Even after Hurricane Milton, Florida strawberry growers will try to bring you the finest fruit this winter. Two new UF/IFAS-PlantBreeding cultivars from UF Gulf Coast REC's Dr. Vance M. Whitaker will help.

One of the few programs in the U.S. offering cutting-edge research & specialized instruction in cultivar development!

Attention FRUIT LOGISTICA Logística Berlin is coming!!! 🔴 We are happy to inform you that from EMCO CAL we will be present at Fruit Logistica the 5, 6 and 7 of February in #Berlin, Germany. You can visit us at Hall 8.2, Stand B.52

FOX 13's Lloyd Sowers reports on how back-to-back hurricanes on the verge of strawberry season in Florida affected the state's many strawberry fields and the people who make a livelihood growing them. fox13news.com/news/floridas-…

Another successful FSGA tailgate and Strawberry Field Day for the start of 2025! It’s definitely rewarding to see growers and guests enjoying #FreshfromFlorida strawberries. 🍓 UF/IFAS Strawberry Breeding Program Dr. Vance M. Whitaker

The 9th Annual Plant Science Symposium has officially started! Join in at the Reitz Union Rion Ball Room to be a part of this wonderful event.

Mark Porter, a PhD Candidate in our program, just presented ‘Strawberry Flavor: An Applied Breeding Perspective,' at the ongoing Plant Science Symposium. He shared great perspectives on breeder-scored sensory attributes to improve genetic gain for flavor!

Do you want to know what great strawberry is coming from the University of Florida?🌟 Encore Brand #strawberry See the first results in #Huelva this year, Encore Brand shines right this Season! 🌟 📍 Huelva, Spain

Meet Felicity® strawberry, a standout zero chill strawberry variety available at EmcoCal from the University of Florida Program! In Spain, Felicity® shines with exceptional earliness and exceptional appearance—helping growers maximize profitability from the start

We are now offering a 3-day weekend workshop on high-throughput phenotyping. Participants will learn how to set up and operate a UAS system, obtain phenotypes from aerial image data & analyze the phenotypic data in ways useful for crop research or breeding applications.

🚀 Exciting news for AI in Plant & Animal Breeding! 🌱 Join the 3rd Multi-Omic Integration for AI Genomic Prediction Short Course, July 7–11, 2025, FLORIDA NVIDIA-Malachowsky Auditorium. Learn cutting-edge AI techniques & network with global experts!

As the final week of field selections and data collection comes to a close, I’d like to take this moment to appreciate these beauties from our field. Thankful that despite the delays we experienced early in the season, we were able to finish strong. UF/IFAS Strawberry Breeding Program Dr. Vance M. Whitaker

Dr. Cheryl Dalid UF/IFAS Strawberry Breeding Program Dr. Vance M. Whitaker Love the white ones , managed to find Florida Pearl in the uk :)

🚨 Thinking about Grad School? We’ve Got You Covered! 🚨 Join the Plant Science Council & UF Plant Science Major for our Getting to Grad School workshop! 🌱🎓 📍 Don’t miss this if you're considering grad school in plant science! 🔗 Register Now: tinyurl.com/35eudjdz

The strawberry variety Florida Pearl, is distinguished by its unique white color, both internally and externally, and excellent fruit quality. This short-day, early maturing variety produces a fruit with a sweet flavor and subtle pineapple aroma, making it especially attractive

Happy to share our paper where we integrated digital, field, and DNA data and demonstrated that biomass traits are genetically controlled and can be predicted in future breeding populations with the use of DNA markers. ⬇️ UF/IFAS Strawberry Breeding Program Dr. Vance M. Whitaker acsess.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.10…

It’s officially our MASS season🌱🍓 ! We’ve started transplanting our seedlings in preparation for several batches of DNA extraction, PCR, marker scoring and selection! This is a joint effort of the Whitaker Dr. Vance M. Whitaker UF/IFAS Strawberry Breeding Program and Lee Seonghee Lee labs at UF Gulf Coast REC

Grateful that our research was highlighted in The Plant Genome Journal! ☺️

Join us for an engaging webinar with Dr. Dr. Vance M. Whitaker on Breeding for Strawberries: Challenging and Fun! Learn how germplasm and innovative breeding methods are shaping the future of this beloved fruit! Date: May 9, 2025 Time: 11:00 AM CST Register now: lnkd.in/gVNCgNiX

GCPSA is delighted to extend an invitation to all individuals to join us for the 2025 Inter-REC Poster and Flash Talk Competitions on Friday, September 19, 2025. Kindly register here : forms.gle/rr1dYofNKBorzT… Abstract submission by August 22, 2025: forms.gle/YreX14aBiPziDP…