With Muscadines, It’s Good to Be Late

With Muscadines, It’s Good to Be Late

Mother always said “never be late,” but in the case of certain muscadine (Vitis rotundifolia) cultivars, it’s good to be late.  Although muscadine harvest can begin as early as July, growers with late bearing muscadines are just completing fruit harvest. Generally,...

Oriental Persimmons Varieties for North Florida

Oriental persimmon trees are suitable for small scale local production, or for the home gardener. Two species of persimmons are grown in the United States, the American persimmon (Diospyros virginiana) and the Oriental persimmon (Diospyros kaki). The American...
Panhandle Blueberry Yield Outlook still Positive

Panhandle Blueberry Yield Outlook still Positive

Blueberry harvest is less than a month away in the central Panhandle. Although the Florida Panhandle has been hit with excessive rainfall this spring, blueberry yields are on track to be above average. Colder winter temperatures, coupled with wet spring weather has...

Satsuma Protection in Cold Weather Extremes

This week, Northwest Florida received some of the coldest weather in recent years, with lows ranging from 14 ºF to 20 ºF two nights in a row. This had the potential to impact local citrus production areas heavily. It is still too early to asses the full extent of the...
Citrus Canker found in Northwest Florida

Citrus Canker found in Northwest Florida

Blake Thaxton & Mary Derrick, UF/IFAS Extension – Santa Rosa Co. Mikaela Anderson, FDACS Division of Plant Inspection Citrus canker is a serious disease of citrus trees that was recently confirmed for the first time in southern Santa Rosa County. Canker is...
PBS Video on UF/IFAS Fruit and Vegetable Breeding Programs

PBS Video on UF/IFAS Fruit and Vegetable Breeding Programs

Florida Crossroads made a 28 minute video entitled “Seeds of Change” featuring the IFAS plant breeding efforts to create new varieties of blueberries, strawberries, tomatoes, and other crops, and the ways these programs have influenced Florida industry.  For those of...