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The Horticultural Sciences Department at the University of Florida is a team of faculty, staff, and students dedicated to improving fruit and vegetable production for the benefit of farmers and consumers. Florida’s climatic diversity and the facilities at UF provide opportunities for research with temperate, sub-tropical, and tropical crops on a nearly year-round basis. We conduct cutting-edge research in plant breeding & genetics, plant and environmental physiology, fruit & vegetable production, postharvest physiology, biochemistry, and other disciplines. We offer high-quality education and training for undergraduate and graduate students to equip them with the skills needed to be successful in satisfying, high-paying careers. Our diverse faculty is located throughout the state, integrating our research/teaching/extension programs to provide practical experience for our students, technical support for our farmers, relevance for our horticulture industry, and a pipeline to bring leading research from our labs to you.

 
Agriculture

Machine-harvestable tomatoes available from UF/IFAS; growers hope cultivars can help lower labor cost

Ever since Florida farmers have been growing tomatoes, they’ve picked them by hand or hired laborers. It’s painstaking work that might be made easier soon with machine-harvestable tomatoes developed by University of Florida scientists. Now that the varieties are available, growers in Florida’s $400 million-a-year industry hope they can use mechanized harvesting, but doubts Read More

Agriculture

White House officials tour UF/IFAS Gulf Coast Research and Education Center; admire AI initiatives, tout importance of cybersecurity

Responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI) holds tremendous potential to make our world more prosperous and secure, while misuse of AI can lead to cybersecurity issues. Knowing that, White House officials toured the University of Florida Gulf Coast Research and Education Center (GCREC) last week. During a visit to Tampa, Acting Principal Deputy National Cyber Director Jake Braun joined UF Read More