36 News & Press Releases found
The University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences News
-
The problem expands for avocado growers: 9 beetle species carry deadly fungus
Many people love their avocados – not to mention guacamole dip. So it was bad enough when scientists said a beetle was ravaging avocado trees in South Florida. Then scientists found out that the redbay ambrosia beetle — originally ...
-
Repellant could keep dangerous beetles away from avocado trees
Using some pleasant-smelling chemicals, avocado growers may soon be able to repel beetles that inject a potentially deadly fungus into their trees, saving fruit and money, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences researchers ...
-
UF/IFAS researcher to lead $1 million study to increase global wheat production
A University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences researcher will lead a nearly $1 million project to increase worldwide wheat yield potential to help feed an anticipated 9.5 billion people globally by the year 2050. To do this, ...
-
UF/IFAS imaging system can detect citrus greening before symptoms show
A time-lapse polarized imaging system may help citrus growers detect greening before the plant’s leaves show symptoms, which should help growers as they try to fend off the deadly disease, a new University of Florida Institute of Food and ...
-
UF/IFAS avocado irrigation app should save money, water
Avocado growers now know that a University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences mobile irrigation app works well to save money while maintaining crop yields. This data, reported in a new study, is critical for an industry that has ...
-
UF/IFAS researchers scramble to find cure for tenacious, costly sugarcane virus
Researchers with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences are working to find a cure or develop resistant varieties for a virus that is attacking sugarcane and sorghum throughout the Everglades agricultural region. ...
-
UF/IFAS scientists find top 10 muscadine grape varieties for health, taste, smell
You may eventually tempt your palette with more muscadine grape varieties, and they’ll be good for you, with new findings from University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences researchers. Muscadine grapes are known for their ...
-
UF/IFAS study: Sweet potato crop shows promise as feed and fuel
As some Florida growers try to find new crops and the demand for biofuel stock increases globally, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences researchers have found that sweet potato vines, usually thrown out during harvest, ...
-
Taller, thinner crop beds save money, water, other resources
Looking out over thousands of acres of tomatoes, Miguel Talavera, director of East Coast growing operations at Pacific Tomato Grower, Ltd., marvels at the narrow lanes of fruit that are thriving in the hot Florida sun. Talavera credits increase in ...
-
Fruit fly outbreak cost growers $4.1 million; could have been much worse
University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences economists estimate the Oriental fruit fly outbreak last year caused at least $4.1 million in direct crop damages in Miami-Dade County, but the damage could have been far worse, ...
-
New test can detect plant viruses faster, cheaper
A new test could save time and money diagnosing plant viruses, some of which can destroy millions of dollars in crops each year in Florida, says a University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences researcher. In a newly published ...
-
UF/IFAS method detects 83% of immature citrus; helping cut costs
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences researchers have found a new way to detect immature citrus 83 percent of the time, which lets growers know where to apply fertilizer and water and perhaps ...
-
Florida citrus growers: 80 percent of trees infected by greening
Florida’s citrus growers say as much as 90 percent of their acreage and 80 percent of their trees are infected by the deadly greening disease, which is making a huge dent in the state’s $10.7 billion citrus industry, a new University of ...
-
UF/IFAS study: Feral swine can cost at least $2 million annually in cattle production
Feral swine cost the Florida cattle industry at least $2 million a year in lost cattle production, according to a new study led by a University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences researcher. In fact, researchers believe they may ...
-
Purple limes and blood oranges could be next for Florida citrus
University of Florida horticulture scientist Manjul Dutt is hoping to turn your next margarita on its head by making it a lovely lavender instead of passé pale green. Dutt and Jude Grosser from the UF Citrus Research and Education ...
-
UF/IFAS hosting Florida Agricultural Policy Outlook Conference in January
Florida agriculture and food industries are among the largest economic contributors in the state. Agricultural producers manage 9.5 million acres, growing more than 300 commodities, including everything from citrus and cows to peanuts and potatoes. ...
-
Irrigation method saves 50 percent of water needed for potato growth
University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences researchers have found an irrigation method that uses 50 percent less water than traditional systems to grow potatoes – an important finding for the $131 million-a-year Florida ...
-
North Florida farmers are using sesame as a rotation crop
In between seasons of corn, peanut, and cotton, North Florida farmers were interested in growing a rotation crop that could withstand the wilting heat of summer and be harvested by machine. So, since 2011, University of Florida researchers have ...
-
Florida’s agriculture-related employment up 8.7 percent
About 1.52 million people worked full- or part-time in Florida’s agriculture, natural resources and food industries in 2013, an 8.7 percent increase in jobs over 2012, according to a new UF/IFAS economic report. That figure accounts for 14.3 ...
-
UF/IFAS Citrus Rootstock Selection Guide now online
The Florida Citrus Rootstock Selection Guide is now online athttp://flrootstockselectionguide.org in a format that lets visitors interact with the guide. Visitors to the site can find 104 publications supporting the ratings in the guide and ...