Category: Crops

Cover Crops in Sandy Soil: Legumes and Grasses Differ in Nitrogen Cycling

by Mike Loizzo
October 29, 2025

Florida’s sandy soils typically have low organic matter and high permeability. That means a greater risk of nutrient leaching before a plant or tree can use what it needs. Cover crops are an option for improving soil fertility because they ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Crops, Farm Management, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Carbon, Cover Crops, Inorganic Nitrogen, Juma Bukomba, Legumes, Mary Lusk, Nitrogen, Sandy Soils, Soil Water And Ecosystem Sciences, Sorghum, Sudangrass, Sunn Hemp

Flooded Rice Crop Rotation May Slow Carbon Loss, Subsidence in Everglades Organic Soils

by Mike Loizzo
October 8, 2025

South Florida’s muck soils store carbon built over thousands of years. However, decades of drainage for agriculture have resulted in a shift in redox condition resulting in soil, organic matter, and subsequent carbon losses. A new University ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Crops, Farm Management, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Research, Water
Tags: Dynamic Soil Properties, Everglades Agricultural Area, Everglades Research And Education Center, Histosols, Jango Bhadha, Jehangir Bhadha, Rice, Soil Water And Ecosystem Sciences, Xue Bai

Protecting Florida Citrus and Groundwater

by Mike Loizzo
September 29, 2025

Florida’s citrus groves have faced enormous challenges over the last two decades. The Asian citrus psyllid has spread citrus greening disease, known as Huanglongbing, or HLB, to trees across the state. The result is a decline in citrus production ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Crops, Farm Management, Pests & Disease, UF/IFAS Research, Water
Tags: Aquifer, Citrus, Davie Kadyampakeni, HLB, Huanglongbing, Imidacloprid, Qudus Uthman, Sandy Soils, Soil Water And Ecosystem Sciences, Water

UF/IFAS for Your Soil and Water Testing Needs — Science You Can Trust

by Mike Loizzo
August 24, 2025

When it comes to caring for your yard or garden, accuracy and expertise matter. The UF/IFAS Extension Soil Testing Laboratory (ESTL) provides precision, reliability, and support to make a difference in your soil management. The ESTL offers a ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Crops, Farm Management, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes, Home Management, Horticulture, Lawn, Turf, UF/IFAS Extension, Water
Tags: Extension Soil Testing Lab, Franta Majs, IFAS Analytical Service Laboratories, Landscaping, Lawn, Nutrient Management, Soil Fertility, Soil Health, Soil Water And Ecosystem Sciences, Turfgrass

Exploring Nanofertilizers: A New Chapter in Sustainable Agriculture

by Mike Loizzo
March 14, 2025

A newly published book chapter co-authored by Dr. Jonas Pereira de Souza Jr., and Dr. Davie Kadyampakeni explores the potential of nanofertilizers in modern agriculture. The chapter appears in Nanofertilizers in Agriculture, a book from the ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Crops, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Citrus Research And Education Center, Davie Kadyampakeni, Fertilizer, Jonas Pereira De Souza Jr., Nanofertilizer, Nutrient Management, Soil Water And Ecosystem Sciences

New research results on managing potassium fertilization of peanut in northern Florida

by Mike Loizzo
March 4, 2025

Over the past 50 years, improvements in peanut varieties have more than doubled yields, with an average increase of 46 lb/ac per year (Holbrook, 2019). However, the greater nutrient demands of these high-yielding varieties raise concerns that ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Crops, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Agriculture, Fertilizer, George Hochmuth, Peanut, Potassium, Precision Agriculture, Soil Water And Ecosystem Sciences

Tiny Indicators of Soil Health in Florida’s Citrus Groves

by Mike Loizzo
February 12, 2025

In the citrus groves of southwest Florida, a team of researchers is investigating the hidden power of soil nematodes. These tiny organisms with enormous ecological impact offer key insights into soil health. This study investigates how cover ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Crops, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Allan Bacon, Citrus, Cover Crops, Gabriel Maltais-Landry, Nematodes, Sarah Strauss, Soil Health, Soil Water And Ecosystem Sciences, Yaslin Gonzalez, Zane Grabau

UF/IFAS researchers deploy drones to perfect nutrient rates

by Megan Winslow
January 13, 2025

The ability to detect crop nutrient deficiencies and promptly modify fertilizer application to address them is invaluable to agricultural producers — especially growers operating under slim profit margins. Identifying how much of a particular ... READ MORE

Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture, Crops, Farm Management, UF/IFAS
Tags: Algorithm, Ayush Sharma, Best Management Practices Lab, BMP, Citra, Corn, Cotton, Crop, Drone, Environmental, Extension, Fertilizer, Grower, Hastings, Hastings Agricultural Extension Center, IFAS, Institute Of Food And Agricultural Sciences, Lakesh Sharma, Megan Winslow, NDVI, Nitrogen, NMP, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, North Florida Research And Education Unit, Nutrient, Nutrient Management Program, Plant Health, Plant Science Research And Education Unit, Producer, Recommendation, Research, Soil Fertility, Soil Water And Ecosystem Sciences, Sustainable, Suwannee Valley, UF, UF/IFAS

Researchers to examine how integrated crop-livestock systems can enhance agricultural resilience and sustainability

by Mike Loizzo
December 4, 2024

The UF/IFAS-Embrapa Collaborative Climate Change Research Fund is backing a study on integrated crop-livestock systems (ICLS). Embrapa is the state-owned research corporation affiliated with the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture. The study aims ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Conservation, Crops, Farm Management, Livestock, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Climate Change, Clyde Fraisse, EMBRAPA, Global Food Systems Institute, Index-based Insurance, Integrated Crop-livestock Systems, Jose Dubeux, Nikos Tziolas, Sarah Strauss, Soil Water And Ecosystem Sciences

Know your soil: UF/IFAS lab analysis reveals composition prior to planting

by Megan Winslow
October 31, 2024

Franta Majs is a common fixture at Florida plant shows and sales. He doesn’t attend to shop, however. He’s on hand to offer advice. (more…) READ MORE

Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture, Crops, UF/IFAS
Tags: Acidity, Amendment, ANSERV Labs, Extension, Fertilizer, Franta Majs, IFAS, Institute Of Food And Agricultural Sciences, Lime, Macronutrient, Megan Winslow, Micronutrient, Nutrient Management Program, PH, Plant, Planting, Research, Soil, Soil Test, Test, UF, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Analytical Services, University Of Florida

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