It’s one thing to offer students fruits and vegetables for school lunch; it’s another for them to actually eat them. Children who attend schools with Farm to School programs eat more fruits and vegetables, new University of Florida research shows. In 2010, Congress passed the federal Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. In approving the legislation, lawmakers wanted to improve children’s nutrition. …
UF Professor Helps Write Latest Edition of Gold Standard Propagation Textbook
Growers, students and professors use this textbook across the world, and now a UF/IFAS environmental horticulture professor has helped write the new edition of what those in the industry and academia consider the Bible of propagation texts. Sandra Wilson is now the fifth author in the nearly 60-year history of the book, Plant Propagation: Principles and Practices. Wilson co-authored the …
UF Web Tool Helps South Carolina, Florida Strawberry Growers
Strawberry growers in Florida and South Carolina are reaping the benefits of a UF/IFAS web-based system designed to ward off two deadly pathogens, a new University of Florida study shows. That’s good news as Florida’s strawberry growers start a new season. Strawberries pack a powerful economic punch nationwide and in the Sunshine state, bringing in $2.3 billion to the national …
100th Anniversary of the Citrus Research and Education Center
University of Florida officials, citrus scientists, growers and other stakeholders will gather at the UF/IFAS Citrus Research and Education Center (CREC) in Lake Alfred this Wednesday, November 29 for the 100th anniversary of the CREC. Dr. Jack Payne, University of Florida senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources, is looking forward to the big event. UF/IFAS Citrus REC celebrates …
Florida First Detectors Help ID Invasive Plant Pests Before They Spread
Florida has the most invasive species of any state in the country, and half of the insects, reptiles, arachnids and crustaceans imported into the United States come through Florida ports, University of Florida experts say. So, UF/IFAS has teamed up with government agencies to create the Florida First Detectors program, which teaches the public how to identify these insects before …
Pilot Research Projects Selected for Funding to Improve Agricultural Worker Safety and Health
The Southeastern Coastal Center for Agricultural Health and Safety is awarding more than $56,000 to three pilot research projects to improve the safety and health of agricultural workers. Scientists will use mobile app monitoring to prevent heat-related symptoms among Hispanic farmworkers; research mental, physical and occupational health issues among Haitian and Mexican migrant farmworkers; and identify work and movements to …
UF/IFAS Experts: Clean and Cook Holiday Meals Thoroughly
’Tis the season for holiday feasts, so before and after you enjoy a nutritious, tasty cornucopia, be sure to clean and cook thoroughly, UF/IFAS experts say. Here are hints to avoid food-borne illnesses from a holiday meal, according to Samara Deary, a family and consumer sciences agent with UF/IFAS Extension Bradford County; Nan Jensen, family and consumer sciences agent with …
UF/IFAS CALS Student Places First in International Graduate Student Competition
Debalina Saha, an environmental horticulture graduate assistant at the University of Florida, has always wanted to study how different mulches and herbicides affect weed growth. Her tenacity has paid off: Saha placed first in the International Plant Propagation Society Southern Region graduate student research competition at its 42nd annual conference. “Measuring light under different mulch depths was something that had …
70th Anniversary for Indian River Research and Education Center
A big event will take place this Thursday, November 16th as the 70th Anniversary of the Indian River Research and Education Center in Ft. Pierce will be held. Dr. Jack Payne, University of Florida senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources, invites folks to attend. from Indian River Research and Education Center Seventy years of service to growers in …
USDA honors 2 UF/IFAS faculty with teaching excellence awards
UF has most USDA teaching awards Two faculty members with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) received Excellence in Teaching honors from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The awards were announced at the annual meeting of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU) in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 12. The USDA presents awards …