READ MORE

Category: Blog Community, Horticulture, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Agricultural Innovation, Agricultural Technology, Artificial Intelligence In Agriculture, Automated Irrigation Systems, Blog Community, Controlled Environment Agriculture, Crop Monitoring, Crop Resilience, Crop Stress Detection, Department Of Horticultural Sciences, Drought Management, Drought Stress Detection, Featured, Greenhouse Farming, Horticultre, Horticultural Science, Horticultural Sciences, Horticultural Sciences Department, Hyperspectral Imaging, Indoor Farming, Irrigation Management, Lettuce Plants, Mars Farming, Moon Missions, NASA Agriculture, Non-destructive Crop Monitoring, Plant Health Monitoring, Plant Phenomics, Precision Agriculture, Precision Irrigation, Smart Farming Technology, Space Agriculture, Sustainable Agriculture, UF-IFAS, USDA Research, Water Conservation
Close-up of a researcher using fine tweezers to handle a small green plant sample on a glass slide under bright laboratory lighting.

Inside UF’s PMCB Program Shaping Interdisciplinary Scientists

by Eva Sailly
April 30, 2026

UF's Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology (PMCB) Graduate Program grew from the understanding that addressing complex challenges in plant science requires collaboration.   Built Against the Grain Dr. Indra Vasil joined UF in 1967, ... READ MORE

Category: UF/IFAS Teaching
Tags: Horticultural Sciences Department, Hunter Strickland, Indra K. Vasil, Julia Ball, Ph.D., Plant Molecular And Cellular Biology, PMCB, Student, Teaching, Zhonglin Mou
Lauren Goldsby, UF/IFAS Extension Agent, leads a hands-on blueberry workshop for community members in Bay County.

Alumni Spotlight: Lauren Goldsby’s Path to Extension

by Eva Sailly
April 13, 2026

Lauren Goldsby’s path to becoming a UF/IFAS Extension Agent in Bay County, Florida's panhandle, wasn’t linear. During her undergraduate years at UF, she worked in the Forage Breeding and Genomics Lab and the Blueberry Breeding Lab, gaining ... READ MORE

Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture, Crops, Farm Management, Home Landscapes, Horticulture, Professional Development, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Teaching, Work & Life
Tags: Alumni, Alumni-feature, Bay County, Blueberry, Extension, Gerardo Nunez, Goldsby, Horticultural Sciences, Horticultural Sciences Department, Plant Science, Student, Teaching, UF/IFAS CALS, UF/IFAS Extension
Potted plants being fertilized. Photo taken 09-30-25

Therapeutic Horticulture Program Awarded Burpee Grant

by Eva Sailly
March 31, 2026

On the south side of UF’s campus, between UF Health Shands Hospital and IFAS’s research greenhouses, is a small team making a deep impact. The greenhouse at Wilmot Botanical Gardens is home to UF’s Therapeutic Horticulture Program, where ... READ MORE

Category: Community Volunteers, Health & Nutrition, Relationships & Family, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Teaching
Tags: Community Engagement, Experiential Learning, Horticultural Sciences, Horticultural Sciences Department, Horticulture Therapy, Leah Diehl, Mental Health, Student Health, Therapeutic Horticulture, Well-being, Wilmot Gardens
Triptych of velvet bean related research. [From Left to right] biological scientist pipettes liquids in tray; a group of velvet bean pods at the research plot in Citra; close up of soy beans cooked at home (similar to velvet beans as researchers are attempting to elevate L-DOPA levels).

Velvet Bean’s Potential for Parkinson’s Treatment

by Eva Sailly
March 20, 2026

Mucuna pruriens, or velvet bean, naturally produces L-DOPA, the precursor to dopamine and the primary compound used to manage symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. When neurons lose the ability to produce dopamine, patients ... READ MORE

Category: Crops, Horticulture, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Crop Breeding, Dr. Guodong Liu, Dr. Jeongim Kim, Dr. Kelly Balmant, Dr. Md Jahidul Islam Shohag, Food Is Medicine, Horticultural Sciences, Horticultural Sciences Department, Julia Ball, L-DOPA, Max Munro, Parkinson's Disease, Plant Breeding, Plant Genetics, Plant Metabolism, Plant-based Medicine, PMCB, UF Health, Velvet Bean

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