Category: Crops

Lauren Goldsby, UF/IFAS Extension Agent, leads a hands-on blueberry workshop for community members in Bay County.

Alumni Spotlight: Lauren Goldsby’s Path to Extension

by Eva Sailly
April 13, 2026

Lauren Goldsby’s path to becoming a UF/IFAS Extension Agent in Bay County, Florida's panhandle, wasn’t linear. During her undergraduate years at UF, she worked in the Forage Breeding and Genomics Lab and the Blueberry Breeding Lab, gaining ... READ MORE

Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture, Crops, Farm Management, Home Landscapes, Horticulture, Professional Development, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Teaching, Work & Life
Tags: Alumni, Alumni Feature, Bay County, Blueberry, Extension, Gerardo Nunez, Goldsby, Horticultural Sciences, Horticultural Sciences Department, Plant Science, Student, Teaching, UF IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS CALS
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
Green papaya fruit growing from tree branches.

What’s New on Ask IFAS: Horticultural Sciences (Jan.–Feb. 2026)

by Gillian McGuire
March 4, 2026

Newly Translated Publication Achachairu (Garcinia humilis), árbol frutal: botánica y cultivo comercial en el sur de Florida Por Federico W. Sanchez, Jonathan H. Crane, Haimanote Bayabil, Ali Sarkhosh, Muhammad A. Shahid, Bruce Schaffer. Este ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, , Crops, Fruits & Vegetables, Horticulture
Tags: Asian Vegetables Emerging In Florida, Ask IFAS, EDIS Journal, Horticultural Sciences Department, Tropical Fruits
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
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
Coffee picker show red cherries

Brewing Innovation: Developing Coffee as a Viable Florida Crop

by Eva Sailly
January 22, 2026

    How UF/IFAS Is Reimagining Coffee for Florida Can coffee be reimagined as a viable crop for Florida growers? It is a seemingly simple question posed by UF/IFAS researchers, as Florida agriculture searches for resilient, high-value ... READ MORE

Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture, Crops, Farm Management, Horticulture, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Agro-Tourism, Blueberry Breeding And Genomics, Coffee, Dr. Ferrao, Felipe Ferrao, Food Science, Fruit Crops, Horticultural Sciences, Neta Foundation, Plant Breeding
Unripe muscadine grapes growing from a branch.

What’s New on Ask IFAS: Horticultural Sciences (Nov.–Dec.)

by Gillian McGuire
January 9, 2026

New Publications Grower’s Guide to Identifying and Correcting Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium Deficiencies in Luffa Production By Md Jahidul Islam Shohag, Qiansheng Li; Yuncong Li, Qingren Wang, and Guodong Liu. Luffa, referring ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Crops, Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes, Horticulture
Tags: Ask IFAS, EDIS Journal, Horticultural Sciences Department, Landscape Trees, Leafy Vegetables, Luffa, Muscadine, Nutrition, Postharvest And Handling, Spanish, Tropical Fruits
close-up image of blueberries on a branch outside

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: Academics, Agriculture, Crops, Farm Management, Horticulture, UF/IFAS, 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

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