Tag: Plant Breeding Ph.D. Program

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

by Brad Buck
January 21, 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

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
bright red strawberries held in the palm of two hands

UF scientists see bright future as they seek savory strawberries – and high yield

by Brad Buck
June 8, 2023

Strawberry consumers love the fruit’s sweet flavor, and University of Florida scientists are trying to meet that desire, while also helping growers produce high yields. But genes and volatile compounds that control flavor are difficult ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture
Tags: AI, Aroma, Artificial Intelligence, Flavor, Genetics, Gulf Coast Research And Education Center, Kevin Wang, Mark Porter, Plant Breeding Ph.D. Program, Precision Ag, Seonghee Lee, Strawberries, Strawberry Breeding, Strawberry Genome, Taste Panels, Vance Whitaker

Subscribe For More Great Content

IFAS Blogs Categories