Gulf Coast Research and Education Center
14625 C.R. 672, Wimauma, FL  33598
(813) 634-0000  SC514-6890
Fax (813) 634-0001
 Jack Rechcigl, Center Director

Vegetable Research
Pathology Program  Fungi.  GCREC was established in 1925 as a research laboratory to determine the cause and develop control measures for a new complex fungi that was causing extreme losses in tomato.  The diseases involved nailhead spot (Alternaria tomato), early blight (A. solani), gray leaf spot (Stemphylium species), and Fusarium wilt (Fusarium oxysporum f. sp lycopersici) were identified, chemical control measures established, and resistant or tolerant varieties were developed.  The management strategy developed for nailhead spot effectively eliminated this disease from the industry.  In the 1940s, organic fungicides were first tested and recommended for the control of late blight caused by Phytophthora infestans.  Over the intervening years many new classes of fungicides have been evaluated for the control of established and emerging fungal diseases of vegetables.  With increasing concern about non-target effects of pesticides and the development of worker safety protection standards, increasing attention has been paid to the identification of effective, low-toxicity fungicides with short field reentry intervals.

 
Horticulture  Conduct research on production of vegetable crops in support of regional agricultural industries and faculty. Research areas include fertilization, irrigation, varietal evaluations, production practices, and weed management in tomato, pepper, eggplant, cucurbits, and strawberry. Provide support to county agents for educational programs on vegetable crop production. Interact with extension field faculty and industry clientele via demonstration research, publications, presentations, and regional, state-wide, and local training schools.

 
Soil and Water Science  GCREC has provided leadership in soil fumigation research for many years and much of the established and new information on soil fumigants has resulted from this research.  Development of information requisite for the successful use of soil fumigants on old land contributed much to the establishment of modern seedbed practices involving soil fumigation for the economical control of nematodes, soil fungi, and weed propagules, including seed and tubers, the use of full-bed polyethylene mulch to enhance the effectiveness of in-bed fumigants, and the allyl alcohol-Trichoderma reaction on soil fungi, the application of fumigants, nematicides, fertilizers, and systemic fungicides through drip irrigation systems, and the development of integrated soilborne pest management system providing control of the major pests of tomato.  These studies culminated in the development of practices involving the use of broad spectrum soil fumigants, polyethylene mulches, high analysis fertilizers, high soil pH, and high yielding, large fruited tomato varieties that not only permitted the economic utilization of old agricultural lands, but resulted in increased yields.  Early work focused on tomato, the principal crop of the area and the original purpose for establishment of GCREC; however, over the years as other crops began to be grown in the area, the system developed for tomato was modified and adapted to other crops or improvements in those existing cropping systems were made.


 

Weed Science     Objectives include:  Identifying acceptable alternatives to methyl bromide for tomato, pepper, strawberry, caladium and gladiolus. This effort focuses on the full spectrum of soilborne pest control, not just weed control, and involves cooperative research with soil pathologists and nematologists.   Identify herbicides which provide acceptable control of nutsedge in the above referenced crops.  Determine the most effective and acceptable means of applying herbicides and fumigants to achieve the desired level of efficacy.  Develop improved application procedures for fumigants and modifications of existing processes to achieve desired levels of efficacy, efficiency, and reduce potential for exposure for applicators.  Develop improved application procedures nonselective or potentially phytotoxic herbicides applied to row middles of vegetable crops.  Investigate cover crops as biological agents for management of weed populations as part of an off season management plan for weeds in vegetable crops. Integrate this information with additional information on nematode host preference to serve as part of that management plan.  Investigate the residual effect of herbicides and fumigants on weed, nematode and disease populations in double-cropped cucurbits and the effects on yield.
 

Breeding and Genetics     Comprehensive vegetable variety trials carried on concomitantly with the phytopathological studies since 1925 have provided many useful recommendations for Florida growers. Over 30 years ago, disease-resistant cucumbers where shown to be adapted to the south Florida area. Pioneer efforts with new crops considered potentially valuable resulted in the discovery that the sweet corn variety, Iona, was productive and it was recommended in 1943. These efforts have continued and more recently variety trials with specialty vegetable crops have established the potential of commercial production of leek, radicchio, annual rhubarb, and snowpea. Continuing trials with tomato, pepper, eggplant, onion, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, cantaloupe, watermelon (diploid and triploid), cucumber, squash, sweet corn, okra, pumpkins, and others have identified the availability of adapted varieties.
 

Entomology     Insects and mites are major limiting factors for production of horticultural crops in subtropical Florida. Direct losses due to feeding of pests on plants as well as indirect losses due to transmission of plant pathogens and increased production costs can be substantial. In response to these threats to production, a model integrated pest management (IPM) program sponsored by GCREC was successfully introduced into west-central Florida. The program, based upon systematic scouting and timed applications of insecticides using action thresholds, was commercially adopted two years later with the result that industry-wide leafminer outbreaks were eliminated. The program was successful in reducing the number of insecticide applications per tomato crop from 50 or more to as few as 10.