U.S. Department of Agriculture's Integrated Organic Program Awards 3-Year Grant
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Integrated Organic Program recently awarded a 3-year grant to an interdisciplinary team of scientists from Florida and Georgia to study organic production of rabbiteye blueberries. The grant, titled "Production of Blueberries in the Southeastern United States: Development of Best Management Practices", is a joint effort among Pete Andersen (UFL-Quincy), Harald Scherm (UGA-Athens), Gerard Krewer (UGA-Tifton), Oscar Liburd (UFL-Gainesville), and Greg Fonsah (UGA-Tifton). Research and extension efforts will address a range of production problems including establishment of organic plantings, mulching and weed control, fertilization and pest management, and development of risk-based budgets for organic production. Seed funding from the SRSFC to Drs. Krewer, Scherm, and Fonsah during the past few years was instrumental in generating the preliminary data for this highly competitive grant application.
