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Crop Improvement and Selection

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Vanilla Could Be the Next Big Crop for Small Farmers in Southern Florida

HOMESTEAD, Florida – Florida is on the cusp of a new agricultural crop that could give small farmers in the southern region of the state a high-value alternative to vegetable and fruit production. University of Florida researchers at the Tropical Research and Education Center have embarked on a comprehensive evaluation of vanilla – from developing […]

Farmers Testing Elderberry Varieties for Florida Cultivation

CHIEFLAND, Florida – Elderberry, internationally utilized and popular for centuries for its perceived medicinal and health benefits, may have potential as an alternative crop in Florida. Farmers Heather Martin and David Jarnagin of Hyldemoer + Co. in north central Florida have been testing elderberry (Sambucus spp.) varieties for the past several years for commercial production. […]

Breeding a Better Butternut

LOUISA, Virginia – Virginia farmer Edmund Frost is on a mission to develop the ideal butternut squash: a disease-resistant prolific producer of consistent shape and size with unparalleled taste. Or maybe a few ideal varieties. Since 2013, Frost, who started the seed company Common Wealth Seed Growers in 2014, has received funding from the Southern […]

UF/IFAS Investigates Sorrel as a New Crop for Florida

Sorrel is a leafy green plant with reddish-pink flowers. It’s hardy, fast growing, has a variety of uses and UF/IFAS is investigating its potential as a new crop for Florida. A recent field day revealed preliminary findings and input from farmers growing the crop. UF/IFAS Extension agents, in collaboration with the University of the Virgin […]

Sweetpotato Production for Kentucky

This 16-page guidebook, produced by the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service, covers all aspects of sweetpotato production in Kentucky. Topics include variety selection, production techniques, insect and disease management, harvesting, storage, marketing, and budgets. Full of colorful photos and helpful charts, this publication is designed to be a comprehensive guide for […]

Cucumber Anthracnose in Florida

A fact sheet developed by University of Florida on the symptoms, causal organism, disease cycle and management of cucumber anthracnose. The publication was developed from the results of a SSARE-funded study that addressed plant diseases in organic farming systems by targeting soil health as a fundamental principle in achieving a healthy cucumber crop.

Grafting Can Help Control Diseases in Organic High Tunnel Tomatoes

GAINESVILLE, Florida – Grafting can help control diseases in organically grown high tunnel tomatoes, according to the results of a University of Florida study. In the study, funded by a Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education (SSARE) On-Farm Research Grant, specialty tomatoes grafted onto two disease-resistant rootstocks effectively managed Fusarium wilt and improved the overall […]

Improving Pawpaw Production with Grafting

FRANKFORT, Kentucky – Kentucky State University researchers, through a grafting technique common in apple production, have been successful in producing higher-yielding, higher-quality fruit in pawpaws. The results help promote a low-input system to boost small-scale pawpaw production for small farmers. Through a $203,395 Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education Grant, horticulturist Kirk Pomper and his […]

Texas Producer Finds Asparagus Can Be Viable in the South Nearly Year-Round

LYFORD, Texas -- A south Texas producer, interested in increasing the diversity of crop production for local farmers, has found that asparagus can be grown in the Texas heat practically year-round by mimicking the “die-back” that occurs in the plants during dormancy in colder climates. With a Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education (SSARE) Producer […]

Breeding Organic Corn Varieties to Resist GMO Contamination

KNOXVILLE, Tennessee – Breeders with the University of Tennessee are developing organic corn varieties that cannot be contaminated by GMO corn (genetically modified organisms) via cross-pollination. A corn ear from a Ga1s line pollinated with pollen from a GMO corn hybrid (upper ear with no seeds) and the same line pollinated with pollen from a […]

Techniques for Melon Grafting

A fact sheet developed by University of Florida that introduces commonly used grafting techniques to help farmers interested in grafting melon plants achieve a high-graft survival rate.

Establishing Cottonwood Plantations

A fact sheet on establishing cottonwoods as a bioenergy feedstock in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley from the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Research and Extension.