IFAS News
Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences – University of Florida
Citrus greening bacterium may “ring the dinner bell” to attract insect
March 23, 2012
Topic(s): Agriculture, Citrus, Crops, Entomology and Nematology, Environment, IFAS, Invasive Species, Pests
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The bacterium responsible for citrus greening causes infected trees to give off a scent that rings the dinner bell for the disease-carrying insect, University of Florida researchers say.
This finding might distress growers, but it could enable scientists to better monitor the insect and maybe cut the chances healthy trees become infected.
The study was published online March 22 by the journal PLoS Pathogens. The article, which is open access, is at http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1002610
Greening-infected citrus trees emit a fragrant chemical called methyl salicylate, said study author Lukasz Stelinski, an assistant professor with UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. Citrus trees release the same chemical, in the same amount, when under attack by the Asian citrus psyllid, the insect that transmits the bacterium.
When the pests encounter a faint whiff of methyl salicylate they interpret it to mean that other psyllids have found a good place to feed, and hurry to join the banquet. One experiment in the study showed that psyllids were more likely to land on infected citrus trees than healthy ones.
UF dairy farm to host open house March 24, public invited
March 20, 2012
Topic(s): Agriculture, Announcements, IFAS, Livestock, Research
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GAINESVILLE, Fla. — North Florida residents are invited to tour a working dairy farm and learn about University of Florida research at Family Day at the Dairy Farm, held 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 24 at UF’s dairy farm in Hague.
The free event, sponsored by UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences with support from Florida Dairy Farmers, includes an opportunity to watch cows being milked and fed, visit free-stall barns, pet a calf, see farm equipment, sample dairy products and talk with UF scientists about ongoing research to improve cow health and milk production.
Organizers hope to give visitors a better understanding of dairy production and the importance of agriculture to Florida’s economy, said Albert De Vries, an associate professor with UF’s animal sciences department.
UF research begins to unlock ‘formulas’ for taste, aroma appeal of tangerines
March 20, 2012
Topic(s): Citrus, Cultivars, RECs, Research
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — University of Florida researchers are working to speed up their ability to create new tangerine varieties by pinpointing the compounds that make them taste and smell the way they do.
In the last decade, Florida fresh citrus growers have lost valuable ground to producers in California and Spain who’ve enjoyed success with seedless Clementine varieties, such as the “California Cutie.” Grown in Florida, the same varieties have more seeds than consumers like.
But UF researchers at the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences believe their work is laying the foundation for Florida citrus producers to regain that lost ground. (more…)
Sugarcane expert Rob Gilbert named director of UF Everglades research center
March 6, 2012
Topic(s): Agriculture, Announcements, Crops, IFAS, RECs, Vegetables
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Sugarcane expert Rob Gilbert has been appointed director of the University of Florida’s Everglades Research and Education Center in Belle Glade by Jack Payne, UF senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources. The appointment is effective March 16.
Gilbert, an agronomy professor with UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, has been interim director of the Belle Glade center since October 2010.
“Rob is a prolific researcher and a longtime member of the EREC faculty,” Payne said. “He’s earned the confidence of his colleagues as well as the producers and local residents we serve. I’m certain he’ll take the center to new levels of achievement.”
New UF-created virtual lawn tool lets users test water-saving systems
March 6, 2012
Topic(s): Green Living, Lawn & Garden, New Technology, Research
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida homeowners can now test different water-saving lawn irrigation systems by using a free web application recently released by the University of Florida.
The interactive lawn irrigation tool creates a virtual lawn so users can test the results of different irrigation systems without having to actually install one.
The tool came is available at http://fawn.ifas.ufl.edu/tools/interactive_irrigation_tool/. (more…)
This Leap Year, consider the resources Floridians use in one day
February 28, 2012
Topic(s): Agriculture, Environment, Families and Consumers, Lawn & Garden
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GAINESVILLE, Fla. – With an extra day on the calendar this year— leap day — there’s time to stop and think about how much resource consumption occurs in one day in Florida.
A University of Florida economist shared information on how much energy, food and water Floridians use in just one day.
In a 24-hour span, Floridians will use more than 11.3 trillion British thermal units (Btu) of energy from coal, natural gas, petroleum products and electricity, said Rodney Clouser, associate chair of UF’s Food and Resource Economics department, part of the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.
UF, Peace Corps offer new program through the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
February 21, 2012
Topic(s): Agriculture, Announcements, CALS, Environment, IFAS
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GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Demand for Peace Corps volunteers with agricultural skills has helped create a new degree program available from the University of Florida.
Known as the Peace Corps Master’s International program, it allows students to travel internationally and earn a master’s degree in one of nine graduate programs in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, part of UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.
UF’s and the Peace Corps’ new program was signed into agreement Tuesday.
Color is key in controlling flies, UF researchers find
February 15, 2012
Topic(s): Entomology and Nematology, Environment, Household Pests, IFAS, Pests, Research, Safety
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Downloadable video is available at: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10837916/20120215_FlyTrap.zip
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — As a carrier of as many as 100 types of germs, the common house fly is hardly as innocuous as its name might suggest.
Military personnel know this firsthand, and their need for effective fly control has helped University of Florida researchers create an innovative new fly control device.
Known as the Florida Fly-Baiter, the device is blue — in contrast to the yellow fly control devices on the market — and is far more effective, said Phil Koehler, a professor of urban entomology with UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.
UF studies show promise for biological control methods against insect
February 2, 2012
Topic(s): Biocontrols, Green Living, Invasive Species, Pests
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GAINESVILLE, Fla. — For years, scientists have tried to use environmentally friendly fungi to control fire ant infestations.
But the ants’ social behaviors — such as hauling their dead off to what entomologists call “bone yards” in isolated spots away from the nests — have prevented commercial development of this method. The fungus can’t spread if infected ants are continually separated from healthy ones.
A new University of Florida study shows, however, that there may be a way to make insect-killing fungi a more potent weapon against fire ants and other pests. Scientists with UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences modified the fungus so that it produces a peptide that helps regulate the fire ants’ nervous system. (more…)
UF research: Blueberry wine has more antioxidants than many grape-based wines
February 1, 2012
Topic(s): Agriculture, Crops, Economics, IFAS, Nutrition, Research
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GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Blueberry wine can provide more potentially healthy compounds than white wines and many red wines, according to a new University of Florida study.
Researchers with UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences measured antioxidant content in a Florida-produced blueberry wine and compared it to published reports of antioxidant content in white and red wines made from grapes. Antioxidants are compounds that may offer cells protection from damaging molecules called free radicals.
The researchers found the Florida wine, produced from southern highbush blueberries, had more antioxidants than all of the reported white wine values and all but 20 percent of the reported values for red wines, which are considered high in antioxidants.
