The study is the first complete assessment of greening’s economic impact on Florida, said Jack Payne, UF senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources. He called the study an important step in the fight against greening, because it quantifies damages and could show legislators and funding agencies why the invasive disease is one of the state’s biggest challenges.

“This study shows plainly just how imperative it is that we find a cure for citrus greening,” Payne said. “We have dedicated a huge amount of IFAS resources toward that end, and we are very appreciative of the significant support our research is receiving from the citrus industry. Growers are the people most obviously impacted, but the study demonstrates that many other Floridians are hurt as well—when fewer oranges are harvested, there are fewer dollars circulating in our state’s economy.”

First detected in Florida in 2005, greening causes citrus trees to drop fruit prematurely and eventually kills the trees. The disease is caused by a bacterium, and was first described in 1919 in China. The bacterium is transmitted by an invasive insect, the Asian citrus psyllid.

The study compares actual harvests of oranges used to make juice with projected harvests that would have taken place if greening had never struck Florida groves; it covers the growing seasons from 2006-2007 through 2010-2011. During those five years, the disease caused substantial crop losses, said citrus economist Tom Spreen, a professor with the UF/IFAS food and resource economics department.

The state’s juice-orange harvest for the period was 734 million boxes, and would have been an estimated 951 million boxes without greening, Spreen said. To develop economic impact figures, Spreen and colleague Alan Hodges, an extension scientist with the department, analyzed both scenarios using statistical models and data on the citrus industry and Florida’s economy.

To estimate lost revenues and jobs, the economists took into account direct losses to growers, indirect losses to industries affiliated with citrus production and the resulting cuts in spending by employee households and government.

When focusing strictly on juice-orange production during that five-year period, Florida growers lost $1.36 billion in revenues, and 2,125 permanent jobs were lost.

Florida Citrus Mutual, the state’s largest citrus grower organization, funded the study. The study did not address production of other citrus varieties, such as grapefruit, or oranges sold fresh to consumers, Spreen said.

Florida is the nation’s largest citrus producer and the world’s second-largest orange juice producer, after Brazil. Florida’s citrus industry generates about $8.9 billion a year, mainly from orange juice production.

The study is available at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fe903.

The Lime Swallowtail, or Citrus Swallowtail, is a well-known agricultural pest from southern Asia discovered in the Caribbean in 2006, and researchers say its potential impact on the U.S. citrus industry is cause for serious concern.

“Everything that’s in the Caribbean eventually gets to Florida – Florida is an invasive magnet,” said UF lepidopterist Delano Lewis, lead author of the study published in the current issue of the Journal of Economic Entomology. “That’s why we’re trying to make the first strike to see how to stop it.”

Experiments conducted on the UF campus at the Florida Museum of Natural History’s McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity and the College of Medicine show when methionine is sprayed on leaves it is 100 percent effective in killing larvae related to the Lime Swallowtail caterpillars within two to three days. If not controlled, the caterpillars can completely defoliate young wild lime plants.

Because the Lime Swallowtail, Princeps (Papilio) demoleus, is invasive and cannot be legally brought into the U.S., researchers experimented using a genetically related surrogate with a similar life history and appetite for citrus, the Giant Swallowtail, Heraclides (Papilio) cresphontes. Because these pest caterpillars have the same body structure and biology, researchers are confident methionine will also control the Lime Swallowtail, Lewis said.

“Its effectiveness is based on the biochemistry of the insect gut, so although this work was done on a surrogate, the methionine will block the ion channel in the same way,” Lewis said.

Methionine is needed in the human diet for many reasons, including protein-building and metabolism. It is environmentally safe and harmless to citrus plants, mammals and birds.

“It’s a very curious phenomenon to have this nutrient amino acid that humans can’t live without, yet at the concentrations we put on the leaves, it is toxic to crop-destructive caterpillars,” said study co-author Bruce Stevens, professor of physiology and functional genomics in the UF College of Medicine. “It’s a completely different class of pesticides that has not been seen before – most are toxic to not only the pest, but to people and animals, too.”

Stevens first discovered the pesticide properties of methionine while cloning genes that regulate amino acid metabolism in 1998. Working with co-author James Cuda of UF’s department of entomology and nematology, Stevens later found this amino acid to be effective against yellow fever mosquito larvae, tomato hornworm and Colorado potato beetle.

Methionine disrupts an ion channel that controls nutrient absorption in larvae with an alkaline intestine, such as in caterpillars of the Citrus Swallowtail. In 2004 and 2007, Stevens obtained two patents for the use of methionine as a pesticide, through the UF Office of Technology Licensing.

“The methionine is sprayed on the leaves, and when the caterpillars begin to eat the leaves, they ingest the compound – it’s not in the plant itself,” Lewis said. “Once they take those first few bites, they don’t feed again and remain stationary until they die.”

Methionine is low-cost and serves as fertilizer if it reaches the ground because it’s a biodegradable nitrogen source, Stevens said. The amino acid is mass produced and has been used as a nutritional supplement in outdoor livestock feed since the 1960s. The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently approved the use of methionine for organic poultry production.

“This is a neat idea and I’m hoping that more work will be done on this in the future because there’s a lot of potential there,” said John Ruberson, a professor in the entomology department at the University of Georgia, who was not involved in the study. “The one challenge I can see from a grower’s perspective is that it tends to work kind of slowly. Typically, it takes two to three days to kill the insect, but they do show that [insect] feeding is reduced, which is a good thing.”

Patent rights for the use of methionine to control turf and ornamental pests have been licensed to Phoenix Environmental Care LLC, which is developing a pest control product.

While researchers are unsure how the Lime Swallowtail reached the Caribbean, its proximity poses a potential threat to Central and South American citrus industries, as well.

“We suspect someone could have brought them to release the adult butterflies in weddings, or perhaps they arrived with imported citrus stock,” Lewis said. “Regardless, it’s in the Caribbean and it’s a very strong flyer.”

A team from UF’s Department of Astronomy initiated the arrangement that creates a collaborative research initiative between scientists in Spain and Florida working in small satellite technology, agriculture biotechnology, and the science of aging. Florida Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll and Cristina Garmendia, Spain’s minister of science and innovation, will sign an official agreement to launch the project Friday in Madrid. Win Phillips, UF senior vice president and chief operating officer, also will attend.

“Spain and Florida have a great deal in common,” said Rafael Guzman, astronomy department chairman at UF. “Both of their economies are based on tourism and agriculture, they have similar population demographics and they have a common interest in space exploration.”

Better science can improve agriculture and medicine, but science also can create jobs, Guzman said. The third leg of the collaboration between Spain and Florida, small-satellite research, has the most obvious potential for creating jobs and a new source of wealth for players on both sides of the Atlantic.

The UF astronomy department initially became interested in collaborating with Spain because of its small-satellite program. As the relationship grew between the two, it became clear that there were other possibilities for partnering.

“Spain has had a successful program that has built and flown small satellites for years,” said Peggy Evanich, a former NASA programs manager who now works with UF’s astronomy department to build relationships between the university and industry leaders. “But they don’t have their own launch facilities.” They were using facilities in Russia and France, she said.

Small satellites range in size from 4 inches to 3 feet cubed and have huge potential for commercial applications, Guzman said.

“You could use small satellites equipped with telescopes to monitor crops for diseases like citrus canker and stop a contamination before it destroys a whole grove,” he said.

UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, or IFAS, will lead efforts from this side of the Atlantic to find new technology to help growers. A similar agency in Spain will drive parallel efforts, creating opportunities for joint studies, new sources of funding and fresh perspectives on common challenges.

UF’s Institute on Aging will similarly join with a sister organization in Spain to push their field of research forward.

Last month, in anticipation of the collaboration with Spain, UF signed a separate agreement with NASA that secures the Kennedy Space Center’s technical and logistical help integrating UF experimental payloads with Spain’s small satellites. The university is cutting cost by launching their satellites as piggyback cargo on spacecraft chartered by other entities, such as the Department of Defense.

The first launch in support of the research collaboration could happen as early as February 2012, Guzman said.

“This is an exciting time as the state of Florida and Spain chart out new economic and scientific opportunities together,” Carroll said. “It’s a great new chapter in the rich history of discovery we share.”

Space Florida, a state agency charged with fostering growth of the aerospace industry in Florida, is beginning a collaboration with Spain this week as well. Frank DiBello, president of Space Florida, signed an agreement today with INTA, Spain’s space agency, to establish a joint venture commercial business in Florida that builds, markets and launches small satellites.

The current agreement begins the planning process for the future commercial venture that will be based near the Kennedy Space Center.

For UF’s astronomers, the collaboration with Spain offers unprecedented access to the heavens that could result in discoveries that mean recognition and prestige for the university. But Guzman said that isn’t the end game.

“We believe popular predictions that small satellites will account for much of the $250 billion annual space industry by the end of the decade,” he said. With Spain’s experience in that niche, and Florida’s cache of talent and resources to develop the package fully, Guzman said, the collaboration seems a natural winner.

The findings could help maintain the health of Florida’s coral reefs, which bring in billions of dollars to the state annually and are important for tourism, fisheries, shoreline protection and pharmaceutical research.

“Coral reefs are a major attraction for tourists in Florida,” said Max Teplitski, a microbiologist and an associate professor at UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. “They support the economies of South Florida, and they’re also important for fisheries and, in general, healthy ecosystems.”

“Unfortunately, in the past 20 years, corals have been degrading due to global environmental changes and direct human impacts, like overfishing and other pressures,” he said. “And also, diseases have been wiping out stressed corals in South Florida.”

White pox is caused by Serratia marcescens, a bacterium that commonly occurs in feces of animals and is capable of attacking a variety of animals and plants.

To combat white pox, Teplitski and a team of researchers began studying the interactions between the pathogen that causes the malady and other microorganisms that live on corals.

Their findings are detailed in a study Teplitski co-authored in this month’s issue of The ISME Journal: Multidisciplinary Journal of Microbial Ecology.

Corals are ancient creatures that recruit microorganisms such as bacteria to protect themselves from disease. Their characteristic structure is built by animals known as polyps.

In the study, the researchers screened several hundred bacteria isolated from coral and non-coral polyps for the ability to help ward off white pox.

The researchers found four bacteria that stopped white pox disease progression under controlled laboratory conditions and, to some degree, protected the polyps from getting sick.

They also noted that polyps containing the bacteria survived white pox infection, whereas those without the bacteria died.

Based on these results, scientists may begin checking individual polyps for the presence of beneficial bacteria before introducing them into a reef system as part of coral reef restoration.

Kim Ritchie, senior scientist and manager for the marine microbiology program at Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, said Florida’s coral reefs are some of the sickest in the world.

“They seem to be in the worst shape,” said Ritchie, a co-author of the study. “But the more we can learn about the balance of beneficial bacteria and pathogenic bacteria, the easier it will be to help the coral reefs in the Keys become healthier.”

The research was funded by sales of Protect Our Reefs specialty license plates, a statewide program administered by Mote Marine Laboratory Inc.

Study authors also include Ali Alagely, a former UF undergraduate student, and Cory Krediet, a doctoral student in the interdisciplinary ecology program at UF’s School of Natural Resources and Environment.

The improved forests will stem from a genetic technique the researchers have developed that can create new tree varieties in half the time it takes current breeding methods.

The technique, detailed in a study published online Wednesday by the journal New Phytologist, is expected to increase the security and competitiveness of the U.S. forestry industry.

The Southeast is a leading producer of the world’s pine, and in Florida alone, the forestry industry had an economic impact of more than $14 billion on the state’s economy in 2009 and provided more than 80,000 jobs. Pine is used for building materials, furniture and paper.

Before the development, creating a new pine variety took more than 13 years. Now, with the new technique, the estimated time is about six years. The savings to the forestry industry are expected to be substantial.

“Competitiveness is a critical element right now,” said Matias Kirst, an associate professor in UF’s school of forest resources and conservation and an author of the study.

“We are under very significant pressure from countries in the world where there’s perhaps less regulation, where there’s higher photosynthetic capacity and the trees grow more,” he said. “So we have to have the ability to breed more rapidly.”

The finding came when the researchers, who are members of UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, decided to bypass uncovering every bit of genetic code behind pine tree traits. Instead they used the parts of the genetic code they already knew to develop a trait prediction model.

The model allows the researchers to predict with great accuracy traits that will appear in a tree without having to first grow it in a field test, which can take about eight years.

Kirst said a large part of the technique’s value is in breeding trees that perform well in the face of climate change, including conditions such as higher temperatures and increased drought.

“Breeders want to be in a position where the genetic material that they use is adaptable to a broad range of conditions,” he said.

Gary Peter, a professor in UF’s school of forest resources and conservation and another study author, said the new method will also enable faster development of trees that can be used for bioenergy, or energy produced from renewable resources.

“If we can modify traits much faster, we can create more specialized trees that can be grown for different products than just pulp and paper and solid wood,” Peter said. “We can tailor them for energy conversion.”

The new technique will also allow for the speedier development of trees with improved traits such as better wood quality and disease and pest resistance.

The study’s authors also include lead author Márcio Resende Jr., a doctoral student in UF’s genetics and genomics program; Patricio Munoz, a doctoral student in UF’s plant molecular and cellular biology program; Juan Acosta, a doctoral student in UF’s school of forest resources and conservation; John Davis, a professor and associate director of UF’s school of forest resources and conservation; Dario Grattapaglia, a genetics and biotechnology resources researcher with Embrapa in Brazil; and Marcos Resende, with the department of forest engineering at the Universidade Federal de Viçosa in Brazil.

The $753 million is the result of total output, which includes value added to the local economy, labor income and all output factors — the total economic impact of the incubator companies’ economic activities. Sid Martin Biotechnology graduate companies that relocated outside the county were not included. The study also didn’t include portions of companies located elsewhere when a company had multiple locations such as Boston and Alachua.

David L. Day, director of the Sid Martin Biotechnology Incubator and UF’s Office of Technology Licensing, said, “The Sid Martin Biotech Incubator opened 16 years ago this month and it’s exciting to see it mature with an annual local economic impact of more than $100 million.”

The bioscience industry is made up mostly of small bioscience companies developing their first products, and they are heavily reliant on investor capital, grants, contracts and partnerships with larger biotech or pharmaceutical companies. During the 2004 to 2010 period, Sid Martin Biotechnology Incubator companies had $426 million in revenues and investment. Total employment impact in Alachua County, which includes indirect jobs created, was 1,467.

The report was prepared by economic development consultant Rhonda Phillips. Only employment, investments and revenues directly attributable to the companies’ Alachua County operations were counted.

Patti Breedlove, associate director of the Sid Martin Biotech Incubator, said, “The good news continues into 2011. So far this year AxoGen Inc. has signed a merger agreement that will make it a public company; Pasteuria Bioscience has signed a partnership with Syngenta, the largest agri-business in the world, to commercialize its products; and our graduate EraGen BioSciences, which is now in Wisconsin, was acquired for $34 million. It’s been an unprecedented year for us.”

The Sid Martin Biotechnology Incubator in Alachua is home to one of the most experienced and fully equipped bioscience incubation programs in the U.S. Business development support services and assistance with access to seed stage venture capital is combined with specialized infrastructure including wet labs, greenhouses, fermentation facilities, and common use scientific equipment.

The total represents an 8.7 percent decrease from 2010, primarily because of a slowing of stimulus funds. The university received about $51 million in stimulus funds under the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in 2011, compared with $77 million in 2010.

“Research funding has shrunk at all levels, from the federal government to private foundations, but our faculty continue to develop strong, multidisciplinary, collaborative projects that appeal to agencies seeking broad-based solutions to problems,” said Win Phillips, UF’s vice president for research. “The research our faculty pursue results in new knowledge, technologies and treatments. And the infrastructure needed to pursue this science contributes millions of dollars and thousands of jobs to Florida’s economy.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture was one of the few federal agencies to increase funding to UF, awarding $64.3 million, primarily to IFAS. This included the first installment of a five-year, $20 million grant to improve pine forest management in the Southeast.

“IFAS scientists had a record-setting year with over $100 million in grants and contracts,” said Jack Payne, UF’s senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources. “They are meeting the needs of Florida and the world with research on such things as food security, energy independence and sustainability, with emphasis on healthy people, healthy environments and healthy economies.”

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, or CLAS, also managed to buck national economic trends, receiving $45.9 million, a 9 percent increase over 2010.

“It is especially gratifying to see our faculty winning more research awards when competition is getting more and more intense. This says a lot about the talent and work ethic of our faculty,” said CLAS Dean Paul D’Anieri. “We’re equally pleased to see the results of this research, whether in the form of publications, public service or technology that can be transferred to the private sector.”

The six colleges of the Health Science Center brought in $323.5 million. The College of Engineering received $66 million, and all of the other colleges received a combined $56.1 million.

The reefs, which provide habitat for popular sport fish and other marine life, pulled more than $253 million into the region during one year, the study found. Though it costs nothing more than a saltwater fishing license to use the submerged structures as a fishing spot, anglers spend money on food, lodging, fuel, tackle and other necessities.

The UF and Florida Sea Grant study looked at money generated by artificial reefs in Pinellas, Hillsborough, Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte and Lee counties in 2009. Researchers found that $136 million came from residents, while $117 million was spent by visitors.

Bob Swett, the UF associate professor and Florida Sea Grant extension specialist who led the study, said he was struck most by the contrast between the income generated and the small amount counties invest in the reefs — ranging from $20,000 to $60,000 a year for each county, with some years requiring little to no spending. The reefs also enjoy private support, such as local marine contractors who donate materials and in-kind labor. “That shows me that there’s a lot of bang for the buck, if you will, in terms of what they get out of the artificial reef programs,” said Swett, also a member of UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.

Chris Neal, who works for the Scuba Quest dive shop chain’s Sarasota location, said his company frequently takes groups of divers out to artificial reefs because the man-made structures allow divers to see such a wide variety of fish and wildlife.“You can see all kinds of fish – flounder, hogfish, snapper and grouper,” he said.

Besides asking residents about their reef-related spending, the UF researchers also asked boaters who use reefs and those who do not their opinions about spending public money to build and maintain the structures, which are typically underwater piles of large, hollow concrete blocks where fish can hide.

While users were more likely to support such spending (county responses ranged from 83 percent to 95 percent, in favor), Swett said he was also impressed by non-reef users’ enthusiasm. Their support for spending public money on reefs ranged from 61 percent to 71 percent.

Artificial reefs are used for a number of activities, among them: enhancing recreational and charter fishing and diving, boosting reef fish populations and aiding scientific research.

Florida’s artificial reef program, created in 1982, includes more than 2,500 documented artificial reefs in the state’s coastal waters. About one-third of them were the subject of the recent economic study.

Other survey highlights: on average, more than 5,600 southwest Florida residents use artificial reefs every day; for-hire fishing enterprises, including fishing guides, charter boats and party boats, accounted for nearly $90 million in spending, and artificial reefs support more than 2,500 full- and part-time jobs.

The researchers used a combination of mail, telephone and email to collect survey responses.

The study was funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the West Coast Inland Navigation District and the participating counties. Besides Swett, the research team included Chuck Adams, a marine economics professor; Sherry Larkin, associate professor in resource economics, extension scientist Alan Hodges and postdoctoral associate Thomas J. Stevens.

The full report, “Economic Impacts of Artificial Reefs for Six Southwest Florida Counties,” is available at www.flseagrant.org.

Florida’s permanent resident population increased by more than 2.8 million between 2000 and 2010 — an increase of 17.6 percent to 18,801,310. That mark was the third-largest numeric increase and the eighth-largest percentage increase in the country. However, the growth rate lagged behind previous periods for the state, and projections are the growth rate will steadily decline through 2040.

“Growth rates varied considerably during the decade, not only from county to county but also from year to year,” said Stan Smith, director of the Bureau of Economic and Business Research at UF’s Warrington College of Business Administration.

“Fueled by an expanding economy and a booming housing market, population increases from 2003 to 2006 were among the largest in Florida’s history,” he said. “As economic growth slowed and the housing market cooled later in the decade, population growth declined as well, reaching its lowest levels in more than 60 years.”

In the decades from 1970 to 2010, Florida saw annual population increases that averaged between 280,000 and 320,000. The projected annual growth is 252,000 for 2010 to 2020 and 255,000 for 2020 to 2030. The projection drops considerably for 2030 to 2040 with an annual growth of 220,000.

Smith said the slow economic recovery and a dismal job market have hampered population growth.

“Jobs are a major reason people come to Florida,” Smith said. “But Florida lost about 1 million jobs from 2007 to 2010. As the economy recovers, population growth will increase as well.”

Sixty-five of Florida’s 67 counties gained population during this past decade. Four counties grew by more than 50 percent, and 20 grew by more than 20 percent. The largest numerical increases over the past decade occurred in Orange County (up 249,612 to 1,145,956), Miami-Dade County (up 242,656 to 2,496,435) and Hillsborough County (up 230,278 to 1,229,226). Smith attributed this increase to those counties’ long history of growth and that each is home to a major metropolitan city.

Flagler and Sumter counties experienced the fastest growth in the state. In 2000, Flagler County’s population was 49,832. According to 2010 Census data, that number had grown to 95,696. Sumter County’s population in 2000 was 53,345 and had risen to 93,420 by 2010. Smith attributed Flagler’s growth to the popularity of the area’s Palm Coast development and Sumter’s growth to the establishment of The Villages, a popular and growing retirement community.

The only two counties to lose population were Monroe (down 6,499 to 73,090) and Pinellas (down 4,953 to 916,542). Smith said a large portion of Monroe County is not developable because of marsh lands while Pinellas County is already densely populated and has little room to grow.

“The collapse of the housing market and the lingering effects of the worst economic crisis since the 1930s are likely to keep the state’s population growth at relatively low levels for another year or two,” Smith said. “We expect growth to increase thereafter, reaching levels more in line with historical patterns by the middle of the decade. For many counties, however, future increases are likely to be smaller than those occurring during the last several decades.”

William Castle, who specializes in horticultural science at UF’s Citrus Research and Education Center in Lake Alfred, is studying the viability of pomegranate production in Florida. The fruit is not currently produced commercially in the state.

Pomegranates are small, shrubby trees native to the Middle East and have apple-sized fruits with a red exterior and numerous juicy, edible arils inside. The aril covers the pomegranate seed and has a sweet, tart taste. The fruit contains healthy compounds such as antioxidants, nutrients and vitamins.

Castle, a member of UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, started the study in 2009. He and Jim Baldwin, a senior biologist at the Citrus REC, are examining nutrition and irrigation requirements, pest, weed and disease threats, maintenance needs, and genetic differences among more than 80 types of pomegranates in two locations in Central Florida — the Citrus REC and a water reuse site called Water Conserv II in Winter Garden.

The researchers enlisted the help of more than 30 growers from around the state to plant pomegranates and gauge their performance.

Castle said the study, which he started to investigate pomegranates as an alternative to citrus for small-scale producers, is showing that pomegranates grow well in Florida and have irrigation and fertilization requirements similar to citrus. Growers are considering alternatives to citrus in light of the emergence of citrus greening, a disease that poses a threat to the citrus industry.

“I personally am convinced that absolutely you can grow the plant,” Castle said. “It certainly can produce flowers, and it can set fruit. The trick now is to learn how to keep the fruit on the plant, and I think we’ll have something good.”

Florida growers’ interest in pomegranates is on the rise, he said, as evidenced by the more than 5,000 plants he’s distributed to commercial producers and home growers.

“There is considerable buzz,” Castle said.

Cindy and David Weinstein, owners of Green Sea Farms in Hardee County, Fla., were attracted to pomegranates for the fruit’s nutritious qualities and its potential as a high-dollar, niche-crop for small-scale producers. They started helping with Castle’s research after finding out about the project through a local UF/IFAS extension office and are now growing more than 200 plants.

“We have two acres planted right now,” Cindy Weinstein said. “And hopefully next year we’ll expand that by another two.”

The Weinsteins plan to sell pomegranate fruit and liners, or young plants intended to be replanted by other growers for later sale to customers.

Pomegranates can be grown for fresh fruit, juice and also for use as an edible ornamental in home and business landscapes.

If production takes off in the state, Castle said consumers could see Florida pomegranates next to California pomegranates in stores as well as the emergence of locally produced pomegranate juice and juice blends.

“If we succeed in producing the fruit like we’re talking about, then there’s a lot of opportunity for anybody interested in the ornamental plant trade, anybody that’s interested in the fresh fruit trade at the local market basis, or even in producing the juice,” he said.

In California, an acre of the crop can bring in more than $5,000 in revenue, and fresh pomegranates sell for up to $2 a fruit.

“It is a very profitable business in California,” he said. “And if we can achieve similar yields, we can sell fresh fruit at similar prices.”

Castle will present his findings at the Florida State Horticultural Society’s annual meeting June 6 in St. Petersburg.

“Our investigations to date are showing that insecticide resistance in Asian citrus psyllids is a reality,” said Lukasz Stelinski, an author of the study and an entomologist at UF’s Citrus Research and Education Center in Lake Alfred.

“Resistance is showing up,” he said. “But the levels that we have documented to date are not high enough to cause product failures.”

Greening was first detected in Florida in 2005 and is a major threat to Florida’s $9 billion citrus industry. The incurable disease has wiped out citrus crops in other parts of the world.

Psyllids, which are small, ant-sized insects, spread greening by feeding on trees and transmitting a bacterium that weakens and potentially kills the plant and prevents fruit from fully ripening.

Populations of the insects become resistant to insecticides over time as susceptible individuals are killed off while naturally resistant ones manage to survive and reproduce. After a while, if the same types of insecticide are applied repeatedly and aren’t rotated often enough, the resistant psyllids begin to dominate the population.

“Currently, insecticides are our best tools for management of this insect vector of disease,” Stelinski said. “We don’t want current levels of resistance to escalate further.”

Stelinski, a member of UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, has monitored psyllid resistance to insecticides since 2005.

In the study, which currently appears in Pest Management Science, researchers compared mortality levels from insecticide exposure in psyllids collected from groves in 2009 and 2010 to psyllids raised in the lab in isolation to determine any changes in resistance levels.

Varying resistance levels were confirmed in psyllid populations throughout Florida’s citrus growing region.

The researchers also noted that there were indications of resistance to an insecticide recently released for psyllid management, called spinetoram, intended to replace older insecticides.

Additionally, they found that psyllids are most resistant to neonicotinoids, which are important insecticides for protecting young citrus trees.

Stelinski said the study results are proof that resistance management strategies are imperative. These strategies include using different types of insecticides in a rotation, never applying the same chemical back to back and having neighboring citrus producers coordinate spraying schedules.

Despite the appearance of resistance, he said, growers have a good handle on controlling the psyllid.

“We’ve really figured out the best times of the year to apply pesticide,” Stelinski said. “Growers are working together in teams, applying pesticides to large areas simultaneously and in a coordinated fashion, which is a very effective method for controlling this insect.”

Researchers could begin to see declines in resistance levels as more effective methods of insecticide rotation are developed.

“That’s one of the things we’re researching,” Stelinski said. “There might be certain rotations that are better than others in order to not only delay, but perhaps even begin reversing levels of resistance in various populations of this insect.”

A Citrus Research and Development Foundation grant funded the research.

Updated numbers from the Florida BioDatabase, maintained by UF’s Sid Martin Biotechnology Incubator in Alachua, show 29 new companies opened during the last three years for a total of 165 in Florida. Biotech companies tracked by the BioDatabase are characterized by having a true research and development core that helps fuel the innovation of new products for Florida’s growing biomed industry.

“Florida is on track to become a strong player in the biotechnology industry,” said Dr. Michael Schmitt, editor of the Florida BioDatabase. “Our state has the key ingredients for growth including a strong research base and an increasing trend in venture capital funding.”

According to recent Bloomberg News and Ernst & Young reports, the nationwide U.S. biotechnology sector lost 15 to 25 percent of public companies and 5 to 10 percent of privately held companies in the last three years.

The rate of growth in total investment funding for the biomedical industry in Florida far outpaced the national scene with investment dollars in 2010 increasing 37percent over 2009 to $158 million while life science funding growth nationwide has remained relatively flat over the past year.

Mirroring national trends, Florida’s biomedical industry is off to a strong start in 2011 with the level of investment dollars at more than $75 million in the first quarter alone representing nearly 50 percent of total funding in 2010 according to data collected for the Florida Biodatabase. Moreover, venture capital funding comprises over half this amount and consists of three deals valued at a total of $40 million.

Florida continues to show resilience in establishing itself with a true “bioscience brand” consisting of more than a dozen world-class research centers and key academic institutions including the University of Florida, named by the Milken Institute as the top performing public institution at transferring its research to the marketplace, and the Scripps Research Institute, one of the largest private, nonprofit biomedical research organizations in the world. Other significant institutes that have added to recent growth include Sanford Burnham, Torrey Pines, Max Planck, M2GEN, Miami Institute for Human Genomics, OHS Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute, SRI International and Draper Labs along with key research centers at all of the major public universities in Florida.

The Florida BioDatabase (www.floridabiodatabase.com) is a freely accessible public database that tracks the biotechnology industry in Florida along a number of metrics. It follows the industry held standard of defining a biotechnology company according to the Ernst & Young guidelines that include core research and development and involve the use of modern biological techniques to develop products or services for human health care, animal health care, agricultural productivity, food processing, renewable resources, industrial manufacturing and environmental management.

The Sid Martin Biotechnology Incubator is a statewide resource fostering the growth of young bioscience startup companies (www.biotech.ufl.org).

Representatives of TriMark Properties, the developer, are taking reservations to lease or purchase space in the first building, to be known as the Infusion Technology Center. The center is planned as a 120,000-square-foot building that will house existing science and technology companies. It will share an atrium with the Florida Innovation Hub at UF, a 50,000-square-foot super incubator scheduled to open this fall.

The Infusion Technology Center will be LEED certified and will include custom-built laboratories, research and high-tech space. The ground floor will include space for retail, restaurants and cafes.

The center will include a fiber-optic ethernet network with Internet access and private line service with speeds up to a gigabit per second, managed by a local support team. Groundbreaking is scheduled for later this year, with occupancy expected by late 2012.

“Clearly, Innovation Square is becoming the vital, productive and vibrant area we envisioned when we broke ground last year on Innovation Hub,” Machen said. “It’s pretty amazing to see it all take shape.”

The second will be a residence hall to house entrepreneurial-minded students. It will be the first of its kind in the nation designed from the ground up as an entrepreneurial-based academic community.

Also to be LEED certified, it will feature up to 120 beds, including studios and one- and two-bedroom apartments, and academic space, a shared business center and shared video conference rooms.

Built in a public-private partnership, the residence hall also will feature a penthouse for visiting venture capitalists and CEOs who will be encouraged to meet with those students and share what they’ve learned over the years about how to launch and grow a company.

In the spirit of other young inventors who have turned whatever space was available into a laboratory, the incubator at Innovation Square also will include a “garage” where students will be able to gather and exchange ideas and even build prototypes.

Groundbreaking and completion dates have not yet been determined.

Machen unveiled plans in November for Innovation Square, projected to cover at least 40 acres and to include at least 1 million square feet as it is built out during the next 10 years. Its purpose is to bring together science and technology, business opportunities, and retail and residential space in one location.

The UF Board of Trustees in March approved the creation of a direct-support organization, the University of Florida Development Corporation, to handle the selling, acquiring, leasing and marketing of the Innovation Square area.

More information about Innovation Square is available at www.innovationsquare.ufl.edu.

Fish lice, which are actually crustaceans, use their mouths to attach to fish and feed on blood and bodily fluids, causing tissue damage, anemia and sometimes fatal wounds.

Lice infestations are a problem for goldfish and koi owners as well as producers in Florida’s approximately $33 million tropical fish industry. A single pet koi can be valued as much as $100,000, depending on color, pattern and size, and products that keep them healthy are in demand.

Roy Yanong, an extension veterinarian at UF’s Tropical Aquaculture Laboratory in Ruskin and principal investigator on the study, said there are a few products that control fish lice, but they are either no longer being manufactured or illegal.

“The aquarium fish industry as a whole does not have a lot of legal drugs for use in aquarium fish,” said Yanong, a member of UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. “That’s not a very good situation for any livestock or pet to be in where there are diseases that are not actually legally treated.”

In the study, Yanong’s postdoctoral intern, Shari Hanson, tested a medicated feed on goldfish and koi and found the product effectively controlled lice on the fish. The results are being used to support the release of a medicated feed for koi and goldfish lice treatment.

Medicated feed offers an environment-friendly alternative to past methods of fish lice control that required treating water instead of fish.

“The nice thing about having a feed, an oral medication, is that it’s much more targeted and so less drug is needed,” Yanong said. “Fish that are infected will be specifically the fish that are going to be given the drug.”

Joe Pawlak, president of Eustis, Fla.-based Blackwater Creek Koi Farms Inc., said pests such as fish lice and anchor worms can do significant damage. To better compete with international fish importers, he said, Florida producers need to breed the healthiest fish.

“The more therapeutics that we can utilize in ornamental species, the better economic impact we can have in competing against foreign markets where they have a lot better access to treatments,” Pawlak said.

Pet owners and producers can get fish lice and other parasites by bringing contaminated water, objects or fish into their systems. To avert that risk, Pawlak said he employs strict quarantine measures and stopped importing fish nearly a decade ago.

Future research is needed to determine the long-term effectiveness of the medicated feed as well as its effectiveness at controlling anchor worms and other, related parasites, Yanong said.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture funded the research.

The change in demographic became apparent after the first year of the University of Florida College of Pharmacy’s 14-week training program for pharmacy technicians. Program Development Coordinator Judy Riffee began teaching pharmacy technicians at the college’s Gainesville campus in 2008 — before new legislation was proposed.

An experienced pharmacy educator in the UF College of Pharmacy division of continuing education, Riffee expected a class of young adults. Now, she is finding most of her students to be 40- to 60-year-olds, well-educated and eager to get back into the job market in a meaningful way.

“The education and work experience of my current class ranges from librarians and engineers to health care and finance professionals. The common thread seems to be a downturned economy that is greatly affecting job retention and taking many people out of the workplace for which they were originally trained,” Riffee said.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts pharmacy technician jobs to increase substantially, by 31 percent nationally over the next seven years. The department’s 2010-11 Occupational Outlook Handbook also noted a favorable job market for those with formal training or certification.

The DLS Handbook, revised every two years, reported this job forecast:

“As cost-conscious insurers begin to use pharmacies as patient-care centers and pharmacists become more involved in patient care, pharmacy technicians will continue to see an expansion of their role in the pharmacy.”

Becoming a pharmacy technician wasn’t something that Phillip Lofthouse, 47, had considered before. Now a graduate of the UF pharmacy technician program, he is working at the inpatient pharmacy at Shands at UF medical center.

“Getting medications to patients is a big thing — it’s the best thing I ever did,” said Lofthouse.

UF offers its training course twice a week, either in a Florida classroom setting, or nationally, online through video-recorded lessons by Riffee. All students also complete an 80-hour pharmacy externship near their location.

The first U.S. pharmacy college to train technicians, the UF course meets the Florida Pharmacy Board’s newly adopted 2011 training requirement for all Florida pharmacy technicians.

The new law no longer accepts previous work experience for licensing. Beginning Jan. 1, 2011, an accredited training program such as UF’s is now the only way to meet the Florida Board of Pharmacy’s education requirement for technicians.

The UF course was developed to prepare students for taking either of two national certification exams. Though taking the exam is not required in Florida, UF’s students are encouraged to do so upon completion of the program, Riffee said. All of her students who have gone on to take the exam have passed, she added.

Since January, the UF program has expanded to include more cities in Florida, with additional live classes added in Orlando, Jacksonville and Tampa. The UF course is extending even further with another Jacksonville class beginning May 10 and a new Fort Lauderdale class beginning June 1. Subjects covered include pharmacology, pharmacy law, inventory management, prescription reading and interpretation, pharmaceutical calculation, and sterile compounding.

People who are interested may visit www.ufpharm.org or contact an enrollment specialist at 888-415-5833.