University of Florida attempting to grow âwhite strawberriesâ in Sunshine State
By FOX 13 News staff
PublishedÂ
FOX 13 s Charley Belcher reports
BALM, Fla. - It’s strawberry season in Florida, and farmers have been picking and selling those red, delicious fruits. But meanwhile, in Hillsborough County, scientists are trying to successfully grow a different kind of berry – an all-white strawberry.
The scientists and researchers at University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Gulf Coast Research and Education Center are always trying to make crops in Florida better. This time, they are not only working on strong, juicy varieties of strawberries but they are working on producing the white strawberry, which is also known as the pineberry.
Jan. 15 is Florida Arbor Day. In a guest column, the University of Florida’s vice president for Agriculture and Natural Resources says we should honor the trees, but also incentivize those who manage private forest land with the public good in mind.
Tracing their evolution shows termites do much more than eat wood and destroy homes, other buildings, and trees, researchers report.
“The fact is termites are mostly misunderstood and remain important ecological engineers,” says Thomas Chouvenc, an assistant professor of entomology at the University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center.
“Among the estimated 3,000 termite species, a tiny number of them are responsible of such destruction. More importantly, a majority of termite species do not even eat wood.”
Chouvenc led a team of scientists who pieced together a complex puzzle about the insect’s evolution and argue that they are an extremely diverse and important insect group.
Warmer winter pattern doesn t rule out citrus freeze
A moderate La Niña climate phase is expected through spring 2021. This indicates that slightly above average temperatures and slightly less rainfall than normal can be expected in Florida’s citrus belt. Multi-county citrus Extension agent Ajia Paolillo made that announcement during a virtual Dec. 22 OJ Break presented by the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS).
The fact that the winter weather pattern is expected to be warmer than usual doesn’t rule out the possibility of a citrus freeze. Paolillo said a freeze can occur any winter, regardless of the climate phase.