Mother Nature delivered a dreary day December 15, when we hosted the SWFREC Fall Vegetable Field Day. Still, nearly thirty participants attended the event.

Plant pathologist Dr. Pam Roberts distributed information about two trials: control of foliar diseases on watermelon with foliar sprays, which was conducted last spring, and Watermelon Vine Decline, which was conducted in the fall.

In-field demonstrations included Dr. Sanjay Shukla, water resources scientist, who provided background information on the lysimeter project and explained how the large tanks monitor water input and determine how much water is actually used by watermelon and pepper plants. In addi-tion, Shukla and senior biological scientist Karen Armbrester discussed a slow-release fertilizer project on

tomato that is overseen by vegetable horticulturalist Dr. Kent Cushman.

The other field demonstration featured entomologist Dr. Phil Stansly, who focused on three grower prob-lem areas: Southern Armyworm on tomato, Fall

Armyworm in sweet corn, and biological control of Broad Mite in Serrano pepper.

“It’s hard to pinpoint one particular thing (about how such field days help),” says Sam Hipp with Produc-tion Soils LLC. “I always learn something. You want to keep up with what’s being tested and what’s being done scientifically.”

With the festive season fully upon us, we want to wish all of our clientele and their families happy holi-days and a prosperous new year.

Christine Waddill

ctwaddill@ifas.ufl.edu

Center Director’s Cor ner

Inside this issue:

Groups Visit SWFREC 2

BMP Guidelines Available

2

Staff News 3

Upcoming Events 4

SWFREC Update DECEMBER 2006

VOLUME 2, ISSUE 4

Clockwise from left: Luke Kosar, legisla-tive assistant to Sena-tor Dave Aronberg, looks over entomol-ogy trials; Karen Armbrester discusses the fertilizer project; and Phil Stansly ad-dresses the group from atop a sprayer.

PAGE 2

SWFREC UPDATE

The SWFREC hosted numerous visitors in November when two groups included the center as a stop on their agricultural tours.

Fifteen science teachers from throughout the state comprised the Agris-cience Education Leadership Program, which is sponsored by the Florida Depart-ment of Agriculture and Consumer Ser-vices. The group travels the state to learn more about agriculture, and the SWFREC was part of the group’s south Florida trip.

Following a welcome from associate center director Dr. John Dunckelman, the group learned about the citrus budwood program. The Department of Plant Industry’s Mark Terrell was on hand to dem-onstrate the grafting of budwood onto an existing tree. Dr. Sanjay Shukla, water resources scientist, gave the teachers an up-close look at lysimeters, in-field tanks that monitor how much water comes in, how much is lost through the sandy soil, and how much of it is taken up by the crops. And Dr. Kent Cushman, vegetable horticulturalist, educated the group about slow-release fertilizers he currently is

testing on a tomato crop.

Forty members of the Leadership Collier pro-gram toured the SWFREC grounds. Dr.

Dunckelman welcomed the group and led a short question-and-answer session, which was fol-lowed by stops in the field to see the lysimeters and hear about the fertilizer project.

Mark Terrell talks up the budwood program to Agriscience teachers in the citrus lab.

Sc ience Teacher s, Col l ier Leader s Tour SWFREC

BMP Manuals Avai lable Best Management Practice (BMP) manuals are now available for citrus, vegetable, and container nurs-ery production.

Participation in these grower-driven programs is voluntary; however, growers who participate will see numerous benefits, including a poten-tial reduction in input costs, a presumption of compliance with state water quality standards, and a waiver of liability for recovery of costs associated with remediation of polluted areas.

In addition, growers who participate in the citrus BMP program are eligible for cost-share funds through the Florida Department of Agri-culture and Consumer Services. Cost-share funds for the vegetable BMP program should be available in six months.

To obtain a free BMP information brochure and BMP manuals for citrus, vegetables, and container nurseries, contact Chambal Pandey, senior engineer, BMP Implementation Team, at the SWFREC (phone: 239-658-3400; e-mail: chambal@ufl.edu).

Agriscience Leadership teachers look over SWFREC information before heading outside with Dr. Cushman to learn about slow-release fertilizers.

Dr. Shukla explains the lysimeter project to Leadership Collier participants.

Pandey

PAGE 3

VOLUME 2, ISSUE 4

♦ Dr. Phil Stansly, entomologist, helped to organize the 4th International Bemisia (Whitefly) Workshop in Duck Key, FL, in December, where he presented a poster entitled “Biologically Based Management of Bemisia tabaci ‘Q’ in Vegetable Greenhouse Production.” Dr. Pam Roberts, plant pathologist, also par-ticipated in the conference and presented (along with Dr. Stansly, senior biological scientist Rosa Much-ovej, Hendry Co. Extension Director and horticultural scientist Gene McAvoy, and others) “Whitefly (Bemisia tabaci) transmitted Squash vein yellowing virus (SqVYV): a component of Watermelon Vine Decline in South Florida.”

♦ Dr. Marty Main, wildlife ecologist, and senior biological scientist Ginger Allen conducted the Florida Master Naturalist Program (FMNP) Reunion and Awards Ceremony in Haines City, FL, in November. More than 100 FMNP instructors, students, and guests participated in the event, which showcased the program’s most active members and included a variety of educational workshops.

♦ Dr. Kent Cushman, vegetable horticulturalist, attended the 4th ISHS International and 8th National Symposium on Seed, Transplant, and Stand Establishment of Hor-ticultural Crops in San Antonio, TX, in December. He presented “Performance of Four Triploid Watermelon Cultivars Grafted Onto Five Rootstock Genotypes: Yield and Fruit Quality Under Commercial Growing Conditions.”

♦ Dr. John Dunckelman, associate center director, completed the UF/IFAS Leader-ship Enhancement and Administrative Development Program in October. The training program included four three-day leadership workshops completed over a two-year period.

♦ Dr. Kelly Morgan, soil scientist, is entering his final year of a two-year appointment on the Howard M. Taylor Memorial Lectureship Committee of the Soil Science Society of America.

♦ The following are refereed journal articles and EDIS documents published by SWFREC faculty from September-December:

French-Monar, R. D. and P. D. Roberts. 2006 Florida Plant Disease Management Guide: Fig (Ficus carica). http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/PG010.

French-Monar, R. D. and P. D. Roberts. 2006 Florida Plant Disease Management Guide: Macadamia (Macadamia integrifolia). http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/PG113.

Morgan, K.T., and E.A. Hanlon. 2006. Improving Citrus Nitrogen Uptake Efficiency: Understanding Cit-rus Nitrogen Requirements. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/SS459.

Pandey, C. and S. Shukla. 2006. Effects of composted yard waste on water movement in a sandy soil. Com-post Science and Utilization 14(4)252-259.

Shukla, S., C.Y. Yu, J.D. Hardin, and F.H. Jaber. 2006. Wireless Data Acquisition and Control Systems for Agricultural Water Management Projects. HortTechnology 16(4): 595-604.

Shukla, Sanjay, Edward A. Hanlon, Fouad H. Jaber, Peter J. Stoffella, Thomas A. Obreza, and Monica Ozores-Hampton. 2006. Groundwater Nitrogen: Behavior in Flatwoods and Gravel Soils Using Organic Amendments for Vegetable Production. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/AE400.

Shukla, S., R. E. Rouse, S. S. Shukla, E. A. Hanlon, K. Portier, and T. A. Obreza. 2006. Citrus BMP Im-plementation in Florida’s Gulf Citrus Production Area: Water, Sediment, and Aquatic Weeds. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/AE405.

Wheaton, T. A., K. T. Morgan, and L. R. Parsons. 2006. Simulating Annual Irrigation Requirement for Citrus on the Central Florida Ridge. HortScience. 41(6): 1487-1492.

SWFREC Staf f News

In recognition of his leadership of the FMNP, Dr. Marty Main was presented with the Golden Machete Award and a special cap at the FMNP celebration.

2686 State Road 29 North Immokalee, FL 34142

Phone: 239-658-3400 Fax: 239-658-3469

E-mail: swfrec@ifas.ufl.edu

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Upcoming Events

December 25-29, January 1: SWFREC closed for holiday break. Regular business hours (8am-5pm) will resume on Tuesday, January 2, 2007.

January 9: Scouting for Citrus Pests and Diseases Workshop (Spanish). 9am-12pm, UF/IFAS Hendry Co. Coop. Extension Service, LaBelle. Featured speaker: Dr. Phil Stansly, SWFREC entomologist. 3 CEU for Pesti-cide license renewal; 3 CEUS for Certified crop advisors. For more information and to register, phone 863-674-4092.

January 16: Scouting for Citrus Pests and Diseases Workshop (English). 9am-12pm, SWFREC. Featured speaker: Dr. Phil Stansly, SWFREC entomologist. 3 CEUs for Pesticide license renewal; 3 CEUS for Certi-fied crop advisors. For more information and to register, phone 863-674-4092.

January 17: Mechanical Harvesting Field Day. 7:30am-12pm, Polk Co. Extension Office, Bartow. Featured speakers: Dr. Fritz Roka, SWFREC entomologist; Dr. Bob Rouse, SWFREC horticultural scientist; Dr. Mongi Zekri, multi-county extension agent, LaBelle. For more information, see Web site: http://citrusmh.ifas.ufl.edu.

February 20: Exotic Citrus Diseases Not Yet in Florida Workshop. 10am-12pm, SWFREC. Workshop will include information about Citrus Variegated Chlorosis, Leprosis, Stem Pitting Tristeza, and Black Spot. Featured speaker: Dr. Pam Roberts, SWFREC plant pathologist. 2 CEUs for Pesticide license renewal; 2 CEUs for Certified crop advisors. For more information and to RSVP, phone Hendry Co. Coop. Extension Service, 863-674-4092.