‘PURPLE RAIN’: A SWEETPOTATO INNOVATION.
Thomas W. Zimmerman, Raheem Smart, Daryl A. Richards Jr., Imhotep R. Charles. UVI SOA AES.

TRELLISING AND FLORAL PRUNING INFLUENCE ON JICAMA TUBEROUS ROOT DEVELOPMENT.
Isaiah Hodge, Daryl A. Richards Jr, Imhotep R. Charles, Raheem Smart, Thomas W. Zimmerman. UVI SOA AES.

EVALUATION OF AVOCADO (Persea americana) CULTIVARS IN THE CARIBBEAN.

Imhotep R. Charles, Samuel S. Joseph, and Thomas W. Zimmerman. UVI SOA AES.

IMPACT DU TYPE DE MATERIEL DE PLANTATION ET DE LA GESTION INTEGREE SUR LE RENDEMENT DE LA CULTURE DU CHOU CARAIBE A PORTO RICO.

Nazer Odestin and Martha C. Giraldo-Zapata. UPR Mayagüez.

VI FARMING 4 SUCCESS.
Amy J Dreves. UVI SOA CES

AI – ENABLE PLANT SCOUTING FOR GREENHOUSE AND NURSERY PRODUCTION: EARLY DETECTION OF GERMINATION, VIGOR, AND SEED-BORNE DISEASE ISSUES.
Yiannis Ampatzidis, Jeanette Hariharan, Samar Ashfaq, and Antonio Neto. UF

CROP VARIETY AND CULTIVATION – WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED FROM A TOMATO FATAL DISEASE.
Qingren Wang. UF/IFAS Extension Miami-Dade County

CASHEW DIEBACK IN COSTA RICA: A LOOK INTO POTENTIAL CAUSAL AGENTS.
Mario Salas-Montero, Alexandra Rojas-Barquero, Gabriel Vargas-Asensio, Mauricio Serrano,
Gustavo A. Díaz-Cruz. Universidad de Costa Rica.

BACTERIAL SPOT OF PEPPER AND TOMATO IN FLORIDA: FULL OF SURPRISES.
Apekshya Parajuli1, Aastha Subedi, Amandeep Kaur1, Gerald V. Minsavage1, Anuj Sharma2,
Gary Vallad3, Erica M. Goss1, Jeffrey B. Jones1. 1UF. G. 2,3UF/GCREC.

SUSTAINABLE VALUE-ADDED APPLICATIONS OF NEGLECTED AND UNDERUTILIZED CROPS.
Neela Sumessar and Rohanie Maharaj. UTT. UWI

Welcome Reception
Welcome Remarks: Dr. Thomas Zimmerman, Associate Director of AES
Room: CFCS Tent

AN INVENTORY OF VEGETABLE CHARACTERISTICS AND CLIMATE CHANGE CHALLENGES AT THE WEG NAAR ZEE AREA OF SURINAME.
Sima Sultan, L. Ori, W. Malgie. AdeKUS.

*VIROME ANALYSIS OF PEANUT AND THRIPS SPECIES IN SOUTHERN GEORGIA.
Vamsidhar Reddy Netla1, Mark Abney2, Sudeep Bag2 and Rajagopalbabu Srinivasan1. 1UGA - Griffin, 2UGA – Tifton.

RESTORING PHLOEM FUNCTION AND REDUCING PATHOGEN LOAD: A DUAL ACTION STRATEGY AGAINST CITRUS GREENING DISEASE.
Amit Levy, Maryam Khalilzadeh, Chun-Yi Lin, John M. Chater, and Christopher Vincent. UF.

Break
Room: REC 133 and CFCS Tent

DIAGNOSTICS FOR EMERGING AND NOVEL VIRUSES AFFECTING MANGO.
Alina S. Puig1, Oscar P. Hurtado-Gonzales2, Xiaojun Hu2, Gul S. Ali3, Angie B Bastidas4, Peter Abrahamian5, Luz Serrato-Diaz6, and Yair Aron7; 1USDA-ARS, Foreign Disease – Weed Science Research. 2USDA-APHIS, Plant Germplasm Quarantine Program. 3USDA-ARS, Subtropical Horticulture Research Station. 4USDA-ARS Research Participation Program. 5USDA-ARS, National Germplasm Resources Laboratory. 6USDA-ARS, Tropical Agriculture Research Station.

Neopestalotiopsis LEAF SPOT AND FRUIT ROT IN ALABAMA.

Edward Sikora and Kassie Conner. AU.

OCCURRENCE, IDENTIFICATION, AND CHARACTERIZATION OF BROWN SPOT DISEASE IN DICOTYLEDONOUS CASH CROPS IN BLACK BUSH POLDER, REGION 6, GUYANA.
Gomathinayagam Subramanian, Vandana Udit, Adrian Srikishe, Phillip Da Silva. UGBC.

Lunch
Room: REC 133 and CFCS Tent

BEYOND SOYBEAN VEIN NECROSIS VIRUS: PRELIMINARY VIRAL DISCOVERY FROM ALABAMA POPULATIONS OF Neohydatothrips variabilis.
Kathleen M. Martin, Aasma Sharma, Benjamin C. Johnson, Jacquelyn N. Dub, Chaoyang Zhao. AU.

FIRST REPORT OF A Sw-5-RESISTANCE BREAKING STRAIN OF TOMATO SPOTTED WILT VIRUS INFECTING TOMATO IN NEW JERSEY.
Ozgur Batuman1, Pedro Ramirez 1,2, Ok-Kyung Kim1,3, Marco Bello2, Traven Bentley2, Randall
Johnson2.1UF-IFAS, SWFREC. 2 Sakata Seed America, Florida, and 3 Tokyo NODAI

Diagnostics and management. *- Student presentations

BIOSECURITY AND POLICY INTEGRATION MITIGATES FUSARIUM WILT OF BANANA IN MULTI-HOST LANDSCAPES.
Jacobo Robledo, Gustavo Izquierdo, Antonio González Ulloa, Alberto Paez, Andres Quintero, Sebastian Zapata, Laura Valbuena, Sydney Barker, Theodore Stronkowsky IV, David McDermott, Neha Kallamvalli, Melina García, Marisella Diaz, Joaquin Ramirez, Ira Longini, Peiyu Liu, Monica Betancourt, and Karen A. Garrett. UF.

BAMBOO MOSAIC VIRUS (BAMV) VARIANTS DETECTED IN BAMBOO OF FLORIDA USING UNIVERSAL PRIMER.
Sima Lamichhane, Chunxia Wang, Donielle Turner, Chun-Yi Lin, Michael Rogers, and Amit Levy. UF.

Dmi FUNGICIDES FAILED TO SUPPRESS NORTHERN CORN LEAF BLIGHT ON SWEET CORN UNDER FIELD CONDITIONS IN FLORIDA.

Vitor A. S. Moura1, Larissa C Ferreira1, Marcio F. R. Resende Jr2, and Katia V Xavier1. 1UF-EREC. 2 UF.

INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT AND CLEAN SEED INNOVATIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE TANIER, Xanthosoma spp., PRODUCTION IN PUERTO RICO.
Martha C. Giraldo Zapata, Giovannie Soto-Torres, Adriana Vega Martínez, Carla Rodríguez, and Wanda Almodóvar. UPR, Mayagüez.

Break
Room: REC 133 and CFCS Tent

IDENTIFICATION OF THE PRESENCE OF THE bru1 GENE IN SUGARCANE VARIETIES (Saccharum officinarum l.) AT HONDURAS.

Carolina Avellaneda Barbosa, Santos Joel Cruz, Raphael Colbert, and Ever Reyes Sevilla. EAP

EFFECT OF INFESTED MUCK SOIL CONCENTRATION ON FUSARIUM WILT DEVELOPMENT IN LETTUCE.
Katia V. Xavier1, Ana Flavia Lima1,2, Larissa C. Ferreira1, and Germán V. Sandoya1. 1UF-EREC. 2UPE

NO MORE TEARY EYES: A COMPREHENSIVE TOOLKIT TO REDUCE LOSSES TO Pantoea IN ONIONS.
Bhabesh Dutta. UGA

INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT OF BLACK SIGATOKA IN THE ANASCO VALLEY.

Bryan Hernandez and Wanda Almodovar. AES UPR Mayagüez.

INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT TO PRESERVE POLLINATORS.
Diego Ronda, Jafet Santos & Wanda Almodovar. AES UPR Mayagüez

THE PUERTO RICO PLANT DIAGNOSTIC CLINIC: VEGETABLE INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT.
Miguel Garcia Carrucini and Wanda Almodovar. AES UPR Mayagüez.

CHARACTERIZATION OF DIEBACK-ASSOCIATED Lasiodiplodia SPECIES IN COSTA RICA.
Mario Salas-Montero and Gustavo Díaz-Cruz. Universidad de Costa Rica.

LAMP-BASED DETECTION OF Peudocercospora fijiensis AS A PRELIMINARY STEP FOR SENSITIVITY ASSAYS.
Yanira Miranda Cortés, Martha C. Giraldo-Zapata, Merari Feliciano-Rivera and Matthew N Reguero-Sanchez. UPR Mayagüez

EVALUATING THE PRODUCTION PERFORMANCE OF COLLARD (Brassica oleracea var.viridis) UNDER SHADE HOUSE SYSTEMS.
Jessica Ewer, Thalia Stanley, Johnson Southwell, Donna Gonzalez, and Henry Awika. UVI SOA AES.

CORRELATION OF SOIL TEST PHOSPHORUS WITH VEGETABLE CROPS IN PUERTO RICO.
Cristian Ruiz Carcamo, David Sotomayor-Ramirez, Gustavo Martínez-Rodriguez. UPR Mayaguez.

SOIL FERTILITY CHARACTERIZATION OF TROPICAL SOILS IN THE CARIBBEAN: SOIL ACIDITY.
Gloria Mencia1, David Sotomayor-Ramirez1, Jonathan Deenik2, Manuel Matos3, Miguel A. Vázquez1, Raúl Macchiavelli1, José Calderón-Gairaud4. 1- UPR Mayagüez. 2- UHM, Hawaii. 3- USDA-NRCS. 4- UPRM Mayagüez, Department of Mathematical Sciences.

EVOLUTION OF AN ANNUAL STORMWATER EDUCATIONAL WORKSHOP.
D.Stephens, A. Albertin, E. Bean, T. Derbes, A. Reisinger, C. Stevenson, and M. Tancig. UF/IFAS

CURRENT AND HISTORIC TRENDS IN THE AQUACULTURE PRODUCTION IN THE EASTERN CARIBBEAN.
Larken Root. UVI.

CONSUMER ACCEPTANCE OF CAPYBARA (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) MEAT AS AN ALTERNATIVE PROTEIN SOURCE FOR FOOD SECURITY IN TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO.
Laura Tardieu, Adassa Burke, and Daryian Dolly. UWI.

SOIL HEALTH DYNAMICS ACROSS SOILS AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS IN PUERTO RICO: A MULTIVARIATE APPROACH.
Heydi S. Gutierrez-Benitez¹, David Sotomayor-Ramírez¹, Jonathan Deenik², Gustavo Martínez-Rodriguez¹. 1- UPR, Mayagüez. 2- UHM, Hawaii.

GROWING HEALTHY HABITS THROUGH 4-H COOKING CLUBS. Dallas Meringolo, Lori Johnson, and Maria Bautista. UF.

SEED IT YOUR WAY - AN EXTENSION INITIATIVE TO INCREASE FRESH VEGETABLE CONSUMPTION. Donna Arnold. FAMU.

HAMILTON COUNTY YOUTH AGRICULTURAL DAY. Greg Hicks. UF/IFAS.

FROM DEMONSTRATION GARDEN TO SEED BANK: GROWING LOCAL RESILIENCE.
Maria Quirico and Dallas Meringolo. UF

Coniella javanica, A NEW DISEASE FOUND ON Hibiscus sabdariffa IN FLORIDA.
Norma Samuel1, Matthew Smith1, Carrie Harmon1, Claudia Paez2, and Thomas Zimmerman3. 1UF. 2FDACS-DPI. 3UVI.

WHERE IS THE HOST? A SPATIAL FRAMEWORK FOR INTEGRATING SATELLITE IMAGES AND EXPERT KNOWLEDGE TO MAP HOST DISTRIBUTIONS.
Jacobo Robledo1, Peiyu Liu1, Gary Vallad2, and Karen Garrett. 1UF. 2UF-GCREC.

THE R2M PLANT HEALTH TOOLBOX: RAPID RISK ASSESSMENT TO SUPPORT MITIGATION OF PATHOGENS AND PESTS.
Jacobo Robledo, Aaron I. Plex Sulá, Romaric A. Mouafo-Tchinda, Ashish Adhikari, Berea A. Etherton and Karen A. Garrett. UF.

MAPPING RESEARCH TRENDS AND KNOWLEDGE GAPS IN USDA-NIFA-FUNDED HLB RESEARCH USING TOPIC MODELING.
Megan M. Dewdney1, Ulianova Vidal-Gomez1, Neil McRoberts2, David McClure3, Mike Hill3, Sebastian Galindo4, Lauren M. Diepenbrock1, and Luca Mantegazza4.1UF/IFAS CREC. 2UC Davis. 3PU. 4UF.

HURRICANE FIONA IN PUERTO RICO: ASSESSING EFFECTS AND ADAPTIVE RESPONSES IN AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY. Nora Álvarez-Berríos1, Kathleen A. McGinley1, Paloma S. Rodríguez-Serrano2, Luis Alexis Rodríguez-Cruz3, and William A. Gould2. 11IITF. 2USFS. 2UPRU.

PRODUCTION OF CLEAN TANIER (XANTHOSOMA SPP.) PLANTING MATERIAL THROUGH TISSUE CULTURE FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF DASHEEN MOSAIC VIRUS IN PUERTO RICO. Adriana Vega Martinez, Wanda Almodovar, and Martha C. Giraldo Zapata. UPRM. 

Shanta Roberts, Director, Agriculture Business Center

DeVaughn Taylor, Extension Agent I, and Sherry Embrack, Extension Agent III Technology & Public Relations, University of the Virgin Islands School of Agriculture.

Dr. David Wenger, Director of Veterinary Services, VI Department of Agriculture

Break
Room: REC 133 and CFCS Tent

Dr. Halane Davies,d Director, Bureau of Economic Research.

Ms. Thalia Stanley, UVI Student, and Tafari Tzaddi, Property Manager, VI Department of Agriculture

Lee Steiner, Founder and CEO, The Hideaway at Hull Bay

Lunch, Room: REC 133 and CFCS Tent

Jose Ramirez, Executive Director, Fondo de Inversion y Desarrollo Cooperativo (FIDECOOP).

Drs. Gemma and Mark Wenner, Proprietors, Wenner Hills Gardens

Ms. Shantel Douglas-Francis, Director of Marketing Division, VI Department of Agriculture

Dale Browne, President; Yvette Browne, Vice President, Island Food Security, Inc.

INTRODUCING CARIFLUX: A SOIL WATER BALANCE FRAMEWORK FOR CARIBBEAN ISLAND AGRICULTURE.
David A. Hensley. UVI SOA AES.

CONSERVATION COVERS IN TROPICAL AGRICULTURE: LESSONS FROM ARACHIS IN PUERTO RICO.
Edrick Marrero Soto. USDA, NRCS

GRAZING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM TOOL EMPOWERS EFFICIENT GRAZING PLANS. 1Francisco P. Rivera, 1José Castro, 2Suzika Pagán Riestra. 1USDANRCS. 2AES, CAS, UPR

EVALUATING COMMUNITY SCIENCE AND ECONOMIC OUTCOMES OF LIONFISH EDUCATION IN NORTHWEST FLORIDA.
Dana Stephens and Laura Tiu. UF/IFAS and Florida Sea Grant

AQUASTEADY: DUA-FUNCTION HYDROGEL FOR AVAILABLE SOIL WATER IMPROVEMENT AND NUTRIENT RELEASE.
Lucas Prado – Tovari1, David Sotomayor-Ramírez1, Cindie Kehlet2, Anna Collette2. 1UPR, Mayagüez; 2Pratt Institute, New York

Break
Room: REC 133 and CFCS Tent

USING PERENNIAL PEANUT TO ENHANCE LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION SYSTEM AND SOIL HEALTH OF MULTIFUNCTIONAL AGRICULTURAL LANDSCAPE.
Robbie Jones, Leyton, L., Mackowiak, C., and Blount, A. UF/IFAS.

INNOVATIVE IN VITRO AND IN VIVO EVALUATION OF A MORINGA OREGANO FEED COMPLEX FOR SUSTAINABLE, CLIMATE-RESPONSIVE RUMINANT PRODUCTION.
Sean Yates. CASE.

LIMITED LAND, CARIBBEAN CLIMATE CONDITIONS, AND PARASITE INFECTIONS: THE PERFECT COMBINATION TO TALK ABOUT ST. CROIX WHITE SHEEP.
Allana Titus and Andrea Rios. UVI SOA AES

PARTIAL OR COMPLETE REPLACEMENT OF SOYBEAN MEAL WITH Pueraria phaseoloides LEAF MEAL DOES NOT AFFECT THE PERFORMANCE OF POST-WEANED BARBADOS BLACK BELLY X WEST AFRICAN LAMBS.
Martin Hughes, Elisha Leon, Adrian Paul, and Oral Daley. Dept. Food Production, Faculty of FFA, UWI.

HEAT STRESS AND ITS CONNECTION WITH THE ST. CROIX WHITE SHEEP.
Andrea Rios. UVI SOA AES.

THE EFFECT OF FALL BREEDING ON THE GROWTH PERFORMANCE OF ST. CROIX WHITE SHEEP PUREBRED AND ST. CROIX X DORPER CROSSBRED LAMBS.
Paris Walls, Allana Titus, Eduardo Febres III, and Andrea Rios. UVI SOA AES.

Lunch
Room: REC 133 and CFCS Tent

BENCHMARK SOIL HEALTH ASSESSMENT ACROSS AGROECOLOGICAL FARMS IN PUERTO RICO AND THE U.S VIRGIN ISLANDS AS PART OF THE SOIL MUSEUM OF THE CARIBBEAN.
Yomaries González-Bermúdez, Zoelie Rivera-Ocasio, Carmen González Ramos, C, Alana Toro-Ramos, Alana, and Omar Iloy Colón. Arte-Suelo-Ser-PR.

INTEGRATING THE ACTIVE LIVING EVERY DAY (ALED) PROGRAM AND GARDENING AT THE CHATTAHOOCHEE SENIOR CENTER.
Angel S. Forde. FAMU - Cooperative Extension.

ADAPTIVE POSTHARVEST MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES EMPLOYED BY SMALL-SCALE FARMERS IN ST. ELIZABETH PARISH TO PRESERVE PRODUCE QUALITY AND EXTEND SHELF LIFE UNDER CLIMATE-INDUCED DISRUPTIONS.
Chevelle Richards, Shamoya Walsh, and Vanessa Martin. CASE.

ADVANCING PRODUCER EDUCATION THROUGH THE EMERGING FARMERS SYMPOSIUM IN FLORIDA.
Donna Arnold and Jones, R. FAMU Extension. UF/IFAS Extension

COMPOSTING EDUCATION IN ACTION: MEASURING KNOWLEDGE GAINS THROUGH EXTENSION PROGRAMMING.
Eva Maria Pabon  UF/IFAS Extension.

Break

Room: REC 133 and CFCS Tent

EL LEGADO DE ANTONIO SOTOMAYOR RIOS EN LA AGRICULTURA TROPICAL.
David Sotomayor Ramírez. UPR, Mayagüez

CLIMATE-CONTROLLED AGRICULTURE IN ISLAND ECONOMIES: LESSONS LEARNED FROM BUILDING A RESILIENCE-ORIENTED INDOOR FARM IN THE U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS.
George E. Bricker. Smart Life Farms LLC

FOOD AS MEDICINE STRENGTHENS AGRICULTURAL SYSTEM AND STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT.
Robert Strong, Susanne Talcott, Stephen Talcott, Josh McGinty, Shannon Combest. TAMU

USING SIMULATIONS TO ENCOURAGE CRITICAL THINKING AND ETHICAL DECISION-MAKING.
Jennifer Strong and Barry Boyd. TAMU

INSIGHT: A RETRIEVAL-AUGMENTED LMM FOR STRENGTHENING FOOD SECURITY AND AGRICULTURE DECISION-MAKING ACROSS THE CARIBBEAN.
Robert Strong, Luis Tedeschi, Karun Kaniyamattam, and Jian Tao. TAMU

CFCS Business Meeting

CFCS Board of Directors Meeting

Mr. Brennan Washington, Southeastern Outreach Coordinator, Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program.

Dr. Nate Olive, President, Virgin Islands Farmers Alliance, and De’Anthony Price, Southeast Organic Consultant, Rodale Institute.

Sebastian Interlandi, SE TOOP Technical Assistance Specialist, Florida Organic Growers, and Gabriella Soto-Velez, Caribbean Sustainable Agricultural Specialist, National Center for Appropriate Technology

Dr. Amy Dreves, Extension Specialist III/Pest Mgt & Extension Assoc. Prof., Agr. Expt. Station
Pest Mgt. Specialist, UVI School of Agriculture

Break
Room: REC 133 and CFCS Tent

Rudy O’Reilly, District Conservationist, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

Billy Abraham, Assistant Commissioner, VI Department of Agriculture

Madison Charles, Acting County Exec. Dir./Agriculture Program Spec., USDA Farm Service Agency

Lunch
Room: REC 133 and CFCS Tent

Diana Collingwood, Founder and CEO, VI Women in Agriculture Association, Inc. (VIWIAA) &Peace International USVI LLC

Cydney Meadows, Territorial Director of Sustainability & Agricultural Education, VI Department ofEducation.

Eric Sonnier, Executive Director, UVI RT Park Corporation

Dara Cooper, STT/STJ Program Coordinator; Majestik Estrada Petersen, STT/STJ Program Assistant;Taj James, STX Coordinator

Ms. Carol Shoy, Extension Program Supervisor, School of Agriculture, University of the Virgin Islands