Tag: Jessica Chitwood-Brown

New tomato breeder at GCREC now sits in her mentor’s chair, plans to continue legacy of bringing best data to growers and flavorful fruit to consumers

by Brad Buck
May 18, 2026

Jessica Chitwood-Brown grew up in rural Alma, Arkansas, where she rode horses, fished with her dad and played at the marina. She also recalls participating in the Crawford County Fair, going to football games on Friday nights, horse ... READ MORE

Category: UF/IFAS
Tags: Agricultural And Biological Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, Cultivars, Entomology, Flavor, Gulf Coast Research And Education Center, Horticultural Sciences, Jack Rechigl, Jay Scott, Jessica Chitwood-Brown, Kevin Wang, Machine Harvesting, Plant Pathology, Prec-ag, Precision Ag, Sam Hutton, Sustainable Agriculture, Tomato Breeding, University Florida, University Of Arkansas, Yield

Machine-harvestable tomatoes available from UF/IFAS; growers hope cultivars can help lower labor cost

by Brad Buck
May 18, 2026

Ever since Florida farmers have been growing tomatoes, they’ve picked them by hand or hired laborers. It’s painstaking work that might be made easier soon with machine-harvestable tomatoes developed by University of Florida scientists. Now ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Crops, UF/IFAS
Tags: Cultivar, Florida, Florida Tomato Committee, Growers, Gulf Coast Research And Education Center, Horticultural Sciences, Hybrid, Jay Scott, Jessica Chitwood-Brown, Machine Harvesting, Michael Schadler, Plant Breeding, Sam Hutton, Tomatoes

Citizen scientists help UF researchers find best-tasting tomatoes

by Brad Buck
May 18, 2026

People with a green thumb for growing tomatoes are giving University of Florida scientists good data to help them find tastier tomatoes. Through a citizen science program, Denise Tieman, a UF/IFAS research associate professor of horticultural ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture
Tags: Citizen Science, Cultivars, Denise Tieman, DNA, Flavor, Florida Tomato Conference, Gardeners, Growers, Gulf Coast Research And Education Center, Horticultural Sciences Department, Jessica Chitwood-Brown, Tomato Breeding, Tomatoes

First graduates of UF’s plant-breeding Ph.D. use genetics to help growers boost yields, improve shelf life, more

by Brad Buck
May 18, 2026

About four years ago, a small cohort of ambitious young scientists stepped into uncharted territory as the first students in the University of Florida’s new plant breeding Ph.D. program in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, part ... READ MORE

Category: UF/IFAS
Tags: Agronomy, Ali Babar, Anandi Karn, Blueberries, College Of Agricultural And Life Science, Elissar Alam, Estafania Flores, Esteban Rios, Forage, Fusarium Wilt, Graduates, Gulf Coast Research And Education Center, Horticultural Sciences, Jessica Chitwood-Brown, Manuel Gastelbondo, Pablo Sipowicz, Patricio Munoz, Ph.D., Plant Breeding Ph.D. Program, Samuel Ipinyomi, Strawberries, Sudip Kunwar, Tomatoes, Tropical Research And Education Center, UF/IFAS Plant Breeding, Vance Whitaker, Vanilla, Wheat, Xingbo Wu

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