Summer 2021
INSIDE In this Issue: Director’s Message ..................................................... 2 Research Publications .............................................. 3 EDIS Publications ....................................................... 4 Student Awards ........................................................... 4 Faculty & Staff Awards .............................................. 5 Teaching / Extension ................................................. 5 TREC In Focus Graduate Student, Sarah Brewer .................. 6 Advisory Board Member, Charles LaPradd 6 Upcoming Events ....................................................... 7 Let’s get Social! ........................................................... 7 TREC Announcements ............................................. 8
Director’s Message As you may or may not be aware, papaya (Carica papaya) is said to have been around some 25 million years go and while, for certain, we did not have a thriving industry in Florida then, we certainly had one during the 20th century. Interest in papaya has been increasing worldwide due to its great nutritional and nutraceutical properties—it is a relatively low-price source of lycopene, b-carotene, polyphyenols, and many vitamins and fibers, all of which are extremely good for you. The United Stated is a major importer of this fruit, importing more than 175,000 tons annually at a value that is close to $120 million.
Within the continental United States, papaya can be grown year-round in South Florida (specifically Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties), where the region’s subtropical climate is suitable for the crop. But there are a few challenges which must be overcome if our growers are to be in a position to cash in on this market opportunity. The first challenge is that papaya production and fruit quality are being compromised by the papaya ringspot virus (PRSV) for which no natural resistance is known to exist. The second challenge is that our papaya plantings are only productive for about two years before they must be replanted; an expensive and timeconsuming endeavor making Florida growers less competitive. Both challenges limit the potential for expansion of the industry in the state, robbing our growers of what could be another viable alternative enterprise. UF/IFAS TREC has worked hard to address these challenges and I am happy to report that our scientists are finalizing the development of a papaya variety that is resistant to the disease, possesses superior fruit quality and yield, and increases the longevity of the plant. The initial research began some years back—to develop a variety resistant to the disease that would do well under local growing conditions—and we are now seeing the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel as all regulatory approvals have been obtained, clearing the way for commercialization. These breakthroughs are what our growers were hoping for. It is our hope that sooner, rather than later, we will once again have a thriving papaya industry in south Florida, adding one more crop that our growers can consider.
Dr. Edward ‘Gilly’ A. Evans
We take this opportunity to acknowledge the researchers who have been involved with this effort including Dr. Michael Davis (retired), Dr. Zhentu Ying (retired), Dr. Jonathan Crane, and Dr. Alan Chambers. We also wish to acknowledge the financial support received from the Florida Department of Agriculture and the University of Florida.
TREC Faculty Publications Beom, J., Jeung, M., Choi, W., Her, Y. G., & Yoon, K. (2021). Characteristics of chloride loading from urban and agricultural watersheds during storm and non-storm periods. Water Supply, 21(4), 1567-1579. https://doi.org/10.2166/ws.2020.343 Blare, T. and Useche, P. (2021). The evolution of gender roles in rural Ecuador: The case of the cacao value chain. In M. B. Avila Calle & G. Casado Lopez (Eds.) Ecuador: Past, present and future. Nova Science Publishers, Inc. Brewer, S., Plotto, A., Bai, J., Crane, J., and Chambers, A. (2021). Evaluation of 21 papaya (Carica papaya L.) accessions in southern Florida for fruit quality, aroma, plant height, and yield components. Scientia Horticulturae, 288, 110387. https://www.sciencedirect.com/ science/article/pii/S0304423821004945?via%3Dihub Campbell, S. M., Anderson, S. L., Brym, Z., Pearson, B. J. (2021). Evaluation of substrate composition and exogenous hormone application on vegetative propagule rooting success of essential oil hemp (Cannabis sativa L.). bioRxiv https://www.biorxiv.org/ content/10.1101/2021.03.15.435449v1 Escobar-Garcia, H. A., de Andrade, D. J., Carrillo, D., Ochoa, R. (2021). Theobroma cacao a new host for Brevipalpus yothersi (Acari: Tenuipalpidae) in Peru. Acarologia, 61(2), 211-216. https://doi.org/10.24349/acarologia/20214427 Jamshidi Goharrizi, K., Meru, G., Ghotbzadeh Kermani, S., Heidarinezhad, A., Salehi, F. (2021). Short-term cold stress affects physiological and biochemical traits of pistachio rootstocks. South African Journal of Botany, 141, 90-98. https://doi.org/10.1016/ j.sajb.2021.04.029 Qiao, K., Liu, Q., Zhang, S. (2021). Evaluation of fluazaindolizine, a new nematicide for management of Meloidogyne incognita in squash in calcareous soils. Crop Protection, 143. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cropro.2020.105469 Thapa, N., Timilsina, S., Minsavage, G.V., Pereira-Martin, J., Vallad, G.E., Goss, E. M., Roberts, P., Mou, Z., Zhang, S., Jones, J.B. (2021). Draft genome sequences of Pseodomonas syringae pv. Tomato strains J4 and J6, isolated in Florida. Microbiology Resource Announcements, 10(15), 1-3. https://doi.org/10.1128/MRA.00127-21 Wang, Q. and Zhang, S. (2021). Applying drone-based spatial mapping to help growers manage crop diseases. Journal of Extension, 59(2), Article 11. https://doi.org/10.34068/ joe.59.02.11 Zhang, M. Anderson, S. L., Brym, Z., Pearson, B. J. (2021). Photoperiodic flowering response of essential oil, grain, and fiber hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) cultivars. bioRxiv https:// doi.org/10.1101/2021.05.13.444025
EDIS Publications Crane, J. H., Balerdi, C. F., & Maguire, I. (2021). Ackee growing in the Florida home landscape. EDIS, 2021. Her, Y. G. & Yu, Z. (2021). Mapping the US census data using the tiger/line shapefiles. EDIS, 2021. https://doi.org/10.32473/edis-AE557-2021 Olusaseum Adeleye, V. & Seal, D. R. (2021). Tomato bug, tobacco leaf bug, tomato mirid, green tobacco capsid Nesidiocoris Tenuis reuter (Insecta: Hemiptera” Miridae). EDIS, 2021. https://doi.org/10.32473/edis-IN1323-2021 Zangroniz, A., Azeem-Angel, M., Heiden, K., Donnelly, H., & Smyth, A. R. (2021). What is oyster shell recycling? EDIS, 2021. https://doi.org/10.32473/edis-SS703-2021 Wang, Q., Zhang, S., Li, Y., Seal, D., Klassen, W., & Olczyk, T. (2021). Pepper production in Miami-Dade County, Florida. EDIS, 2021. Wang, Q., Zhang, S., Li, Y., Seal, D., & Olczyk, T. (2021). Pest management of peppers in Miami-Dade County, Florida. EDIS, 2021.
Student Awards Aline De Camargo Santos, a PhD candidate in Dr. Elias Bassil’s lab, was awarded the Grinter Fellowship for the 2021-2022 academic year. Aline also received the 2021-2022 William C. & Bertha M. Cornett Fellowship. Joshua Anderson, a PhD candidate in Dr. Chambers’ lab, was awarded the Southern SARE graduate student grant for his proposal, “Sustainable management practices for vanilla cultivation”. Swati Shrestha, a PhD candidate in Dr. Meru’s lab, was awarded the 2021 -2022 CALS Muriel Rumsey Scholarship for her exemplary academic and research accomplishments.
Faculty & Staff Awards Yuqing Fu, Pamela Moon, Christine Waddill, Shouan Zhang, and Geoffrey Meru’s Developing Interspecific bridges between Cucurbita pepo and C. moschata” was selected for the Best Paper award at the 2020 Vegetable Section of the Florida State Horticultural Society (FSHS) Annual Conference.
Dr. Haimanote Bayabil received the 2021 Outstanding Young Extension Award from the Florida Section of the American Society of Agricultural & Biological Engineers (FL ASABE) again!! Dr. Bayabil also received this award in 2020. Dr. Alan Chambers recently received a SEEDIT grant for his work in “Establishing a Vanilla Industry in Florida through Integrated Research, Economics, and Extension. Dr. Young Gu Her was elected as a new Committee member of the UF Water Institute.
TEACHING & EXTENSION Congratulations to Dr. Daniel Carrillo who received tenure and has been promoted to Associate Professor! Dr. Carrillo specializes in the biological control and ecology and management of invasive insects and mites. For more information on Dr. Carrillo’s work, please visit his lab’s webpage.
Dr. Jonathan Crane has recently updated his page on Laurel Wilt Disease. We encourage you to view and share the link to this important resource. Dr. Shouan Zhang presented “Control of root-knot nematodes in squash, TYLCV, and Rhizoctonia disease in tomato” at UF/ IFAS Extension Miami-Dade County’s Virtual Field Day—Management of Diseases and Insects in Vegetable Crops. Dr. Daniel Carrillo shared Lychee Erinose Mite Information, Updates, and Recommendations in a virtual presentation for commercial growers on May 19, 2021. You can access the information he presented here. Dr. Trent Blare presented “Challenges for “going local”: Lessons from three initiatives to strengthen the food system in Cusco, Peru” at the Ventana III virtual conference on June 9, 2021.
Graduate Student How do you pick a graduate school or program? Maybe, much like the sorting hat at Hogwarts, the graduate program chooses you. Sarah Brewer recounts that she knew that the exciting work conducted in the genetics and breeding lab run by Sarah Brewer Dr. Alan Chambers at UF/IFAS Tropical Research & Education Center was the right fit for her. Dr. Chambers’ goal—to develop premium quality fruits for growers—was most appealing to Sarah because she would get to unite her backgrounds in horticulture and biochemistry. Moreover, enhancing the quality traits of fruits, such as their flavor, color, nutritional value, would allow her to incorporate creativity into her work. For her dissertation research, Sarah evaluated 21 papaya varieties from the USDA best in south Florida and to determine which quality traits could be enhanced to improve growers’ sales as well as consumers’ experiences. Enhancing the quality traits of any food crop involves trial and error. While Sarah’s research identified
Advisory Board Charles La Pradd was born in Homestead, Florida, to a pioneer family whose roots date back to the 1800s in southern Miami-Dade at County. He has worked at all levels of agriculture, including growing, sales, marketing, and shipping tropical fruits, vegetables, and foliage plants. In May 2005, Mr. La Pradd was appointed as the first Agricultural Manager for MiamiDade County, a position he still holds. In this position, he advocates for Miami-Dade County’s agricultural interests and serves as a single point of contact between the agricultural industry and Miami-Dade County. You can find more information on all of our Advisory Board Charles La Pradd members here.
promising varieties for the region, as well as compounds that may contribute to positive or negative flavors, her work was just the beginning for Dr. Chambers’ quest for south Florida’s perfect papaya. For more information on Sarah Brewer’s research, watch this video.
Upcoming Conferences & Events Carrillo, D. Biological control. 2021 UF/IFAS Invasive Pest Management virtual conference. Jibrin, M.O., Liu, Q., Guingab-Cagmat, J., Jones, J.B., Garret, T. and Zhang, S. Annotation of the Xanthomonas perforans metabolome identifies novel metabolites that provide insights into the ecology of the pathogen. 2021 virtual meeting Plant Health. Liu, Q., and Zhang, S. Incidence and distribution of tomato yellow leaf curl (TYLC) disease and the potential of TYLC-resistant cultivars in management of TYLC in south Florida. 2021 FSHS Conference. Revynthi, A. Recognizing mites and their damage. 2021 UF/IFAS Invasive Pest Management virtual conference.
With presentations by UF/IFAS TREC’s Dr. Jonathan Crane and Dr. Alan Chambers
Taking place on Tuesday, September 28 at the Hilton Daytona Beach Oceanfront Resort. To register, email Wanda Ramos at wramos@mango.org.
The staff of the UF/IFAS TREC Plant Diagnostic Clinic will be present to answer your questions.
Find us on Social!
Taking place from Friday, October 1 - Sunday, October 3 at the Fruit & Spice Park in Homestead, Florida. To register to attend this festival, visit www.tamiamiorchidfestiv al.com.
The last day to register as a Sponsor is 10/1!
