UF research plays big role in Glades-area agriculture
Center in Belle Glade develops new varieties, finds controls for pests.
If you’ve ever attempted to plant and tend a backyard garden in South Florida, you know that insects you’ve never seen before and a plethora of weeds will show up to make growing the veggies difficult.
Imagine farming on 400,000 acres. That’s what Palm Beach County’s 1,400 farmers do as they cope with the trials and tribulations of growing in our subtropical climate.
For decades, scientists at the University of Florida’s Everglades Research and Education Center in Belle Glade have been working alongside growers to allow them to continue farming as their crops attract countless insects, pests, weeds and diseases.
Thursday, the center held a field day on its 800 acres in the mucklands where close to 200 attendees had a chance at a close-up look at the ongoing projects that support sustainable agriculture in western Palm Beach County and beyond.
“Science is not static. Agriculture is not static. That is what this center is all about, moving forward to find solutions,” said Gregg Nuessly, the center’s director and an entomology professor.
With 15 faculty members and about 90 staff, the center, with a $4.5 million annual budget, is among the Glades’ largest employers, Nuessly said.
Founded in 1921 as the Everglades Experiment Station, the EREC is one of UF’s oldest centers. A major thrust of the research is finding ways for farmers in the Everglades Agricultural Area to deal with water and soil issues related to both agricultural production and environmental issues.
The disappearance of the muck soil, known as subsidence, has been happening for years as a result of the soil oxidizing and drying out, Nuessly said, and many areas are very shallow, making it more difficult to farm.
In 1924 a 9-foot concrete post at the center was driven to bedrock, and the top of the post was level with the soil surface. Today, the top five and a half feet of the post is exposed, which demon- Director of University of Florida’s Everglades Research and Education Center in Belle Glade
strates the soil loss.
“People come from all over the world to see it,” Nuessly said.
P a l m B e a c h C o u n t y i s t h e nation’s top producer of sugarcane and sweet corn, and those two crops’ problems receive a lot of attention. But the research staff is also working to find the best ways to manage diseases that attack crops such as lettuce, spinach and basil.
With sugarcane, much of the work revolves around developing disease-resistant varieties that have a high yield and a high