Tag: Southwest Florida Research and Education Center

@SWFLVegMan McAvoy earns place in the Florida Agricultural Hall of Fame

by Brad Buck

January 31, 2024

You ask most Southwest Florida farmers who they turn to for science-based agricultural information, and they’ll say, “Gene McAvoy.” It’s no accident the growers know him. “When I first started to work in Southwest Florida, ... READ MORE

Category: UF/IFAS
Tags: Caribbean, Florida Agricultural Hall Of Fame, Florida Farm Bureau, Gene McAvoy, Induction, New Jersey, Rutgers University, South Florida Pest And Disease Hotline, Southwest Florida, Southwest Florida Research And Education Center, UF IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Extension Hendry County, Vegetables

Full steam ahead: Warm vapor and a low-dose herbicide control harmful citrus weed

by Brad Buck

December 19, 2023

Weeds have the potential to reduce Florida’s citrus crop by up to 30% annually. They compete with citrus trees for resources like water, light and nutrients, which can significantly reduce yield and fruit quality. Goat weed, a native perennial, ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture
Tags: Agricultural And Biological Engineering, Citrus, Goat Weed, Herbicide, Horticultural Sciences, Paraquat, Ramdas Kanissery, Southwest Florida Research And Education Center, STEAM, Yiannis Ampatzidis

Successful science: Mesh now covers about 1 million citrus trees in Florida, keeping Asian citrus psyllids at bay

by Brad Buck

November 29, 2023

As recently as five years ago, Florida citrus growers did not routinely put protective covers on their trees as part of their grove management. Now, the mesh covers at least 1 million trees on about 17,000 acres, mostly thanks to successful ... READ MORE

Category: UF/IFAS
Tags: Asian Citrus Psyllid, Chlorophyll, Citrus, Citrus Greening Disease, Fernando Alferez, Horticultural Sciences, Individual Protective Covers, IPC, Mesh, Southwest Florida Research And Education Center, Tree Health

From hoops star to AI scientist, UF/IFAS researcher hopes to help Florida farmers protect their soil

by Brad Buck

August 22, 2023

Basketball took center stage for Nikos Tziolas as he grew up in Greece. It shaped him into a team player, a trait he took into his career as an agricultural engineer. His team even earned second place in the Greek adult (17-18 years old) ... READ MORE

Category: UF/IFAS
Tags: Artificial Intelligence, Basketball, Greece, Machine Learning, Nikos Tziolas, Precision Ag, Precision Agriculture, Remote Sensing, Soil, Soil And Water Sciences, Soil Spectroscopy, Soil Water And Ecosystem Sciences, Southwest Florida Research And Education Center, Water

UF experts: Florida watermelon growers sold a bumper crop this year – and still lead the nation in production

by Brad Buck

July 13, 2023

While many of you enjoy sweet, cool watermelon as a treat or snack this summer, remember where it comes from – the sweat of farmers, and some Florida growers say they had their best season ever. The bountiful season, which ends in most ... READ MORE

Category: UF/IFAS
Tags: Bob Hochmuth, Consumers, Crop, Food And Resource Economics, Growers, Harvest, Leader, North Florida Research And Education Center-Suwannee Valley, Southwest Florida Research And Education Center, Tara Wade, Watermelons

UF/IFAS faculty appointed to national committee

by Ruth Hohl Borger

April 28, 2023

Two University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences researchers have been appointed to a prestigious National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine committee to provide guidance on a serious disease plaguing California’s ... READ MORE

Category: UF/IFAS
Tags: Citrus Research And Education Center, Engineering And Medicine Committee, Kirsten Pelz-Stelinski, National Academy Of Sciences, Ozgur Batuman, Southwest Florida Research And Education Center, Wine

UF ag engineer to assess crop damage after tropical storms, hurricanes, using AI

by Brad Buck

January 18, 2023

University of Florida scientists will use artificial intelligence technology to quantify damage to fruits and vegetables caused by extreme weather events, such as Hurricane Ian. When Ian struck on Sept. 28, it brought winds up to 155 mph ... READ MORE

Category: UF/IFAS
Tags: Agricultural And Biological Engineering, Agrosense, Agroview, Artificial Intelligence, Assessment, Crops, Damage, Drones, Extreme Weather, Hurricanes, Model, Southwest Florida Research And Education Center, Yiannis Ampatzidis

University of Florida/IFAS awarded over $16 million in research grants to fight citrus disease

by Ruth Hohl Borger

November 9, 2022

LAKE ALFRED, Fla. -- University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences faculty have secured over $16 million in new funding to advance research projects to combat the deadly citrus greening disease that threatens the Florida ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture
Tags: Asian Citrus Psyllid, Citrus, Citrus Greening Disease, Citrus Research, Citrus Research And Education Center, Fernando Alferez, Grants, HLB, J. Scott Angle, John Chater, Jude Grosser, Kirsten Pelz-Stelinski, Lukasz Stelinski, Megan Dewdney, Nian Wang, Rootstocks, Ruth-borger, Southwest Florida Research And Education Center, USDA-NIFA, Zhonglin Mou

AI-enhanced system detects bruised strawberries before they get to the grocery store

by Brad Buck

September 8, 2022

If you’re perusing the produce section, you generally seek fresh, pleasant-looking fruit – the kind most consumers want to buy. Usually, that means you see few, if any, blemishes. Fruit bruising has many causes: compression, impact or ... READ MORE

Category: Agribusiness
Tags: #aiatuf, Agricultural And Biological Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, Bruises, College Of Agricultural And Life Sciences, Daniel Lee, Detection, Fresh, Grocery Store, Harvesting, Maturity, Plant Science Research And Education Unit, Produce, Southwest Florida Research And Education Center, Strawberries, Xue Zhou, Yiannis Ampatzidis

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