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UF Gulf Coast Research & Education Center

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UF Gulf Coast Research & Education Center

Empowering growers through science-driven innovation that advances the future of Florida agriculture.

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09/14/2026

🍓 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘄𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲!

After spending the summer in Oregon, approximately 11,000 strawberry seedlings and 900 advanced selections will make their way back to Florida at the end of the month, which can only mean one thing: strawberry season is almost here! 🎉

So, why Oregon? Florida’s summer heat and disease pressure make it challenging to keep our strawberry breeding material healthy year-round.

Through our partnership with Crown Nursery, the plants spend the summer growing in cooler conditions before returning to GCREC for another season of research and breeding.

Dr. Vance Whitaker and Kenneth Parker, Executive Director of Florida Strawberries (FSGA), recently visited the nursery to see how UF/IFAS varieties are performing and hear directly from nursery partners ahead of the Florida season.

Safe travels, strawberries, we’ve missed you! 🥹

09/10/2026

𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗪𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗙𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗥𝗼𝗼𝘁-𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗡𝗲𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗲𝘀

Please join us in congratulating Ph.D. student Laura Mayorga on successfully passing her qualifying exam! 👏

Working in Dr. Johan Desaeger’s lab, Laura is tackling a tiny pest that can cause big problems for Florida crops: root-knot nematodes.

One promising way to manage them is with Purpureocillium lilacinum, a beneficial soil fungus used for biological nematode control. But there’s a challenge—Florida’s hot, sandy soils can make it difficult for the fungus to survive and provide consistent control.

Laura is investigating ways to overcome that challenge by pairing the fungus with other management strategies, including cover crops and a chitin-based product. So far, cover crops have reduced root-knot damage by 30–50% and increased tomato yield by 19%, while combining the beneficial fungus with a chitin-based product reduced nematode reproduction by 80% in greenhouse trials.

By identifying which strategies work best together, Laura’s research could help build more effective, integrated approaches to managing root-knot nematodes in Florida crops.

Congratulations on this important milestone, Laura! 🎉

09/08/2026

𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀. 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀. 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 $𝟲𝟱,𝟬𝟬𝟬 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵. 🎉

Ph.D. students Jack T. Koster, Sophia Schmidt and Sudeep Subedi have each been awarded a Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Graduate Student Grant!

These competitive grants support innovative graduate student research addressing real-world agricultural challenges. Each proposal is reviewed by experts from across the Southern region, and all three of our students received awards near the program’s $22,000 maximum!

🍓 Jack T. Koster | Dr. Marcus Marin & Dr. Natalia Peres
Jack is developing a rapid, field-deployable diagnostic tool for the early detection of Neopestalotiopsis, enabling screening of asymptomatic strawberry plants before planting as well as diagnoses directly in the field. 🔗 https://tinyurl.com/SARE-Jack

🍓 Sophia Schmidt | Dr. Vance Whitaker
Sophia is investigating the genetics behind strawberry resistance to Neopestalotiopsis to support the development of more disease-resistant cultivars. 🔗 https://tinyurl.com/SARE-Sophia

🍅 Sudeep Subedi | Dr. Jessica Chitwood-Brown
Sudeep is studying and combining genetic sources of bacterial wilt resistance to support the development of more resilient tomato cultivars. 🔗 https://tinyurl.com/SARE-Sudeep

From protecting strawberries against emerging disease threats to building stronger tomato cultivars, these projects are tackling challenges that matter to growers and helping develop solutions for more sustainable and resilient crop production.

We’re incredibly proud of Jack, Sophia and Sudeep and all they are accomplishing through their research. Congratulations on this outstanding achievement! 👏

09/04/2026

𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗙𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮 𝘁𝗼 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗹𝗹: 𝗔 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆

For Ph.D. student Lis Porto, this summer brought a change of scenery—and a chance to experience plant pathology from a new perspective.

With support from the APS Foundation Tarleton Fellowship, Lis spent part of her summer at Cornell AgriTech, working alongside Dr. Kerik Cox and his lab. Stepping outside of her Ph.D. research at the University of Florida allowed her to see how another plant pathology program approaches research, extension and disease management.

And she jumped right in.

Lis worked across several tree fruit pathology projects, gaining hands-on experience with apple powdery mildew, apple scab and fungicide resistance. But the exchange went both ways. Lis brought her own strawberry pathology experience into the lab, contributing to work with Neopestalotiopsis, Botrytis and Colletotrichum. She also presented a seminar on her Ph.D. research on Neopestalotiopsis in strawberry to the Cornell community, sharing her work and gaining perspectives from researchers outside her usual program.

Outside the lab, Lis made the most of her time in New York, exploring the Finger Lakes region, building new friendships and getting to know the Cornell AgriTech community.

The experience came at an important point in Lis’s Ph.D. journey as she prepared for her qualifying exam—and ultimately gave her much more than a new set of research skills.

“𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘍𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘢 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘴, 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘳 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘐 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦.”

Lis shared her gratitude to Dr. Cox and his lab for welcoming her, to her Ph.D. advisors Dr. Natalia Peres and Dr. Marcus Marin for supporting the opportunity, and to Dr. David Gadoury, whose support and Cornell connection helped make the internship possible. She is also grateful to the The American Phytopathological Society for investing in opportunities that allow graduate students to expand their training and build new collaborations.

We’re proud to see Lis embracing opportunities that broaden her experience and help shape her growth as a scientist. 👏

09/02/2026

🍓 𝗕𝗶𝗴 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘄𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗿𝘆 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵: 𝗞𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗹𝘆𝗻 𝗩𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗸 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗨𝗦𝗗𝗔 𝗡𝗜𝗙𝗔 𝗙𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽!

Please join us in congratulating Ph.D. student Kaitlyn Vondracek on being awarded a USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Predoctoral Fellowship! 👏

Kaitlyn is one of just 49 predoctoral scholars selected nationally through the program, which is investing $7.4 million in the next generation of researchers, educators and Extension professionals in food and agricultural sciences.

Her fellowship will support research aimed at tackling an expensive challenge for strawberry growers: runners.
During commercial fruit production, these long stems are typically removed by hand—a labor-intensive practice that costs the U.S. strawberry industry roughly $130 million annually, including nearly $28 million in Florida alone.

Kaitlyn is using genomics and genome editing to better understand the genes controlling runner development, with the goal of breeding strawberry varieties that produce fewer runners during fruit production. By reducing the need for runner removal, her research could help lower production costs for growers while advancing new tools for strawberry breeding.

And the fellowship is about more than advancing the research. For Kaitlyn, it is also an opportunity to continue developing as a scientist and future leader in agricultural research.

“𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘢𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘦.”

Congratulations, Kaitlyn, on this incredible achievement! We’re excited to see where this next chapter takes you and your research. 🎉

08/31/2026

𝗞𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗮𝘂𝘁𝘆, 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗢𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗸

With prolific blooms, vibrant colors, low-maintenance growth and an incredible ability to attract pollinators, lantana has plenty of qualities people love. But there’s a catch: it is also a Category I invasive in Florida that can spread into natural and agricultural areas and cross with native lantana species.

Ph.D. student Hani Hassan, working in Dr. Zhanao Deng’s ornamental breeding program, is helping develop sterile lantana that can preserve those desirable qualities while reducing its ecological and economic impacts.

The program has already licensed three sterile lantana varieties to Ball and Proven Winners, but developing new ones isn’t simple. Breeding can be labor intensive and requires maintaining multiple parental populations. Certain genetic traits can also result in hybrids being fertile instead of sterile.

Hani’s research is helping make the process more efficient. An open-pollinated field breeding approach allows the program to rapidly advance parental populations and generate new hybrids with relatively little labor. A newly developed genetic marker also helps breeders identify, while plants are still seedlings, those that carry a trait that can interfere with sterility.

And the approach is producing results: 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝟵𝟬𝟬 𝗵𝘆𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗱𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 during the 2025 field season alone.

The ultimate goal is to develop lantana with high sterility, diverse flower colors and desirable growth habits—keeping the characteristics that make the plant so popular while reducing the risks associated with its spread.

08/26/2026

🚨 𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝗨𝘀 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗴𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲!

The Institute for Agricultural Innovation is growing, with three new faculty opportunities in decision intelligence, applied artificial intelligence and mechanical engineering.

Learn more about the Institute: https://tinyurl.com/Institute-For-Ag-Innovation

We’re looking for innovators ready to drive advances in agricultural technology and turn new ideas into solutions for real-world production challenges.

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝘂𝘀? Explore all three opportunities: https://tinyurl.com/azd67a3c

08/24/2026

𝗔𝗻𝗸𝗶𝘁 𝗣𝗼𝗸𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗹 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗖𝗔𝗟𝗦 𝗙𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽!

Please join us in congratulating Ph.D. student Ankit Pokhrel on receiving the William C. and Bertha M. Cornett Fellowship from the UF College of Agricultural and Life Sciences for the 2026–2027 academic year! 👏

Ankit’s research is helping advance blackberry and raspberry breeding by uncovering the genetics behind important traits. His work explores everbearing and fruit quality traits in blackberries, as well as powdery mildew resistance in raspberries.

On receiving the fellowship, Ankit shared:

“𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘮 𝘊. 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘉𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘢 𝘔. 𝘊𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘵 𝘍𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘱𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘍𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘢.”

Congratulations on this well-deserved recognition, Ankit! We’re proud to celebrate this achievement with you. 🎉

08/21/2026

𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗦𝗰𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗦𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 👀

Spotting a problem is one thing. Knowing what’s causing it—and what to do next—is another.

We recently welcomed nursery and horticulture professionals for the final day of the 2026 Southwest Florida Scouting Training Series, a three-part, hands-on program led by UF IFAS Extension Manatee County.

Throughout the series, participants strengthened practical scouting and diagnostic skills to help them recognize plant health problems early, troubleshoot potential causes and make more informed management decisions. At GCREC, they learned directly from UF/IFAS specialists and toured research programs focused on crop production, plant health and agricultural technology.

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗘𝘅𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: sharing research-based knowledge with the people who can put it to work. We love opportunities to help Florida’s growers and nursery professionals tackle the challenges they face every day.

08/19/2026

🏆 𝗚𝗖𝗥𝗘𝗖 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀!

Congratulations to our students who were recognized for their research presentations at the 2026 UF Plant Breeding Retreat!

🥈 Hani Hassan — 2nd Place, Poster Presentation
🥈 Bihani Thapa — 2nd Place, Oral Presentation (tie)
🥈 Taylor Sawyer — 2nd Place, Oral Presentation (tie)

Congratulations, Hani, Bihani and Taylor! We’re proud of your accomplishments! 👏

Address

14625 County Road 672
Wimauma, FL
33598

Opening Hours

Monday	8am - 5pm
Tuesday	8am - 5pm
Wednesday	8am - 5pm
Thursday	8am - 5pm
Friday	8am - 5pm

Website

https://gcrec.ifas.ufl.edu/

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