If you’re impatient for impatiens, a University of Florida scientist has good news for you: Some varieties of the popular flower resist the deadly downy mildew disease better than others.
Many people love to plant impatiens also known as the “Touch Me Not” in their gardens, yards and patios because of their bright, colorful flowers and tolerance to shade, said Zhanao Deng. The UF/IFAS ornamental plant breeder leads cutting-edge research to find out how he can bolster the impatiens industry by eliminating the downy mildew pathogen.
“Downy mildew is a highly destructive disease in a wide range of crops worldwide, not just impatiens,” said Deng, a UF/IFAS environmental horticulture professor at the Gulf Coast Research and Education Center. The disease can cause extensive damage to lettuce, basil, melon, squash and grapes, among others.
If you give mom a plant for Mother’s Day, you might appreciate the aroma and aesthetics of the flower you bought and flora in general. You might even wonder how the plant got to the retailer or nursery in the first place.
Many plants arrive at the store after much research. University of Florida scientists toil in labs and fields for years to breed top-notch ornamentals for Mothers’ Day or any occasion.
Flowers or plants are among the most popular gift sons and daughters give their moms. UF/IFAS researchers in the environmental horticulture department are constantly seeking to make plants prettier and easier to care for, whether it’s a caladium, gerbera, lantana, coleus and others, to make your flower and plant buying choices better.
Uf/IFAS Dr. Vance Whitaker in one of his strawberry fields at the UF/IFAS Gulf Coast Research and Education Center in Balm, Florida
Volunteer tasting panels have long been relied upon to guide decisions on which strawberries taste and smell best, and therefore should be bred for Florida s $300 billion crop.
Tasting panels and breeding for better taste have been around since agriculture began, and now a researchers at University of Florida are using a new approach to creating better berries. Artificial intelligence is now helping identify cultivars most likely to produce a berry consumers will love. Already having collected data from hundreds and hundreds of volunteer tasters, computers now help match the chemical component that creates aromas of sweetness and “strawberriness.”