Category: Academics

Potted plants being fertilized. Photo taken 09-30-25

Therapeutic Horticulture Program Awarded Burpee Grant

by Eva Sailly
March 31, 2026

On the south side of UF’s campus, between UF Health Shands Hospital and IFAS’s research greenhouses, is a small team making a deep impact. The greenhouse at Wilmot Botanical Gardens is home to UF’s Therapeutic Horticulture Program, where ... READ MORE

Category: Academics, Community Volunteers, Health & Nutrition, Relationships & Family, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Teaching
Tags: Community Engagement, Experiential Learning, Horticultural Sciences, Horticultural Sciences Department, Horticulture Therapy, Leah Diehl, Mental Health, Student Health, Therapeutic Horticulture, Well-Being, Wilmot Gardens
Triptych of velvet bean related research. [From Left to right] biological scientist pipettes liquids in tray; a group of velvet bean pods at the research plot in Citra; close up of soy beans cooked at home (similar to velvet beans as researchers are attempting to elevate L-DOPA levels).

Velvet Bean’s Potential for Parkinson’s Treatment

by Eva Sailly
March 20, 2026

Mucuna pruriens, or velvet bean, naturally produces L-DOPA, the precursor to dopamine and the primary compound used to manage symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. When neurons lose the ability to produce dopamine, patients ... READ MORE

Category: Academics, Crops, Horticulture, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Crop Breeding, Dr. Guodong Liu, Dr. Jeongim Kim, Dr. Kelly Balmant, Dr. Md Jahidul Islam Shohag, Food Is Medicine, Horticultural Sciences, Horticultural Sciences Department, Julia Ball, L-DOPA, Max Munro, Parkinson’s Disease, Plant Breeding, Plant Genetics, Plant Metabolism, Plant-based Medicine, PMCB, UF Health, Velvet Bean
Close-up image of the dried, saffron which is the thread-like stigma (the female reproductive part) of the Crocus sativus flower in a glass container.

A New Approach to Propagating the “World’s Most Valuable” Spice

by Eva Sailly
March 13, 2026

Often referred to as the most expensive spice in the world, saffron has been prized for thousands of years for its vibrant color, distinctive flavor, and aromatic compounds. Extracted from the red stigmas of the saffron crocus, Crocus sativus, ... READ MORE

Category: Academics, Agribusiness, Agriculture, Crops, Farm Management, Horticulture, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Bioreactor, Controlled-environment Production Systems, Cryopreservation, Environmental Horticulture, Food Is Medicine, Horticultural Sciences, Horticultural Sciences Department, Micropropagation, Plant Science, Saffron, Vendrame Lab, Wagner Vendrame
Two images with a black gradient separating them; on the left are two Ph.D. students in Dr. Voiniciuc's lab working on the Botany Methods machinery; on the right is Dr. Voiniciuc inspecting the model.

Expanding Access to Lab Automation for Plant Science and Education

by Eva Sailly
March 2, 2026

In most molecular biology labs, progress still depends on highly manual workflows. From undergraduate students to senior postdoctoral fellows, a rese archer must carefully transfer microliter volumes of liquids by hand, often hundreds ... READ MORE

Category: Academics, Professional Development, UF/IFAS Research, UF/IFAS Teaching
Tags: Biofoundry, Biotechnology, BOTany Methods, Catalin Voiniciuc, Horticultural Sciences, Horticultural Sciences Department, Lab Automation, Moni Qiande, Ph.D Agronomy, Plant Physiology, Synbio, Voiniciuc Lab
Melanie Cabrera sits in a field of broccoli using a ruler to measure the crown.

Breeding Broccoli for Nutrition in a Warming World

by Eva Sailly
February 19, 2026

Broccoli is the classic example of a “healthy food”. Rich in vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals, it is linked to a lowered risk of chronic disease. However, as primarily a cool-season crop, broccoli is difficult to cultivate in warmer ... READ MORE

Category: Academics, Agribusiness, Agriculture, Crops, Horticulture, Natural Resources, UF/IFAS Research, UF/IFAS Teaching
Tags: AI, AI In Agriculture, Artificial Intelligence, Broccoli, Climate, Dr. Charlie Messina, Food Is Medicine, Horticultural Sciences, Horticultural Sciences Department, Melanie Cabrera, New Publication, Nutrition, Ph.D., Plant Breeding, The Crop Transformation Center
Image of people (general public) walking through rows of strawberry fields as part of Greathouse's initiative.

Alumni Spotlight: Connecting Communities Back to Agriculture

by Eva Sailly
February 11, 2026

Extension From Day One Madelyn Greathouse is the UF/IFAS Extension Commercial Horticulture and Integrated Pest Management Agent serving Sumter and Pasco counties. She works with a wide range of growers, from blueberry and ornamental producers ... READ MORE

Category: 4-H & Youth, Academics, Agribusiness, Agriculture, Crops, Farm Management, Horticulture, Pests & Disease, Professional Development, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Teaching, Work & Life
Tags: Alumni, Alumni Feature, Blueberry, Cade, Gerardo Nunez, Greathouse, Horticultural Sciences Department, Pasco County, Plant Science, Plant Science Major, St, Sumner County, UF IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS CALS, Undergraduate
Display of buttons that depict the ghost orchid with "Orchid Conservation Chelusea Show" is shown on the outside of the pin's design.

From Florida’s Wetlands to the Chelsea Flower Show: Behind UF/IFAS Ghost Orchid Conservation

by Eva Sailly
February 10, 2026

Leafless and ephemeral, the ghost orchid seems to float in the shadows of South Florida’s wetlands. They’re a mystery that has fueled books, films, and decades of fascination. But behind the mystique is a far more complicated reality. ... READ MORE

Category: Academics, Conservation, Forests, Horticulture, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Research, Water
Tags: Carrie Reinhardt Adams, Chelsea Flower Show, Conservation, Environmental Horticulture, Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge, Germinate, Ghost Orchid, Horticultural Sciences Department, Michael Kane, Ph.D., Plant Breeding, Restoration And Plant Ecology
Sorghum Field

How AI Is Changing Plant Breeding: Redefining the Limits of Sorghum

by Eva Sailly
February 6, 2026

For decades, sorghum has quietly disappeared from US fields. Once grown across much of the country, the drought-tolerant grain is now concentrated primarily in the southern Great Plains, especially Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. Since the ... READ MORE

Category: Academics, Agribusiness, Agriculture, Crops, Farm Management, Horticulture
Tags: #aiatuf, AI, AI In Agriculture, Alumni, Artificial Intelligence, Dr. Charlie Messina, Dr. Jasdeep Singh, Horticultural Sciences Department, New Publication, Ph.D., Plant Breeding, The Crop Transformation Center
Close-up of plant cells under the microscope, dyed a bright blue

Plant enzymes linked to fiber breakdown are shown to support dietary fiber biosynthesis

by Eva Sailly
January 20, 2026

Researchers in the UF/IFAS Horticultural Sciences Department have discovered that two plant enzymes, once thought to only break down fibers, are essential for sustaining the production of β-mannans, important carbohydrate polymers that help ... READ MORE

Category: Academics, Horticulture, UF/IFAS Research, UF/IFAS Teaching
Tags: Biotechnology, Crop Improvement, Horticultural Sciences, Horticultural Sciences Department, New Phytologist, Plant Molecular Biology, Plant-based Products, Synbio, Voiniciuc Lab
Dr. Huo surrounded by greenery inside an environmental horticulture ornamentals greenhouse with two of his students.

UF/IFAS Horticultural Sciences expands as Environmental Horticulture faculty and staff join the department under a shared vision

by Eva Sailly
December 17, 2025

The University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) is uniting faculty and staff from Environmental Horticulture with Horticultural Sciences Department, strengthening collaboration across teaching, research, and ... READ MORE

Category: Academics, Agriculture, Events, Work & Life
Tags: Environmental Horticulture, Horticultural Sciences Department, One Horticulture, Plant Science, Teaching

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