An Equal Opportunity Institution
ifas.ufl.edu/
Welcome to the twenty-third edition of the Vegetable Production Handbook of Florida. The
purpose of this handbook is to provide accurate, up-to-date information on crop varieties,
production practices, and pest management.
This handbook is the product of cooperative efforts among state and county Extension and
research faculty and represents our shared effort to help Florida’s vegetable and strawberry
growers maximize yields, profits, and sustainability.
The handbook is available as individual chapters and in its entirety at the University of
Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences EDIS website
(edis.ifas.ufl.edu/topic_vph). Expanded content from previous handbooks and for other
relevant topics available through EDIS are listed in Chapter 1 along with QR codes for
quicker access to EDIS content on your mobile device. Free hard copies of the handbook are
available at the UF/IFAS research and education centers and county Extension offices.
The contributors to the handbook wish to thank Florida vegetable and strawberry growers
for their continued support of UF/IFAS research and Extension. We are grateful to AgNet
Media and the sponsors of the handbook for their support of this publication.
Peter Dittmar, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Horticulture
UF/IFAS Horticultural Sciences Department
Josh Freeman, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Horticulture
UF/IFAS North Florida REC – Quincy
Mathews Paret, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Plant Pathology
UF/IFAS North Florida REC - Quincy
Hugh Smith, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Entomology
UF/IFAS Gulf Coast REC - Balm
/ifas.ufl.edu
/topic_vph)