Florida’s farmers may have a new crop to grow if the University of Florida is successful in a pilot project to grow industrial hemp across the state. Researchers with the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) received approval from the UF Board of Trustees to develop hemp management and cropping systems that could be economically viable for the …
Opening of New Labs Highlights Field Day at Range Cattle REC
New vials, beakers, test tubes and sinks. More room. Those are just some of the features of laboratories that will open at the annual Field Day on April 5 at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Range Cattle Research and Education Center. “These spaces greatly advance our efforts to modernize our research laboratory and graduate student …
Crops Hold Onto Harmful Mutations That Reduce Productivity
Limits on improving yield and other critical traits in maize likely are due to rare harmful mutations genetically linked to a beneficial gene combination that were selected for during domestication and breeding, according to a study published in the journal Nature. These so-called deleterious genetic mutations result from errors in the DNA that occur randomly every generation and accumulate from ancient mutations right …
Consumers Willing to Pay More for Fresh from Florida Plant Products, UF Study Finds
Florida consumers see value in and are willing to pay more for locally-grown products, especially when it comes to landscape and ornamental plants, according to a new study conducted by University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences faculty member Hayk Khachatryan. Khachatryan, who leads the Consumer Behavior & Insights Lab at the UF/IFAS Mid-Florida Research and Education Center …
UF/IFAS Researcher Hopes to Breed, Grow Nutritious Pumpkins in Florida
Pumpkins and their seeds are good for you. For example, the flesh of the fruit is a good source of many vitamins and fiber, and its seeds provide unsaturated fats that help reduce cholesterol, among their other health benefits. The pumpkin’s nutrient values are driving Geoffrey Meru, a fruit and vegetable geneticist at the University of Florida Institute of Food …
Study Finds Breakthrough in Glyphosate Resistance Research
Kansas State University researchers have discovered how weeds develop resistance to glyphosate, which researchers say could have broad future implications in agriculture. Researchers say they found how weeds have evolved resistance to glyphosate over a short period of time. The research shows resistance to glyphosate in Palmer amaranth “appears to have occurred very rapidly.” Researchers say glyphosate-resistant Palmer amaranth plants …
ARS Scientist Leads Consortium to Seek Honey Bee Disease Controls
Agricultural Research Service (ARS) entomologist Steven Cook will be leading a $1 million funded international consortium of scientists to seek new controls for Varroa mites, honey bees’ number one problem. Cook, with the Bee Research Laboratory, a part of ARS’s Beltsville (Maryland) Agricultural Research Center, will be the principal investigator of a group that will include scientists from the United States, Canada and Spain. ARS is …
USDA/NIFA Invests in Exploratory Research
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) awarded grants to support the initial development of innovative ideas in agriculture and food production through the Exploratory Research Grants (ERG) program. Funding is made possible through NIFA’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) program, authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill. The ERG program fosters the creation …
More Definitive Food Profiles
Methods for analyzing food samples developed by an Agricultural Research Service (ARS) chemist in Maryland capture what could be considered the most definitive nutrient profiles possible for many of the foods we eat. Craig Byrdwell, an analytical chemist in the ARS Food Composition and Methods Development Laboratory in Beltsville, has found a way to use seven different detectors—four mass spectrometers and one gas and …
UF/IFAS Research: Tiny Insect May Help Reduce Hydrilla Presence in Florida Waters
A tiny insect with a big appetite for hydrilla could help reduce the presence of this troublesome invasive water weed in lakes, springs and rivers, says an entomologist with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. During National Invasive Species Awareness Week (Feb. 26 to March 2), researchers with UF/IFAS want to make residents aware of this …