Ever enjoy a juicy, red tomato during the month of December or January? It’s all thanks to growers in Florida. Florida is the major producer of fresh vegetable and fruit crops during the winter months and ranks #1 in the U.S. for several fruit and vegetable crops. Our crop production and management research programs focus on several challenges to fruit and vegetable production, including water and fertilizer efficiency, sustainable crop production, and economical implementation of best management practices.

Find out more about our research programs in crop production and management below:

• Pete Andersen - Cultivar evaluations; whole plant physiology in peanut crops; plant-insect-disease interactions
• Jonathan Crane - Tropical fruit production systems, fertilizer and nutrition practices, improvement of off-season fruit production
• Guodong "David" Liu - Nutrient Eco-management; nutrient management in fruit and vegetable crops
• Ali Sarkhosh - Tree fruit and viticulture production systems (training system, pruning, PGRs, etc.), fertilizer/nutrition practices, and rootstock/scion evaluation
• Peter Stoffella - Impact of composts on production systems, inorganic nutrient substitutes, reduction of leaching in vegetable systems
• Danielle Treadwell - Vegetable, fruit, and cover crop management; conservation tillage; organic farming; small farms; farm to school; food systems
• Jeffrey G. Williamson - Small fruit horticulture; improving the efficiency of small fruit production
• Xin Zhao - Organic and sustainable vegetable production; vegetable grafting
• Lincoln Zotarelli - Vegetable production systems, focusing on potatoes