2023 is shaping up to be the largest data generation season on record across the West, Midwest, and Southeast US. The last few years under Covid have brought new pest outbreaks in key cropping systems coupled with an industrywide pent-up demand for R&D data for product developers and growers alike. In response, our company has doubled down on our core capabilities to give our clients the insights they need to accomplish product development goals and drive new value for our farmers.
The world has reset–leaving an opening for biology to move in new ways. Over the last three years, we have witnessed significant crop losses across our farming regions. This includes a serious new Thrips / INS Virus / Pythium “Pest Complex” on lettuce in the Salinas Valley of California, explosive Tar Spot outbreaks in the Midwest, and strawberry crop losses from newly introduced Neopestalotiopsis in Florida. These and other agronomic challenges surfaced during Covid and have kept us busy working to understand their epidemiology and uncover new opportunities for control.

American Phytopathological Society of America (APS)
Dan Lawrence 1, Greg Brittain 1, Balaji Aglave 2, Frank Sances 3
1 Pacific Ag Research, 2 Florida Ag Research, 3 Ag Metrics Group
 
Following these authors’ research in Central Florida strawberry plantings in late 2019, they found this devastating fungus again in Salinas, California, on newly transplanted strawberries in the winter of 2021. Since their original Florida research, the fungus is now well established throughout the Southeast and has become the key pest for this crop early season. This subsequent finding in California is the first scientific proof that it has moved westward into other US strawberry producing areas, and has the potential to cause crop losses to growers in that region.

In 2022, we remodeled 1,200 ft2 of administrative offices, opened a new 2,500 ft2 climate-controlled field lab, and installed additional fruit, nut, and vine plantings. We added more microscopy, a walk-in cooler, a post-harvest drying unit, and a deep well with a new reservoir for sustainable water at this site going forward. The past year we purchased more off-site equipment including a new tow vehicle, support trucks, and another mobile orchard sprayer platform for off-site trials. Together with a new research biologist, these assets comprise a well-equipped and staffed Central Valley research campus with a wide geographic radius of field activities for product development needs.

To advance our goal to provide the best possible administration and science campus at Albion, Michigan Ag Research is now in the final stages of construction of a 4,800 ft2 building that will include:

• Specialized and general entomology bioassay lab
• Nematology soil extraction and microscopy rooms
• Expansion of the Plant Pathology lab
• Low humidity storage rooms for electronics and sensors
• Equipment shop for year-round maintenance of tractors and implements

In addition to the new laboratory facilities, 80 acres of irrigated farm land were added, bringing the total station size to 200 acres.

​Summary: Management of soil borne pests on commercial Florida strawberry farms has long been a challenge to growers. In recent years, this has been particularly difficult with regulatory pressures on the use of remaining chemical soil fumigants and the costs associated with their use. Also, while still in its infancy, organic strawberry production in Florida has been established by several shippers to try to meet the demand for this strawberry market segment.

To provide growers with alternative non-fumigant soil pest management techniques, this project builds on previous work from these and other researchers with an on-site demonstration of Soil Solarization and Anaerobic Soil Disinfestation for the 2023 grower outreach event by our collaborative groups.

Findings were presented at the Florida Strawberry Grower Association & UF/IFAS Tailgate on January 11, 2023.
QR Code to see the Poster for the study:

After cleaning up from two hurricanes (repairing and rebuilding) 40,000 sq. ft. of greenhouse and shadehouses, Florida Ag Research added 5,000 sq. ft. of climate-controlled greenhouses and 7,500 sq. ft. of shadehouses. Within two weeks of Hurricane Ian’s passage we were back in business, thanks to employee crews from Florida Ag Research and California colleagues from Pacific Ag Research!

Charlie Boone continues in his supervisory role overseeing the Company’s land and labor resources for East Tampa and Dover sites. As an Environmental Horticulturist, Charlie is particularly well-suited to run our research facility since he grew up on a commercial nursery farm just a few miles from the Florida Ag Research offices. Currently Charlie’s crew manages research greenhouses and shadehouses for our science laboratories experimentation, plus the USDA Quarantine facility.

Frank Sances will be attending the 2022 MBAO: Fumigation and Alternatives for Production, Storage and Trade Conference in Orlando. Come find out about our "Efficacy of Solarization and Anaerobic Soil Disinfestation" study. Email us to have a meet-up or a pre- or post-conference tour of our Florida Station, less than 2 hours from Orlando. #anaerobicdisinfestation #strawberry #MBAO #Methylbromide #FloridaAg #FloridaAgResearch [email protected]

Florida Ag Research presented a “Proof of Concept” field demonstration intended to evaluate the suitability of using solar radiation to enhance soil borne pest control with Conventional Fumigants and Anaerobic Soil Disinfestation in commercial Florida strawberry production. Potential benefits of the system include:
 
a) Solarization and ASD are approved organic soil pest control options
b) Solarization with conventional soil borne pest control inputs may allow reduction in chemical usage
c) ASD is a potential waste recycling system

​The project, which began in June of 2021, was published by Florida Ag Research/Ag Metrics Group scientists and growers: Frank Sances, Balaji Aglave, Mark Keeley, Kaleb Williams, and Charlie Boone.
 
The Solarization Project was presented by Ag Metrics Group’s Mark Keeley (formerly a Station Manager of Florida Ag Research). “It was great to come back out and present this exciting work to growers and researchers since the ‘Field Day’ was cancelled last January,” said Keeley, “And a great opportunity to introduce Mariano [Galla], the new Florida Ag Research Station Manager, to the Florida strawberry grower community.”