Category: Pests & Disease

UF/IFAS warns of emerging pest threatening South Florida crops: Two-spot cotton leafhopper detected

by Lourdes Mederos
April 21, 2026

The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) is alerting growers to a new pest of concern making its mark in South Florida farms and nurseries: the invasive two-spot cotton leafhopper. Measuring ... READ MORE

Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture, Blog Community, Conservation, Crops, Farm Management, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes, Horticulture, Invasive Species, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Acarology, Alexandra Revynthi, Archive, Cotton, Entomology And Nematology, FDACS, Florida Department Of Agriculture And Consumer Services Division Of Plant Industry, Flowers, Hibiscus, Hibiscus Flowers, Home Gardens, Institute Of Food And Agricultural Sciences, News, Okra, Ornamental Hibiscus, Peanut, Plant Pathology, Potato, Soybean', Sunflower, Tropical Hibiscus, Tropical Research And Education Center, Two-spot Cotton Leafhopper, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Extension Miami-Dade County, University Of Florida

Student Spotlight: Saving Florida’s avocados- a potential biocontrol

by moniquescoggin
April 14, 2026

Marielle de Moraes Berto is a fourth year PhD candidate in Dr. Daniel Carrillo’s tropical fruit entomology lab at the UF/IFAS Tropical Research & Education Center (TREC). Marielle is a native of Piracicaba, Brazil where she studied Biological ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Fruits & Vegetables, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Acarology, Avocados, Biological Control, Entomology, Tropical Fruits

Can two native wasps help regulate invasive leafhopper populations attacking Florida’s crops?

by Lourdes Mederos
March 19, 2026

Most people retreat at the sight of a wasp, yet University of Florida researchers’ discovery of two newly identified tiny native wasps targeting an invasive pest that threatened Florida agriculture may be a hopeful sign for growers. In ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Blog Community, , Conservation, Crops, Invasive Species, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Acarology, Agriculture, Alexandra Revynthi, Anagrus Sp. Near Vulneratus, Anagrus Vulneratus, Beneficial Pests, Biocontrol, Biological Control, Chemical Inputs, Cotton, Eggplant, Entomology And Nematology, High-value Crops, Institute Of Food And Agricultural Sciences, Integrated Pest Management, News, Okra, Ornamental Entomology, Pest, Roselle, Spanish, Sunflower, Tropical Hibiscus, Two-spot Cotton Leafhopper, UF/IFAS, Wasp

How Florida’s changing weather impacts tropical, subtropical fruit crops in your landscape

by Lourdes Mederos
March 16, 2026

Do you ever wonder how things like temperature changes, overly wet soils or salty irrigation water affect your fruit trees at home? University of Florida scientists at the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) have those ... READ MORE

Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture, Blog Community, , Crops, Farm Management, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes, Horticulture, Pests & Disease, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Agricultural And Biological Engineering, Alternative Fruit Crops, Ask IFAS, Avocado, Backyard, Carambola, Community Gardens, Disease Risk, Extension, Fruit Tree, Haimanote Bayabil, Hydrology, Institute Of Food And Agricultural Sciences, Irrigation, Low-lying Yards, Mango, News, Orchard, Poor Drainage, Salinity, Salty Soil, Small Urban Orchards, Soil Conditions, Soil Moisture, Star Fruit, Subtropical Fruit Production, Temperature, Tropical Fruit Production, Tropical Research And Education Center, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Tropical Research And Education Center, Water, Weaken Trees, Weather, Young Gu Her

Love your lychee tree? Ask IFAS bilingual resource offers guidance against a common pest

by Lourdes Mederos
March 1, 2026

Florida-grown lychee trees offer a taste of the tropics for home growers. Their berries deliver a sweet, rose-scented fruit with vitamin C-rich pulp and a vibrant color and flavor to fruit cups, cakes, mocktails, ice cream blends ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Blog Community, Conservation, Crops, Home Landscapes, Invasive Species, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Teaching
Tags: Aceria Litchii, Archive, Ask IFAS, Berries, Bilingual Extension Document, Erinose Mite, Fruit, Invasive Species, Lychee Tree, National Invasive Species Awareness Week, Peer-reveiwed, Pests, Tropical Fruit Trees, Vitamin C

Pivotal study unlocks secrets of the invasive short-spined thrips

by Lourdes Mederos
February 19, 2026

Highlights Short-spined thrips are devastating ornamentals and crops worldwide, thriving in South Florida’s warm climate and spreading fast. In a novel study, UF/IFAS researchers mapped the pest’s biology life cycle, reproduction ... READ MORE

Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture, Blog Community, , Crops, Home Landscapes, Horticulture, Invasive Species, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Acarology, Alexandra Revynthi, Beans, Beneficial, Beneficial Bugs, Beneficial Nematodes, Department Of Entomology And Nematology, Eggplants, Entomology And Nematology, Gardenias, Gardens, Growers, Hibiscus, Homeowners, Integrated Pes Management, Invasive, Invasive Insect, Ipm, Mandevillas, Nematodes, News, Nurseries, Ornamental, Ornamental Entomology, Ornamental Plants, Peppers, Plant Pathology, Sanitation, Sanitation Practices, Short-spined Thrips, Thrips, Thrips Parvispinus, Tropical Research And Education Center, UF/IFAS, University Of Florida

Trailblazing entomologist’s gift creates a home for students, future scientists – and a legacy of belonging

by Lourdes Mederos
October 23, 2025

The University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) will celebrate a milestone moment on Nov. 1 at 4:30 p.m., when the doors open to the Pauline O. Lawrence Student Residence at the UF/IFAS Tropical Research ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Blog Community, Crops, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Research, UF/IFAS Teaching
Tags: Agriculture, Dormitory, Edward "Gilly" Evans, Edward Evans, Emeritus Professor Carlton Davis, Empathy, Entomology, Enviroment, First Black Female Graduate Student, Food And Resource Economics, Fruit Flies, Future Scientists, Graduate Students, Groves, IFAS, Institute Of Food And Agricultural Sciences, J. Scott Angle, Miami-Dade County, Natural Resources, News, Pauline O. Lawrence Student Residence, Resilience, Richard Baranowski, South Florida, Students, TREC, TREC Dormitory Fund, Tropical Fruit, Tropical Research And Education Center, Tropical Vegetable, Tropics, UF, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Tropical Research And Education Center, University Of Florida

UF/IFAS scientists confirm hybrid termites established in Florida

by Lourdes Mederos
May 21, 2025

Scientists confirm that two of the world’s most destructive invasive termite species are not only spreading in the United States but also hybridizing – the process of two different species crossbreeding to produce a hybrid. This raises ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Blog Community, , Home Management, Invasive Species, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Asian Subterranean Termites, Biology, Entomology And Nematology, Formosan Subterranean Termites, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Lauderdale Research And Education Center, Genetic, Hybrid, IFAS, Institute Of Food And Agricultural Sciences, Invasion, Invasion Science, Invasive, Lourdes Mederos, News, Proceedings Of The Royal Society B, Structural Damage, Termite Soldier, Termites, Thomas Chouvenc

New UF/IFAS vegetable crop specialist driving innovative research, crop diversification to Florida’s small farms

by Lourdes Mederos
March 27, 2025

Ninety percent of Florida’s agricultural operations are small farms with gross sales under $250,000, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In South Florida, small farmers benefit from an ideal subtropical climate but need ... READ MORE

Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture, Blog Community, Crops, Farm Management, Invasive Species, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: Climate Change, Extension, Institute Of Food And Agricultural Sciences, News, Plant Pathology, Tropical Research And Education Center, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, University Of Florida, Usda, Xiaoying Li

Research Report: Dr. Alexandra Revynthi

by moniquescoggin
July 11, 2024

In this installment of the UF/IFAS TREC’s Research Report, you’ll learn about Dr. Alexandra Revynthi and the research her lab conducts to develop Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programs to control pests of ornamental crops. How it started Dr. ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Crops, Home Landscapes, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Entomology, Invasive Pests, Ipm, Ornamental Industry, Research, Tropical Research And Education Center

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