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

Soil and Water Science
Faculty and Staff Societies
Dr. Jack Rechcigl, Professor/Center Director
Dr. Craig Stanley, Professor/Assoc. Center Director
Tim Davis, Biological Scientist		  
 
Soilborne pest control was an early impediment to improvements in floricultural crop production which resulted in development of a multi-discipline effort to develop effective soilborne pest management programs for flower crops and caladiums.  GCREC faculty have been leaders in the field of soil fumigation research for many years and much of the established and new information on soil fumigants has resulted from their research.  While much information was developed on the control of nematodes and soilborne diseases in the early years, weed control remained a major production problem. Research at GCREC has provided  supporting data for more than 15 herbicide labels on gladiolus, gypsophila, statice, caladiums, container ornamentals, and St. Augustine sod production. The commercial weed control programs in gladiolus, caladium and St. Augustine sod are based exclusively on research conducted at GCREC. The economic impact of this program on gladiolus and St. Augustine sod alone is significant as both industries were suffering significant losses due to morning glory and sprangletop grass, respectively.

Soilborne pest control was an early impediment to improvements in floricultural crop production which resulted in development of a multi-discipline effort to develop effective soilborne pest management programs for flower crops and caladiums. GCREC faculty have been leaders in the field of soil fumigation research for many years and much of the established and new information on soil fumigants has resulted from their research.

In addition to weed control, research also was conducted on the soil residual life of several commonly used herbicides in cut flower production and this information was used to develop production programs to minimize the incidence of rotational crop damage. Residual life of Gramoxone and Roundup on polyethylene mulch was shown to be a significant problem in research at GCREC and the duration of these effects was determined in studies, thereby providing growers with guidelines for avoidance of costly damage to young transplants.

More recently, research on chemical alternatives to methyl bromide in response to its impending ban has become a major program at GCREC and has produced many of the current practices in the industry today. The industry-wide accepted application procedure for metam sodium was developed at GCREC. The current chemical alternative to methyl bromide, Telone C-17 or C-35, for use in caladium and several other crops was developed and advanced by GCREC faculty. Herbicides are a major component of the methyl bromide alternatives program because none of the currently available alternatives is effective enough against weeds. Herbicide research has been integrated into the fumigant program to search for package solutions for all of the major soilborne pests of caladium and the important floricultural crops of the area.