Tag: Plant Breeding

From 5,000 strawberries to DNA breakthrough: Doctoral grad sweetens the future of fruit

by Brad Buck
December 18, 2025

As we enter the height of Florida’s strawberry production season, many consumers crave the taste and aroma of the fruit. That’s part of what compels Mark Porter to try to enhance those qualities.For his doctoral dissertation, Porter led ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Horticulture
Tags: Aroma, Consumers, DNA, DNA Test, Doctoral Dissertation, Flavor, Genome, Growers, Gulf Coast Research And Education Center, Mark Porter, Ph.D., Plant Breeding, Plant Breeding Ph.D. Program, Seonghee Lee, Sour, Strawberries, Strawberry Breeding, Sweet, Taste

Dr. Gerardo Nunez Named to Fruit + Vegetable 40 Under Forty Class of 2025

by Eva Sailly
December 16, 2025

Dr. Gerardo Nunez, Assistant Professor of Horticultural Sciences, has been named to the Fruit + Vegetable 40 Under Forty Class of 2025, a national recognition honoring emerging leaders who are making meaningful contributions to the specialty ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Crops, Farm Management, Horticulture, UF/IFAS Research, UF/IFAS Teaching
Tags: Award, Blueberry, Fruit + Vegetable 40 Under Forty, Gerardo Nunez, Horticultural Sciences, Nunez Lab, Plant Breeding, Small Fruit Horticulture Lab, Teaching, UF/IFAS CALS

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

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

Alumni Spotlight: Breeding Climate-Resilient Cacao for Mars

by Eva Sailly
October 15, 2025

Dr. Ashley DuVal, an alumna of UF/IFAS with a Ph.D. in Horticultural Sciences, has built a career devoted to ensuring that chocolate has a sustainable future. Now a Senior Scientist and cacao breeder with Mars Wrigley, Dr. DuVal works ... READ MORE

Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture, Crops, Forests, Horticulture, Professional Development, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Research, UF/IFAS Teaching, Work & Life
Tags: Agroforestry, Alumni, Alumni-feature, Cacao, Climate Resilience, Food Science, Horticultural Sciences, Mars, Plant Breeding, Sustainable Food Systems, Teaching

University of Florida to be new host for major plant and animal breeding accelerator program

by Brad Buck
September 25, 2025

The University of Florida is the new home for an important partner in the effort to provide nutritious food for the nation and to keep farms competitive – a USDA-Agricultural Research Service-funded program called Breeding Insight (BI). The ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Crops, Livestock
Tags: #aiatuf, Animal Breeding, Breeding Insight, Crops, Damian Adams, Ecosystems, Food, Growers, High-performance Computing, Moira Sheehan, Plant Breeding, Prec-ag, Ranchers, Software, UF/IFAS Research

Citrus County high school students learn importance of passion and hard work in careers in agriculture – the No. 2 industry in Florida

by Brad Buck
September 16, 2025

When some people hear the word “agriculture,” they envision cows and plows, but you can pursue many careers in the field, as Citrus County high school students learned. The 2nd Annual Expanding Agriculture: Workforce Seminar opened with ... READ MORE

Category: Events, Work & Life
Tags: #aiatuf, 2nd Annual Expanding Agriculture: Workforce Seminar, Agriculture, Aquaculture, Careers, Cattle, Citrus County Schools, College Of Central Florida, Drones, Eric Cassiano, High School, J.J. Grow, Leadership, Marguerite Beckford, Marketing, Plant Breeding, Prec-ag, Sales, Stacy Strickland, Students, UF/IFAS Extension Citrus County, UF/IFAS Extension Hernando County

Disease–Resistant Vinifera Grapes Signal New Era for Florida Wine

by Eva Sailly
September 10, 2025

In a milestone for Florida agriculture, researchers in the University of Florida’s UF/IFAS Department of Horticultural Sciences have successfully grown and harvested Pierce Disease–resistant winegrape varieties. The effort, led ... READ MORE

Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture, Crops, Pests & Disease, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Dr. Ali Sarkhosh, Food Trend, Horticultural Sciences, Plant Breeding, UF Fruit Crop Lab, Wine

Dr. Paul M. Lyrene’s Legacy of Science and Stewardship – and the UF Facilities Named in His Honor

by Eva Sailly
August 20, 2025

I met Dr. Paul M. Lyrene, University of Florida Emeritus Professor of Horticultural Sciences, at the Alachua Conservation Trust’s (ACT) Prairie Creek property, where he had invited me to see its native wildlife garden. In 2022, Lyrene installed ... READ MORE

Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture, Community Volunteers, Crops, Events, Horticulture
Tags: Blueberry, Blueberry Research Building, Horticultural Sciences, Lyrene, Paul M. Lyrene, Plant Breeding

Graduate Student Spotlight with Gabriella Dickinson: Exploring Plant Metabolism through Biochemistry

by Eva Sailly
August 5, 2025

Gabriella Dickinson, our student spotlight, is a fourth-year Ph.D. student in the Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology (PMCB) program at the University of Florida. Working in Dr. Gilles Basset’s lab, she studies the biosynthesis of prenylated ... READ MORE

Category: Curriculum, Horticulture, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Research, UF/IFAS Teaching
Tags: Basset Lab, Graduate Student, Horticultural Sciences, Ph.D., Plant Breeding, Plant Molecular And Cellular Biology, Plant Science, PMCB, Student, Teaching, UF/IFAS CALS

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