Tag: Sriyanka Lahiri

Close-up of a textured green leaf with a small pale orange insect.

UF study shows how strawberry growers can use less pesticide to control destructive chilli thrips

by Brad Buck
March 11, 2026

Florida strawberry growers can use less pesticide and save money as they try to control a mighty pest known as chilli thrips, University of Florida research shows. An invasive pest in the southeastern United States, chilli thrips was introduced ... READ MORE

Category: UF/IFAS
Tags: Chilli Thrips, Entomology And Nematology, Field-border, Gulf Coast Research And Education Center, Pest Control, Pesticides, Spray, Sriyanka Lahiri, Strawberries
A person kneeling in a strawberry patch surrounded by green plants and ripe strawberries.

Two UF/IFAS-bred strawberries better at resisting nasty pest

by Brad Buck
March 9, 2026

Chilli thrips plague farmers worldwide, but new research from the University of Florida has found two strawberry varieties that show less harm from these pests. The finding comes through research funded in part by the USDA National Institute ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Crops
Tags: Chilli Thrips, Cultivars, Entomology And Nematology, Florida Brilliance, Florida Strawberry Growers Association, Host Plant Resistance, Integrated Pest Management, Kenneth Parker, Lovely Adhikary, Sriyanka Lahiri, Strawberries, Sweet Sensation, UF/IFAS Strawberry Breeding, Vance Whitaker
Close-up of a green leaf with a small brown insect, a spider mite, on it.

Combining UV light and predatory mites could help manage nasty strawberry pest, but there’s a caveat

by Brad Buck
March 18, 2026

Growers can use ultraviolet light and predatory mites to help control a pest that can severely damage strawberries, but new University of Florida research adds a cautionary note. This integrated approach to managing twospotted spider mites ... READ MORE

Category: UF/IFAS
Tags: Entomology And Nematology, Gulf Coast Research And Education Center, Integrated Pest Management, Mite Eggs, Pests, Predatory Mites, Sriyanka Lahiri, Strawberries, Twospotted Spider Mite, Ultraviolet Light, UV
Fresh and vibrant strawberries.

Growing Strawberries in the Florida Home Garden

by Paul Roberts
April 20, 2026

It is New Year’s Day. In the cool gray dawn, you sleepily slide your feet into a pair of slippers, still half-dreaming of the night before. No one else has woken up; the first fruits of the year are yours, and yours alone. At that thought, ... READ MORE

Category: Fruits & Vegetables
Tags: Craig K. Chandler, Home Garden Crops, Horticultural Sciences Department, Natalia A. Peres, Sriyanka Lahiri, Strawberries, Sydney Park Brown, Vance M. Whitaker
Hands holding a bunch of ripe strawberries with green leaves.

UF study gives strawberry growers a ray of (UV) light at the end of their pest tunnel

by Brad Buck
April 13, 2026

BALM, Fla. --- For a few years, University of Florida plant pathologist Natalia Peres has used an ultraviolet light system to thwart strawberry pathogens. Peres even published a study this year that showed the system helps control powdery mildew. Two ... READ MORE

Category: Crops, Pests & Disease
Tags: Biological Control, Chilli Thrips, College Of Agricultural And Life Sciences, Joseph Montemayor, Mites, Natalia Peres, Pests, Sriyanka Lahiri, Strawberries, UVC Radiation

Under siege: Two pests threaten Florida strawberries – but new research may bring relief

by Brad Buck
January 22, 2026

Florida’s strawberry fields may look vibrant and abundant this time of year, but beneath those glossy leaves, a quiet battle is raging. At the very moment growers hit peak production, two long-established but relentless adversaries surge onto ... READ MORE

Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture
Tags: Abigail Campos Gutiérrez, Allan Busuulwa, Biological Control, Chilli Thrips, Crop, Crop Damage, Entomology, Environment, Florida Strawberry Season, Growers, Gulf Coast Research And Education Center, Neoseiulus Californicus, Pesticides, Predatory Mites, Prey, Sriyanka Lahiri, Strawberries, Strawberry Growers, Twospotted Spider Mite

UF study: UV lamps can control strawberry pest

by Brad Buck
November 29, 2022

With about 11,000 acres -- mostly in west-central Florida -- strawberries are worth $399 million annually in Florida. That represents 10% of the national strawberry value and most of the domestically produced winter crop in the United States. Those ... READ MORE

Category: UF/IFAS
Tags: Entomology And Nematology, Gulf Coast Research And Education Center, Mite Eggs, Natalia Peres, Night, Plant Pathology, Sriyanka Lahiri, Strawberries, Twospotted Spider Mite, UV Lights

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