GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Only one new title joined this year’s top-10 UF/IFAS Extension EDIS publications, and like five others making the list, it appeals to horticulture interests. In all, the Electronic Data Information Source saw 4.6 million visits and more than 18 million pageviews this year.

Here are 2019’s 10 most-visited EDIS publications:

1. The “Florida Vegetable Gardening Guide” is a perennial favorite and again tops the list. Vegetable gardening offers fresh air, exercise, enjoyment, nutritious and fresh vegetables and economic benefits, among other advantages. Learn all about growing vegetables at home: edis.ifas.ufl.edu/vh021 (85,429 visits)
2. The 4-H Plant Connections curriculum, “What Makes Plants Grow?,” is also a popular how-to. Plants need many of the same things people do: light, water, air, nutrients and proper temperature. For more, visit: edis.ifas.ufl.edu/4h360 (50,925)
3. Central Florida residents: Looking for what to plant and when? The “Central Florida Gardening Calendar” not only provides this info, but also explains specific concerns at certain times of the year, including irrigation, pests and pruning: edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ep450 (49,489)
4. Supervisors need to recognize the ways in which the workplace is evolving, including diversity. As “Diversity in the Workplace: Benefits, Challenges, and the Required Managerial Tools” explains, managerial skills must adapt to a more diverse workplace. Here are tips: edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hr022 (43,637)
5. The only new entrant on this year’s EDIS top 10 is “Summary of N and K Research with Strawberry.” This is a compilation of studies pertaining to strawberry fertilization in Florida’s growing conditions: edis.ifas.ufl.edu/cv229 (39,827)
6. North Florida residents can learn what ornamentals and vegetables grow well in the region, when to plant them and other important information with the “North Florida Gardening Calendar”: edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ep451 (34,013)
7. Evapotranspiration is a term commonly used to describe two processes of water loss from land to atmosphere — evaporation and transpiration. Evaporation happens when liquid water is converted to water vapor and removed from soil surface, wet vegetation, pavement, water bodies, etc. Transpiration consists of the vaporization of liquid water within a plant and subsequent loss of water as vapor through leaf. Evapotranspiration is key to agriculture, water conservation and many other aspects of what UF/IFAS researchers study, and it’s explained in the “Step by Step Calculation of the Penman-Monteith Evapotranspiration (FAO-56 Method)”: edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ae459 (30,643)
8. “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and Its Relation to Learning and Achievement” helps teachers utilize the theory of psychology in engaging people to learn. The Hierarchy states that physiological needs must be met first, followed by safety, love, belonging and more. Learn more at: edis.ifas.ufl.edu/wc159 (28,520)
9. About 50 species of snakes live in the states along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, from Louisiana to North Carolina. They are predators and prey, and thus form important links in natural food webs. “‘Black Snakes’: Identification and Ecology” helps distinguish the easily confused snakes of this region that share a primarily black coloration characteristic: edis.ifas.ufl.edu/uw251 (28,417)
10. “St. Augustinegrass for Florida Lawns” is a guide to the most popular variety covering lawns in Florida. St. Augustinegrass is dense and well adapted to Florida soils, but you’ve got to make sure you water it, according to this document: edis.ifas.ufl.edu/lh010 (27,218)

EDIS, a free service of UF/IFAS Extension, provides information at edis.ifas.ufl.edu on topics relevant to you: profitable and sustainable agriculture, the environment and natural resources, 4-H and other youth programs, Florida-friendly landscapes, communities that are vibrant and prosperous, economic well-being and quality of life for people and families. UF/IFAS Extension faculty statewide write the documents for EDIS, which currently hosts 6,320 publications.

“EDIS is a longstanding public-service tradition of UF/IFAS Extension in which we use an electronic system to disseminate top-notch, science-based research to our many stakeholders,” said Nick Place, dean for UF/IFAS Extension. “We hope people continue to go to the website and read this critical information that provides solutions for their lives.”

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The mission of the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is to develop knowledge relevant to agricultural, human and natural resources and to make that knowledge available to sustain and enhance the quality of human life. With more than a dozen research facilities, 67 county Extension offices, and award-winning students and faculty in the UF College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, UF/IFAS works to bring science-based solutions to the state’s agricultural and natural resources industries, and all Florida residents. Visit the UF/IFAS website at ifas.ufl.edu and follow us on social media at @UF_IFAS.

(Featured photo by Tyler Jones, UF/IFAS)

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