AgNet DEMO

Category: Florida

  • UF/IFAS Appoints Interim Director of Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center

    By: Lourdes Rodriguez, 954-577-6363 office, 954-242-8439 mobile, rodriguezl@ufl.edu

    DAVIE, Fla. – Jack Rechcigl has been appointed as interim Center Director of the UF/IFAS Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center (UF/IFAS FLREC).  

    Jack Rechcigl. Photo taken 11-07-18.

    On May 12, Rechcigl stepped in to oversee the operations and research at the UF/IFAS Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center, previously led by retiring center director Robin Giblin-Davis. Giblin-Davis, who first took the helm of the facility in 2009 as acting co-director, transitioned in 2017 to serve as sole acting center director. He is an internationally celebrated scientist, whose area of study has been applied and basic research concerning soil, plant-parasitic and insect-associated nematodes and nematode biodiversity. He retires as an emeritus professor after 35 years at UF/IFAS.

    “My role as Center Director is to support and mentor the award-winning scientists, faculty and graduate students who are dedicated to solving the local and regional agricultural, urban and wildlife issues that comprise southeast Florida’s unique make-up, while continuing the mission of FLREC,” said Rechcigl. “The caliber of research conducted by these dedicated scientists is impressive and addresses the unique needs and issues that growers and community residents face in South Florida’s combined agriculture and urban environment.”

    Areas of research at FLREC include sustainable management for tropical and subtropical landscape systems. Scientists also aim to reduce the impact of invasive animals and plants on natural and highly urbanized habitats. Other areas of research include termite identification and distribution, wildlife ecology and conservation, palm production and maintenance, environmental horticulture, aquatic plant management, turfgrass science and sea level resilience in South Florida.

    As interim Center Director, Rechcigl will serve double duty. As an internationally recognized professor in the soil and water sciences department at UF/IFAS for the past 34 years, Rechcigl served as the lead architect of the programs and is the current Center Director of UF/IFAS Gulf Coast Research and Education Center (GCREC) in Balm, Florida. since 2005. The state-of-the-art center operates from two sites. The 475-acre main facility in Balm, located in southern Hillsborough County, hosts most of the center’s research activities, including laboratories, field and greenhouse studies, a diagnostic lab, faculty offices and graduate student housing. The other site is home to the GCREC teaching program (UF/IFAS CALS), based at Hillsborough Community College’s Plant City campus. He currently oversees 200 employees, which includes faculty, biological scientists, staff, undergraduate and graduate students and international interns.

    Historically, GCREC has been recognized as a premier research site with efforts since the mid-1920s in tomato, strawberry, vegetables, ornamentals and landscape crops. Over the last 20 years, Rechcigl has led the charge with faculty members in making substantial contributions for the continued production and health of these industries, as well as exploring new opportunities and alternative crops for the region that include pomegranate, blackberry, industrial hemp and hops. Rechcigl has established the highly successful Florida Agricultural Expo, which is attended by 1,000 farmers, politicians, government and university officials from around the country each year.

    Research at GREC has also been focused on improving sustainability through the development of precision agricultural technology. Some examples include tractor software that can distinguish crops like tomatoes and strawberries from weeds for precise herbicide application and the use of ultraviolet light to treat and prevent Powdery mildew (Sphaerotheca macularis) on strawberries. 

  • More Questions Than Answers With Respect to CFAP

    By Clint Thompson

    The Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) has brought more questions than answers with respect to financial aid for growers in response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

    The $19 billion program includes $16 billion in direct payments for farmers and ranchers. CFAP has payment restrictions of $125,000 per commodity and a total of $250,000 per applicant for all commodities. Growers and industry leaders hope that cap on payment restrictions gets removed.

    “For specialty crop growers, $125,000 is a drop in the bucket for most of their losses,” said Charles Hall, executive director of the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association.

    Florida vegetable farmer Paul Allen, talked about the financial toll the pandemic had on him and his farming brethren.

    “The biggest thing right now is the government allocated per crop a cap of $125,000, which is nothing. We’re really working trying to get the USDA to see and understand the massive hit that Florida is taking and raise the direct payment caps,” Allen said. “What is fair is not always equal.

    “It costs 10 times to grow vegetable crops what it does regular commodity crops.”

    Pandemic Punishes Producers

    In a previous interview in early April, Allen said he left about 2 million pounds of green beans in the field and about 5 million pounds of cabbage. All due to the coronavirus pandemic that shut restaurants down and closed off a major supply chain to foodservice industries.

    Perdue

    According to an AgNet West story, a group of lawmakers, which included 28 members of the U.S. Senate and 126 members of the U.S. House of Representatives, issued a letter to President Donald Trump and USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue. They asked for the removal of payment caps from CFAP before the final program details are announced.  The letter points out that the payment restrictions would limit the effectiveness of the program. This is especially true for livestock, dairy and specialty crop producers.

    Another concern is how payments will be divided between losses sustained before and April 15. An 85% payout will be issued for losses sustained from January 1 to April 15 but only 30% after April 15.

    “Our concern was what’s the difference in a loss after April 15 and before April 15. After April 15, that grower has got the same loss as before April 15. Most of our growers’ losses will come after April 15,” Hall said. “We’ve been told that’s going to be fixed, too. I haven’t seen anything firm from the USDA on that.”

  • Produce Market Ripening With Success for Some Vegetables

    Cabbage is a strong commodity right now, selling for $20 per box, says farmer Bill Brim.

    By Clint Thompson

    The produce market is ripening with success for some commodities. Prices are incredibly high for some vegetables, while others are still struggling to compete with imports from Mexico, says Tift County farmer Bill Brim. The co-owner of Lewis Taylor Farms said watermelons, round tomatoes and cabbage are three commodities really doing well for farmers right now.

    “I think watermelon prices are pretty good. We don’t have any ready yet. It’ll be two or three weeks before we’ll be ready,” Brim said. ““Tomatoes were $33 per box (Wednesday), I think for rounds. Romas are really bad. They’re terrible price because Mexico is pouring them in here. Grapes are bad too. Rounds, they must not have many because they’re like $33 per box. Of course, they won’t last that long or stay there. But if we could stay in the high 18s to the 20s, we’d be tickled to death.”

    Brim expects to start picking his tomato crop in two weeks. Cabbage is also selling well at $20 per box.

    Watermelon Shortage?

    Watermelons are a hot commodity right now. Carr Hussey, a watermelon farmer in Alabama and Florida and chairman of the board of the Florida Watermelon Association, said the crop is already in short supply and that a watermelon shortage is likely by Memorial Day weekend next week.

    Brim said he’s heard that the crop in Georgia is going to be way down compared to last season.

     “I think it was such a bad deal last year, everybody lost their heinies,” Brim said. “They couldn’t even hardly give a watermelon last year. I got like 7 and 8 cents per pound. You can’t even grow them for that; 12 cents per pound is probably break even. It’s just so bad people said, I can’t lose any more money or I’m going to be out of business. If I do, I’m just going to go with my row crops and forget the watermelons.

    “North Carolina’s going to be late too, because a lot of them got killed out in that last freeze. It might be pretty fair for us, hopefully, anyway.”

    The watermelon market is ripening with success for farmers who have the crop to sell. Hussey said prices are around 20 cents per pound right now but could improve to 22 or 24 cents around Memorial Day weekend.

    Brim also believes watermelon farmers in north Florida are going to be done harvesting earlier than they believed they would.

    “They started pretty early down there; a bunch of them,” Brim said. “In the next two weeks, they should be done at about the time we’ll start.”

  • Soil Moisture Sensors Benefit Florida Farmers

    By Ashley Robinson

    File photo shows soil moisture sensors.

    Florida’s sandy soils mean that water management is a key component of producing crops in the Sunshine State. According to Charles Barrett, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) regional specialized Extension agent for water resources, irrigation scheduling tools like soil moisture sensors can help producers maximize their water efficiency and crop yields.

    Technology Packed with Benefits

    Soil moisture sensors are key irrigation tools for growers. If used correctly, they can be very beneficial.

    Whether growers have an irrigation schedule in place or not, the soil moisture sensor can be checked for trends to determine the efficacy of current irrigation practices. With the sensors, the grower can see if the soil is drying out or if the soil moisture is increasing over time. The sensor can also monitor the crop’s root zone, which can be helpful in fine-tuning an irrigation schedule.

    “I’d say that the number one benefit of soil moisture sensors is that you are able to manage your water more efficiently by supplying the right amount of water at the right time,” Barrett says. “By managing your water better, you’re also managing your nutrients better since water and nutrients cannot be separated in the state of Florida because of our sandy soils.”

    According to Barrett, the sensors are stationed in different locations in the field to allow growers to view the moisture and nutrients in the crop. This helps to avoid over-irrigation and loss of plant nutrients from leaching.

    “Soil moistures have come a long way. Before, growers used tensiometers, an older form of the technology which is much inferior to the technology we have now. Now, they have a graph, a history in time they can watch trends occur and see when they need to irrigate. Tensiometers required you to drive up to them and take a look. You only got a snapshot in time,” Barrett says. “With this technology we have the ability to watch whole movie versus before when they only had a small snapshot.”

    Funding Available

    To encourage the use of this technology, UF/IFAS Extension Northeast District introduced a pilot program in 2017, installing the sensors free of charge to allow growers to view and understand the data provided before they commit to the investment. Funding from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Sciences (FDACS) helped launch the program.

    In addition, cost-share programs are also available to growers. Growers who are enrolled in the Best Management Practices program can get cost-share anywhere within the state through FDACS or through their water management district.

    According to Barrett, the adoption of soil moisture sensors has been rapidly expanding. He believes it will continue to grow as more growers get to experience the technology for themselves. He hopes to expand the program statewide so that agents across the state can get their hands on the sensors.

  • Hemp Harvest in Florida

    Hemp harvest in Hamilton County, Florida.

    Green Point Research, a leading research-based cannabis biomass origination and processing company in Florida harvested 30 acres of hemp in Hamilton County this week.

    This is Green Point Research’s first official harvest of 2020 and is one of Hamilton County’s first legal harvests of hemp plants since 1937. It’s a significant milestone for the public and private partners benefitting from the resurgence of hemp in Florida and across the U.S.

    Green Point Research is a member of the Hemp Industries Association of Florida (HIAF). In August, 2019, GPR was in north Florida as part of the HIAF Industrial Hemp Road Tour.

  • Three Joy Peaches Released

    ARS/Rich Joy peaches ripening on the tree in a Byron, GA., orchard.

    ARS News Service

    BYRON, GEORGIA, May 14, 2020 — The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) has released a trio of Joy peaches — Rich Joy, Liberty Joy and Crimson Joy — to enhance the southeastern fresh peach market.

    Rich Joy is named for its fruit’s rich flavor and as a way to honor ARS peach breeder William Richardson Okie, who retired in 2014. Okie is known for having developed the series of “prince” peach varieties, which are still in commercial use.

    Crimson Joy is named for its almost fully red-blushed skin. Liberty Joy is so called because it ripens near the Fourth of July, Independence Day.

    The three Joy peaches are not genetically related. They are all yellow-fleshed, soften slowly to a smooth buttery texture (a trait called melting), with balanced sugar/acid ratios and pleasant eating quality. But they differ in pedigree parentage, ripening time and chilling requirement (the minimum time a fruit-bearing tree must be exposed to temperatures below 45 degrees F before it will blossom).

    Breeders tend to choose a single “base” name for the varieties they develop to make their origins recognizable, explained research horticulturist Chunxian Chen, with the ARS Fruit and Tree Nut Research Unit in Byron, Georgia and developer of the Joy trio of peaches.

    “Joy is a wonderful word that expresses how people feel about enjoying a good peach,” Chen said. “It is one syllable, can be easily phrased with other words for naming of future releases and it fits well with some “unofficial” cultivar naming conventions.”

    Chen explained that new varieties continue to be needed because the southeastern peach industry is facing multiple challenges, including more incidences of warm winters and spring freezes, which can change chilling requirements. Other industry needs include improved fruit quality, competition from other fruits and imports, and demand for varieties with improved resistance to pests/diseases and reduced need for pesticides. There also is a need for varieties to fill certain harvest windows.

    “So we must continue to breed new peach varieties to meet growers’ needs, elevate overall production efficiency and market share and keep the industry sustainable and profitable,” Chen added.

    The value of fresh and processed peaches was estimated at $511 million for 2018, according to the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service.

    Liberty Joy has the shortest chilling requirement of the three new varieties, about 650 chill hours. It ripens in late June to early July. It will be a good alternative to current commercial varieties in this harvest window such as Fireprince, Blazeprince, Scarletprince and Redglobe, all of which require about 850 chill hours and do not produce well when winter chill has been insufficient for flower bud maturation. Liberty Joy also appears to be less vulnerable to spring freezes, compared to other varieties with the same short chill requirement.

    Crimson Joy, which requires about 700 chill hours, has redder skin color, firmer fruit and improved fruiting reliability, compared to Harvester and Redhaven, which ripen at about the same time. In addition, Crimson Joy appears less vulnerable to some chill inadequacy and spring freeze.

    Rich Joy requires about 850 chill hours and ripens between Julyprince and Flameprince in mid-August. At maturity, about 90 percent of the fruit is bright red with an attractive yellow ground color on the fruit. This makes it preferable to older, less-blushed Cresthaven and Early Augustprince for the similar harvest window. As a late-season variety, Rich Joy fruits reliably with attractive, large, firm, premium fruit that appear to soften slowly on the tree, allowing it to be picked over a relatively longer period compared to other varieties.

    The Agricultural Research Service is the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s chief scientific in-house research agency. Daily, ARS focuses on solutions to agricultural problems affecting America. Each dollar invested in agricultural research results in $20 of economic impact.

  • New UF Researcher Brings Latest Research Techniques for Integrated Pest Management

    Tolulope Morawo working in a lab.

    By: Robin Koestoyo, Koestoyo@ufl.edu  

    FORT PIERCE, Fla. — The first time Tolulope Morawo heard about the ability of beneficial insects to protect food crops from pest insects, he knew he had found his lifelong career.

    In 2009, Morawo learned from a lecture that phorid flies kill fire ants by laying their eggs inside the ants. When the next generation of flies emerge from inside the ants’ heads, the ants die. At the time of the lecture, Morawo was an undergraduate university student in his native Nigeria. The moment was pivotal; it drew Morawo to the multifaceted field of entomology.

    Tolulope Morawo

    In mid-April, Morawo began a new position as an assistant professor of entomology at the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Science’s (UF/IFAS) Indian River Research and Education Center (IRREC) in Fort Pierce. He joins UF’s statewide effort to protect crops and natural environments with integrated pest management (IPM) strategy.

    “Dr. Morawo’s contribution to Florida’s food producers and caretakers of native flora is valuable because he brings the most current research techniques and perspectives to our IFAS team of biological control research scientists,” said Ronald D. Cave, director of IRREC. Morawo succeeds Cave as entomologist and research scientist at UF’s Norman C. Hayslip Biological Control Research and Containment Laboratory. The lab is one of only three facilities in Florida that include both non-quarantine and containment laboratories for the study of exotic insects that may be beneficial to Florida food production and protection of natural resources. 

    Cave said Morawo will lead invasive insect research at the Hayslip laboratory and will introduce the latest IPM research techniques, including chemical ecology. The phorid fly against fire ants is an example of how an insect’s natural enemy controls its negative impact on our environment. Similarly, a wasp imported from Asia is an effective enemy against the Asian citrus psyllid. When scientists import and introduce an invasive insect’s natural enemies into an environment, the practice is called classical biological control. Biological control plays an increasing role in integrated pest management for crop protection. Other elements IPM include natural fungi, cultural practices, and chemical controls when necessary.

    Chemical ecology helps us identify natural compounds that insects use to find plants or other insects. The compounds can be used to modify insect behavior to achieve pest management. In 2017, Morawo completed a Ph.D. in Entomology at Auburn University, where chemical ecology of parasitic wasps was the focus of his doctorate thesis to protect cotton from caterpillar pests.

    “Chemical ecology is one of the many tools that can be used to better understand host selection and ecological interactions of invasive arthropods and biological control agents,” said Morawo. “That makes it a useful tool both in classical biological control and conservation biological control.”

    Morawo earned a Master of Science in Entomology at Auburn University, and a Bachelor of Technology in Biology at the Federal University of Technology, in Akure, Nigeria. His master’s thesis also involved biological control agents. Morawo received several awards, including the Friends of Southern IPM Award in 2017. He comes to UF/IFAS from Auburn University where he was a postdoctoral fellow.

    Morawo’s vision for IPM in Florida is underway. Aspects of his research will focus on the management of citrus pests such as the Asian citrus psyllid and Lebbeck mealybug. Both insects are invasive and impact the state’s citrus industry. The psyllid carries a pathogen to citrus trees that causes citrus greening, a devastating tree crop disease. He joins a team of four scientists at IRREC who are working on the pathogen, its transmission, and the impacts the disease has on trees. Morawo will focus on the interactions among trees, psyllids, and their natural enemies such as parasitoids, predators and fungi. Other research projects will involve biological control of new invasive pests, development of new pest detection tools and statewide monitoring for invasive insects.

    “The recovery of the citrus industry from citrus greening or any other tree stressors will be a multidisciplinary collaborative effort,” Morawo said. “The good news is those efforts are already ongoing and yielding results.”

  • Watermelon Farmer Hopes to Capitalize on High Prices

    Watermelons are in short supply and high demand right now.

    By Clint Thompson

    Watermelons are in short supply and high demand right now. Alabama produce farmer Art Sessions hopes to capitalize when his crop becomes ready the first week in June.

    “We’ve been getting watermelons out of Florida and they are scarce. Everything coming out of Florida is really tight on account of this virus deal,” said Sessions, who also said there’s high demand for tomatoes as well. “It’s really affecting the supply chain pretty bad. A lot of the product are short, like tomatoes. Tomatoes are as high as I’ve ever seen them for this time of year. From what I’ve gathered, a lot of the pickers left on account of this virus.”

    Sessions Farm is in Grand Bay, Alabama. It produces approximately 50 acres of watermelons, starting with a few yellow-meat varieties in the next couple of weeks. He has had to buy watermelons from Florida and can attest to the high costs farmers can sell their crop for.

    “They’re pretty high right now, sure are. They aren’t outlandish. They’re pretty reasonable. We’ve been buying a lot of Florida. They are higher than normally what we would sell ours for,” Sessions said.

    Shortage by Memorial Day?

    Carr Hussey, a watermelon farmer in Florida and Alabama and chairman of the board of the Florida Watermelon Association, confirmed on Tuesday that watermelons are in short supply and there could be a shortage by Memorial Day. He said prices are around 20 cents per pound right now but could improve to 22 or 24 cents around Memorial Day weekend.

    This could lead to continued higher prices for farmers in North Florida, Alabama and Georgia when they start harvesting their crops in June.

    Sessions wonders if the current coronavirus pandemic impacted the supply chain.

    “I think a lot of guys, when this thing hit, they backed out of planting. They didn’t plant as much,” Sessions said. “We had already planted when this thing hit, or we would have backed way off. Just the uncertainty of not knowing if you’re going to be able to sell your crop. A lot of folks we sell to shut down and they are just now opening things back up. That’s one reason the prices on some of this stuff is strong because everybody now is wanting stuff and it’s hard to get.”

  • Researchers Identify Romaine Lettuces That Last Longer

    romaine lettuce
    Fresh romaine lettuce on display at local grocery store.
    Credit: The Toidi / Shutterstock.com

    ARS News Service

    SALINAS, CALIFORNIA, May 13, 2020—Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists have identified five Romaine lettuce varieties that both brown less quickly after fresh-cut processing and are slower to deteriorate postharvest.

    They also are determining the genetic basis for deterioration. The researchers have identified the location of genes associated with postharvest deterioration of fresh-cut lettuce, and are in the process of identifying genes associated with browning, two economically important traits. This will speed up development of new Romaine varieties with better shelf-life because now lettuce breeders will be able to check that offspring carry these genes without needing to grow out and destructively test for browning and deterioration resistance.

    Lettuces are the most popular, commercially produced, leafy vegetables in the world. They have a farmgate value of more than $2.5 billion in the United States in 2017, making them one of top ten most valuable crops for the country. But fresh-cut lettuce is a highly perishable product.

    “The inability to evaluate for deterioration early in the process of developing new varieties has been a real impediment to breeding advances. Now having these molecular markers means that slow deterioration and eventually less browning can be more easily integrated into lettuce breeding, traits that are important economic considerations,” said research geneticist Ivan Simko with the ARS Crop Improvement and Protection Research Unit in Salinas, California, who led the deterioration study.

    When you consider browning and deterioration ratings together, the best breeding lines for commercial production, and also for use as parents to develop new varieties are (in alphabetic order): Darkland, Green Towers, Hearts Delight, Parris Island Cos, and SM13-R2, which is a breeding line developed at the ARS lab in Salinas.

    In addition, the researchers found the chromosome region that contains the genes for slow deterioration also contains four genes (Dm4, Dm7, Dm11, and Dm44) and one DNA region (qDm4.2) that code for resistance to downy mildew—one of the most-costly lettuce disease.

    This colocation indicates a strong linkage between one or more of the four genes and the rate of deterioration. DNA-based markers can be used to develop new breeding lines with slow rate of deterioration and desirable combinations of resistance genes.

    Deterioration is the rupture of cells within lettuce leaves, leading to waterlogging and the lettuce turning to mush. Browning is the discoloration of the edges of lettuce after cutting or tearing. Either development can spoil the leafy vegetable’s value by decreasing shelf life.

    In an effort to control browning and prolong shelf life, lettuce processors have been turning to modified atmosphere packaging and flushing bags of cut lettuce with nitrogen gas to reduce oxygen levels in the bags.

    But these practices are costly. They also can lead to other problems such as off-odors and, when coupled with high storage temperatures that promote anerobic bacteria growth on the bagged lettuce.

    “Our study was aimed at finding lettuces that possessed low browning potential without the need for limiting the oxygen supply,” explained research food technologist Yaguang (Sunny) Luo, who led the browning study. Luo is with the ARS Food Quality Laboratory in Beltsville, MD.

    Like deterioration, there was significant correlation between high resistance to browning and pedigree, which gives promise that lettuce breeders will be able to improve the trait and incorporate it into new varieties, Luo added.

    This research was published in Horticulture Research and Postharvest Biology and Technology.

    The Agricultural Research Service is the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s chief scientific in-house research agency. Daily, ARS focuses on solutions to agricultural problems affecting America. Each dollar invested in agricultural research results in $20 of economic impact.

  • Florida Pesticide License Testing Resumes May 18

    Pesticide license testing in Florida will resume May 18.

    By: Tory Moore, torymoore@ufl.edu

    Due to COVID-19, all pesticide license testing in Florida was suspended for more than six weeks. Now that the state has started to reactivate services, testing will resume at select UF/IFAS Extension offices on Monday, May 18.

    Not all testing locations will open on May 18. Due to the number of COVID-19 cases in certain regions, some counties are opening services more slowly than others, and this will impact where UF/IFAS Extension can test. If your county Extension office is not yet open for testing, you may be required to travel to a county that is offering these services. Visit the UF/IFAS Pesticide Information Office’s website where the status of testing sites are monitored and updated in real time.

    “We know that many of you are in great need of testing services so you can resume professional activities,” said Jason Ferrell, director of the UF/IFAS Pesticide Information Office. “We are working to address these needs while complying with both state and local ordinances. Please be patient with our staff as we reactivate these programs.”

    Testing is currently operating by appointment only, and walk-ins will likely be turned away as a health precaution to control crowd size and maintain social distancing. There will also be requirements for your safety and the safety of others, which will be explained when you call to make your appointment. Participant safety is of highest concern, and it is highly recommended that you wear a face covering throughout the exam.

    At the onset of COVID-19 closures, UF/IFAS and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) explored ways to move testing online, which would allow applicators to take the test without visiting a testing location.

    “Online testing is still a priority for UF/IFAS and FDACS, but we could not make it a ‘right now’ solution,” Jay said. “This endeavor will take much longer than six weeks, but we are excited to begin reopening testing locations to keep you working.”