GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Floridians’ consumer confidence rose three points to 79 in April — the second consecutive monthly increase, according to a new University of Florida survey.

“Many economists would have expected confidence to erode in April as the effects of the federal budget cuts known as sequestration along with the expiration of the payroll tax began to unfold,” said Chris McCarty, director of UF’s Survey Research Center in the Bureau of Economic and Business Research. “So far this has had virtually no impact on consumer confidence among Floridians, which is reflected in current sales tax collections.”

Florida’s mood is at odds with the national consumer confidence index, which as measured by the University of Michigan, dropped two points after recovering from a deeper slide in early April.

In contrast, four of the same five components used to determine Florida consumer confidence level increased and one remained unchanged in April. Respondents’ overall opinion that their personal finances are better than a year ago increased five points to 70, while their expectations they well be better off financially a year from now increased six points to 78.

Meanwhile, their trust in the U.S. economy rose three points to 80. They also were optimistic about national economic conditions over the next five years; that assessment rose one point to 77.

Left unchanged from March was whether now is a good time to buy big-ticket items such as cars and appliances. The response stayed at 90.

Not all Floridians, however, are optimistic. Confidence among Floridians making $30,000 a year or less dropped six points to 61 but rose four points to 85 for those earning more than $30,000.

Age could affect views, too. The overall confidence level of Floridians younger than 60 increased 10 points to 87, but it fell three points to 72 for those 60 and older.

“This difference may have to do with the unveiling of the Obama administration budget proposal that signaled a willingness to negotiate on aspects of Social Security and Medicare,” McCarty said. “Optimism, however, among those aged 60 and under is more likely fueled by economic improvements here in Florida.”

For example, Florida’s unemployment rate continues to drop, coming in at 7.5 percent for March, which is slightly less than the 7.6 percent national figure. Leisure and hospitality showed the biggest job growth of all Florida’s employment sectors. The construction industry also reports slow but positive growth.

Florida’s housing prices also continue to rise, with the median price now at $160,000. This is the highest median price since October 2008, though it is 38 percent lower than the peak value of $257,800 from June 2006. In addition, mortgage rates continue to be at historic lows.

Meanwhile, the stock market is still near record highs, bolstering retirement accounts for many Floridians, and gas prices have continued a steady slide.

Despite the encouraging trends, many economists still expect the effects of sequestration to be felt throughout the country, including Florida, but it may take months for the effects to be fully realized. Until then, “Floridians are increasingly optimistic,” McCarty said.

Conducted April 13-25, 2013, the UF study reflects the responses of 407 individuals, representing a demographic cross-section of Florida.

The index used by UF researchers is benchmarked to 1966, which means a value of 100 represents the same level of confidence for that year. The lowest index possible is a 2; the highest is 150.

Details of the April survey can be found at http://www.bebr.ufl.edu/cci.

Instead, the report by UF’s Oyster Recovery Team cites drought, insufficient rainfall and increased salinity in the bay as factors contributing to the dramatic drop-off in oyster landings beginning in September 2012 and continuing through the year, said Karl Havens, task force leader and director of Florida Sea Grant.

“There was a whole chain of circumstances that led to this situation, some of which are beyond human control,” Havens said. “Our report makes recommendations for many things that can be done to help the oyster population through management and restoration.”

Havens and other recovery team members discussed the report and findings with a crowd of about 60 residents and seafood workers Wednesday at the Apalachicola Community Center.

The full report and a summary are available at the UF/IFAS Franklin County Extension office or its website, franklin.ifas.ufl.edu.

One concern locally is the lack of small oysters in the bay, which could mean reduced harvests of legal-sized oysters in 2013 and 2014, Havens said.

“Naturally, everyone would like to see oyster populations bounce back very soon,” he said. “We don’t know at this point whether there’s been a failure of mature oysters to reproduce, or if something has been killing larval oysters.”

The report recommends more research on the issue. A related finding: Computer modeling suggests it could take as long as a decade for the population to recover unless large-scale oyster-bar restoration projects occur.

“The task force will continue to work with the local community through grant proposals to fund further restoration, research and community-development efforts,” Havens said.

Other major findings from the report:

*The Apalachicola River and the two rivers that feed it have experienced exceptional drought during the past three years.

*Water quality data indicate that 2012 was a year of high salinity throughout the bay.

*Recent declines in oyster landings and juvenile oyster numbers are unprecedented for the bay, at least for the time detailed records are available: 1986 to the present.

*Numerous seafood species — including oysters, shrimp, crab and several popular finfish — tested clean when checked for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, contaminants associated with crude oil.

Report recommendations include more research on oyster population dynamics and harvesting practices; expanded oyster reef monitoring; and strict observance of current harvest and sale regulations.

The report also suggests that alternative seafood products be evaluated that might diversify the local industry. One candidate species is the crown conch, a native mollusk recently approved for commercial development.

At the Apalachicola meeting, seafood specialist Steve Otwell, a professor with UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, displayed a crown conch shell and large pieces of fresh crown conch meat. He said test-marketing of the delicacy had been highly successful in restaurants.

Task force activities were supported by funding from UF/IFAS, Florida Sea Grant and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

“This rise was unexpected,” said Chris McCarty, director of UF’s Survey Research Center in the Bureau of Economic and Business Research. According to a recent University of Michigan study, the confidence level for the entire U.S. fell sharply by almost six points in the wake of federal budget cuts resulting from the sequestration process that started in early March.

“The fear has been that the combination of the payroll tax expiration and sequestration would dampen the recent growth in consumer activity,” McCarty said. “But Florida confidence is sharply out of line with that perception.”

In fact, four of the five components used in the survey went up from February. Respondents’ overall perception of being personally better off financially than they were a year ago went up four points to 68. “The last time that figure was reached was in 1992 after the 1990-91 recession,” McCarty said.

Floridians also were optimistic about bigger issues. For instance, their expectations that the U.S. economy would improve over the next year rose six points to 78. They also gave a thumbs-up to the nation’s economic health during the next five years by showing an increase in confidence of six points to 75. And their opinion that now is a good time to buy big-ticket items such as an automobile rose two points to 90.

The only hint of gloom appeared when survey-takers were asked if they would be better off financially a year from now. Here, their confidence sank two points to 72.

Floridians may have good reason to be confident. The state’s unemployment rate is now one-tenth of a percent lower than the national 7.8 percent figure, marking the first time this has happened since the start of the recession.

“While some of this is due to a decline in the labor force,” McCarty said, “there is no question that Florida has created jobs since the recession.”

Florida also is experiencing a strong housing market, with the median price of a single-family home hitting $150,000 in February. That was up almost 3.5 percent from January and 12.8 percent from last year. Some areas of Florida, such as Miami, are experiencing housing shortages, which is driving up prices, McCarty said.

An average drop in gas prices statewide of 15 cents-a-gallon during the past three weeks may be boosting confidence, too. The stock market also continues to reach new highs as the markets so far have shrugged off the effects of sequestration, McCarty said.

However, the Sunshine State’s upbeat mood may not last long.

“For now, Floridians don’t appear to see how the cuts are affecting them,” McCarty said. “While there are certainly some who have already been affected by sequestration, the real effects will start to be noticed in upcoming months as furloughs go into effect.”

Conducted March 13-21, the study reflects the responses of 416 individuals, representing a demographic cross-section of Florida.

The index used by UF researchers is benchmarked to 1966, which means a value of 100 represents the same level of confidence for that year. The lowest index possible is a 2; the highest is 150.

Details of the March survey can be found at http://www.bebr.ufl.edu/cci.

Battelle, a global research and development organization, released a study Tuesday that shows agriculture, forestry and fisheries production in a 13-state region of the southeastern U.S. plus Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands generates $240 billion in regional economic activity and supports more than 2.2 million jobs, with labor income totaling $62 billion.

According to the Batelle study, agbioscience research and development spending went from $213 million to $501 million from 2000 to 2010.

“I think what this study clearly tells us is that for Florida to continue to see this kind of economic growth, we’ve got to continue to invest in these areas,” said Jack Payne, the University of Florida’s senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources. “Agriculture and related sciences touch nearly every aspect of our lives. They’re a robust driver of our economy and they will help our state thrive as the country pulls itself out of a rough economy.”

Agbioscience, as defined by the report’s authors, includes not only research related to the food we eat, but the development, production and use of plant and animal organisms for food, health, fuel and industrial applications.

The study offers case studies that highlight technological advances and research being done by the southeastern land-grant universities. They include UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences’ research that shows irrigation can be vastly reduced by using soil moisture controllers and its work on renewable fuels.

Sustaining the Extension Service and Experiment Station System, further investing in it, and addressing its challenges are keys to maintaining the strength of the economic and social fabric of the nation, the region and the state, the report’s authors said.

The full report may be viewed at: http://www.LSUAgCenter.com/SouthernAgbioscienceImpact.

Battelle is one of the nation’s leading charitable trusts focusing on societal and economic impact and actively supporting and promoting science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, education.

The University of Florida is among 15 land-grant university sponsors of the study, commissioned by the Southern Association of Agricultural Experiment Station Directors and the Association of Southern Regional Extension Directors.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The delayed effect of the expiring payroll tax cut prompted Florida’s consumer confidence to drop one point in February to 74, according to a monthly University of Florida survey.

However, consumer outlook could grow even gloomier if massive federal spending cuts required by a process known as sequestration takes place in March, said Chris McCarty, director of UF’s Survey Research Center in the Bureau of Economic and Business Research.

Two years ago, the White House and Congress tried to stimulate the economy by temporarily cutting the payroll tax that workers pay for Social Security from 6.2 to 4.2 percent. “This put money directly in the pockets of consumers, which had a noticeable effect on consumer spending,” McCarty said.

However, the cuts expired last month as part of the fiscal cliff negotiation. “It took a month for the increased withholding to show up in people’s paychecks, so the effect was delayed,” McCarty said.

Nonetheless, the UF study reveals that most consumers, and particularly seniors, are more positive than they were last month about their personal finances. For instance, survey takers’ overall perception that their personal finances had improved from a year ago rose six points to 65. And their expectations that they will be better off financially this time next year went up by one point to 76. In addition, their consensus over whether now is a good time to buy big-ticket retail goods, such as a washing machine, rose one point to 88.

However, respondents are more pessimistic about the future. Their expectations for the U.S. economy over the coming year fell four points to 72, but their faith in the nation’s economic health over the next five years fell even further, dipping seven points to 69.

“This negative outlook may mean that consumers are less bothered by the expiration of the payroll tax and more concerned about the effects of sequestration that are due to go into effect March 1,” McCarty said.

Consumer worry is already apparent. The stock market had hit new highs until the threat of sequestration caused the Pentagon and other agencies to announce possible budget cuts and the Federal Reserve to signal higher interest rates might be coming. These actions caused investors recently to pull back, McCarty said.

While the worst effects will be felt in the metro area around Washington, D.C., Florida will not escape.

“We have civilian businesses and grants to universities and others that will be cut back as the Pentagon makes large cuts for the remaining fiscal year,” McCarty said. “Agencies such as the Transportation Security Administration and the Federal Aviation Administration have signaled furloughs for their staff, which will make air travel a challenge, perhaps putting some people off of a Florida vacation. Many Floridians work for federal agencies either full time or part time and they will be affected, as will the multiple businesses that provide services to them.”

Any deal that Congress strikes on sequestration will trade some cuts for other cuts and tax increases, McCarty said.

“We are waiting to see which part of the population will take the brunt of that cut,” he added. “It is currently slated to be anyone hired by, or selling goods and services to, the federal government.”

Conducted Feb. 13-21, the UF study reflects the responses of 406 individuals, representing a demographic cross section of Florida.

The index used by UF researchers is benchmarked to 1966, which means a value of 100 represents the same level of confidence for that year. The lowest index possible is a 2; the highest is 150.

Details of the February survey can be found at http://www.bebr.ufl.edu/cci.

The eight-year, $4.2 million study was funded by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to determine the effectiveness of current UF/IFAS fertilizer recommendations, which have been in use since about 2000, said John Hayes, UF/IFAS dean for research. Florida has more than 5 million acres of home and commercial turf.

“This work is an important body of information generated here to address important questions about nutrient management,” Hayes said. “We’re proud to communicate our findings and we hope they will play a substantial role in helping residents, industry personnel and policymakers protect water quality.”

Three hours of technical presentations from a Jan. 15 live symposium are available at http://tinyurl.com/be2la7q and a three-minute video aimed at educating the public has been posted at http://tinyurl.com/ajy4ytr.

The results generally are consistent with current UF/IFAS recommendations for fertilizer use, Hayes said, but the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services plans to review the state’s urban fertilizer rules in light of the study findings. The agency will hold public meetings to seek comment about possible changes.

The study involved three locations, numerous establishment, fertilization and irrigation practices, and multiple turf varieties, including St. Augustinegrass, zoysiagrass, centipedegrass and bahiagrass.

Despite the differences, researchers made several basic conclusions:

* Very little nutrient leaching results from summertime application of UF/IFAS recommended fertilizer rates to healthy, growing turfgrass.

* Summertime fertilizer bans could potentially deprive healthy turf of nutrients when needed most, threatening turf health and quality.

* Nutrient leaching can result from fertilizer application to dormant or unhealthy turf.

* Newly laid sod should not be fertilized for 30 to 60 days because it will not have an established root system for effective nutrient uptake and it is likely to carry nutrients from fertilizer applications at the sod farm where it was grown.

The study involved experiments conducted at UF/IFAS research facilities in the Panhandle, Gainesville and Fort Lauderdale, using turf, soils and management practices common to each area. The state’s most popular turf, St. Augustinegrass, was studied at all three sites.

Faculty members John Cisar, Jerry Sartain, Laurie Trenholm and Bryan Unruh led the study and presented their research findings at a public meeting in Citra, where much of the footage was shot. The video includes a question-and-answer session with the scientists, and comments from Andy Rackley, director of agricultural environmental services for FDACS.

Several researchers mentioned that their findings raised new questions and pointed out the need for additional research on topics including the use of biosolids and other organic nitrogen sources, the use of reclaimed water, turfgrass phosphorus requirements, and the effects of summertime fertilizer bans.

“We’re in some conversations with DEP (the state Department of Environmental Protection) still about moving forward with some additional data analysis,” Unruh said.

He also noted that the results suggest UF/IFAS’ nutrient recommendations for zoysiagrass may need to be modified, but any changes to those nutrient recommendations must come about through a vetting process by the Plant Nutrient Oversight Committee, a team of administrators and scientists who review all nutrient recommendations from UF/IFAS.

Extension personnel will be trained to help them communicate the findings to homeowners and there may be additional public workshops, Trenholm said.

Homeowners with unhealthy lawns should contact county extension personnel to discuss the problem and not automatically assume that fertilizer is needed, Cisar said.

“If you have a lawn that’s in bad shape, it makes sense to ascertain why,” he said. “It may be that the grass needs fertilizer but it could be something else, like a lack of proper irrigation, proper mowing height, or the grass isn’t getting enough light.”

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida’s consumer confidence dipped to 75, down one point from a revised reading of 76 in December, according to a monthly University of Florida survey.

Consumer confidence has been more or less flat since the November election because of improving economic conditions and Congress’ delay handing the federal government’s fiscal problems, said Chris McCarty, director of UF’s Survey Research Center in the Bureau of Economic and Business Research.

Responses to the five survey components used to reflect confidence were mixed. When survey takers were asked if they are better off financially than a year ago, their overall response showed a three-point decline to 59. However, expectations that their own personal finances will improve by this time next year rose one point to 77.

Faith in the U.S. economy over the coming year was unchanged at 76, while the outlook on economic conditions for the next five years fell two points to 76.

Finally, opinions about whether now is a good time to buy expensive retail goods such as televisions rose one point to 87.

January may have seen a modest dip in confidence, but there had been a strong possibility of a big decline in January if the fiscal cliff in Washington had not been averted, McCarty said.

Although Congress put off taking major action, it did raise taxes on incomes exceeding $400,000 a year by reverting to Clinton-era tax levels. It also repealed the payroll tax cut, although it may take Floridians a while to notice this in their paychecks. These changes might explain why consumer confidence decreased by seven points for Florida’s more affluent households but rose five points for those making less than $30,000.

“So far there have been no changes to Social Security and Medicare, which is reflected in an increase in confidence among seniors by three points,” McCarty said. Other mixed economic trends were also under way. Florida’s unemployment rate declined again in December by one-tenth of a percent to 8 percent, only slightly higher than the national 7.8 percent rate.

“Although much of the drop in unemployment in 2012 was due to a decline in the labor force, there have been some real gains,” McCarty said. “For example, across the U.S. jobless claims fell unexpectedly last week, another indication that in the U.S. and Florida the economy is on the mend.”

The stock market also hit a post-recession high. The housing market is improving, too.

“Some areas of Florida are actually experiencing shortages of existing homes, leading to increased construction,” McCarty said. In fact, Floridians saw the median price of a single-family home increase to $154,000 in December, almost matching its 2008 value. Though overall housing prices remain far below their peak in June 2006, they have increased substantially since bottoming out, thus helping many Florida homeowners who were “under water in their mortgages,” McCarty said. Gas prices are rising but may fall as U.S. supplies improve.

Despite these positive indicators, consumer confidence may decline in February as consumers begin to notice the effect of a return to pre-stimulus payroll tax levels, a change in withholding from 4.2 to 6.2 percent, McCarty said.

In March Congress also will confront $109 billion in scheduled cuts it postponed in January. If the cuts are finally made, federal agencies will possibly compensate for them quickly with layoffs, furloughs, and cuts in services and grants.

“While sequestration would hit other areas of the country, such as the Washington, D.C., area, more than Florida,” McCarty said, “no state will be unaffected.”

Conducted Jan. 13-24, the UF study reflects the responses of 433 individuals, representing a demographic cross section of Florida.

The index used by UF researchers is benchmarked to 1966, which means a value of 100 represents the same level of confidence for that year. The lowest index possible is a 2; the highest is 150.

Details of the January survey can be found at http://www.bebr.ufl.edu/cci.

In some parts of the world, water is in short supply, but farmers often devote what they can to rice farming because the crop is so important. However, research has led to a simple but profound solution that requires less water – growing rice in fields, a practice called aerobic rice production.

The practice relies on rainfall plus limited irrigation to meet the plants’ moisture needs. It requires about 40 percent less water than paddy-grown rice, according to a University of Florida study in the current issue of Agronomy Journal.

Aerobic rice production is gaining popularity in India and Southeast Asia, particularly in drought-stricken or upland areas, said Rao Mylavarapu, a professor with UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences and one of the study’s authors.

Mylavarapu is working to address a major challenge in aerobic rice production: yield. In the two-year study, conducted in Hyderabad, India, researchers grew rice in irrigated fields and paddies. The first year’s aerobic rice harvest weighed 39 percent less than the paddy harvest; the second year the difference narrowed to 15 percent.

“Right now, there’s no way you can get the same yield under optimal conditions,” he said.

He explained that grain production is influenced by a rice plant’s ability to use nitrogen, which in turn is influenced by moisture availability. In other words, paddied plants grown in standing water have an advantage over aerobic plants receiving modest irrigation. And, the rice varieties used for paddied production are different from the ones in aerobic production.

But in a drought there may not be enough water to keep rice paddies flooded. Under those circumstances, aerobic production can ensure that a community has rice to eat, while the paddied plants wither away.

“The real impact of aerobic rice will be shown in a rainfall shortage year,” Mylavarapu said. “However, in a rainfall shortage year, we have to be able to provide supplemental irrigation to aerobic rice and keep the root zone moist. So if there’s a very bad drought, even aerobic rice will fail.”

He adds that few rice varieties have been developed specifically for aerobic production. In time, breeders may develop improved varieties and close the “yield gap” with paddied rice.

Currently, Mylavarapu’s focus is on another aspect of the cropping system – overall grain production in systems where rice is rotated with corn. This approach is used on about 8.65 million acres in Asia because little soil preparation is needed to plant corn in a field following aerobic rice. In contrast, rice paddies must be drained and converted from a flooded anaerobic system to an aerobic system before the land can be used for corn.

In the study, researchers found that corn yields were about 5 percent higher when the corn followed aerobic rice, compared with paddied rice.

So far, aerobic rice production hasn’t caught on with U.S. farmers, but that could be just a matter of time, he said.

“In the U.S., water quality is usually a bigger issue than water quantity,” Mylavarapu said. “Certainly, it (aerobic rice) will become a very important factor for the U.S. to consider in the future, with climate change.”

The United States is the world’s 10th largest producer of paddied rice, with annual production of about 12 million tons, according to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization. Arkansas is the leading U.S. rice producer; Florida ranks seventh.

The study was funded by the U.S.-India Agricultural Knowledge Initiative through the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The research team included Mylavarapu, UF colleagues Dakshina Kadiyala and Yuncong Li; Gudigopuram Reddy of North Carolina A&T State University and M.D. Reddy of Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University in Hyderabad, India.

The fungus infects more than 90 percent of wild Florida Torreyas in their native range, which covers parts of North Florida and South Georgia close to the Apalachicola River, said Jason Smith, an associate professor with UF’s School of Forest Resources and Conservation, part of the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.

Smith is part of a research team that discovered the fungus, Fusarium torreyae, and formally described it in the journal Mycologia. Personnel from Atlanta Botanical Garden and the state Department of Environmental Protection are also involved.

“Over the years, the most common hypothesis was that a disease was killing Torreya,” Smith said. “But nobody had pinned down the cause until now. Now we hope to use this information to conserve the species and make some progress toward re-establishing the tree in its native range.”

The Florida Torreya is a primitive evergreen related to pines and firs. Once logged for its rot-resistant wood, the tree began dying off in the 1930s. Today, it’s one of the world’s rarest tree species, found primarily in Torreya State Park in Florida’s Liberty County.

Though all adult Florida Torreyas are gone, the species may continue to survive in the wild in a stunted form. Many of the remaining Torreya stumps send up healthy young shoots that survive until the fungus infects and kills them, usually about the time the shoots are 3 feet tall. A mature Florida Torreya tree can be 75 feet tall.

A few of the wild specimens are disease-free, and Smith says one of the research team’s priorities is to conduct genetic testing to determine whether those trees possess natural resistance to the fungus. If so, it may be possible to induce resistance in other Florida Torreyas through conventional breeding or other means.

The team is also raising healthy Florida Torreyas from seed. Some are being returned to the wild, but their prospects are uncertain. After extensive surveying, the researchers concluded that the fungus is present throughout the tree’s native range.

To give those transplanted specimens a fighting chance, the researchers carefully select and prepare planting sites, amending soil and removing vegetation that might compete for sunlight.

“There’s some hope,” Smith said. “If we can reduce the stress on the tree by growing it under different conditions, we might be able to boost its natural resistance to the fungus.”

The team also plans to analyze the fungus and investigate ways to manage it. Researchers believe the pathogen is not native to the United States, but determining its origins could be difficult. The Fusarium genus is large and widely distributed around the globe, and scientists believe many species remain undetected in their natural habitats.

If the fungus’ natural habitat is found, researchers may be able to pinpoint natural enemies useful in controlling the disease.

Ironically, Smith’s biggest concern about the fungus doesn’t even concern the Florida Torreya tree. He’s afraid it will infect Fraser fir and red spruce trees, economically important species shown to be highly sensitive to the fungus.

Those trees grow in the Appalachian Mountains, several hundred miles north of the Florida Torreya’s native range. In theory, they should be safe. However, a group of environmental activists has been raising Florida Torreya trees and planting them in the wild, including parts of Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee.

The activists say they believe the species was once native to the Southern Appalachian Mountains and want to re-establish it there. But Smith is worried they’ll end up introducing the fungus.

“Almost all the cultivated Torreya trees we’ve seen have been infected,” he said. “So we’re concerned that one of these Torreya being planted in the Appalachians could end up leading to infection of spruce and fir trees. The consequences could be disastrous.”

Political ideology strongly influenced Floridians’ economic outlook, according to Chris McCarty, director of UF’s Survey Research Center in the Bureau of Economic and Business Research.

“In November there was a clear reaction to the outcome of the election with confidence among Democrats increasing and confidence among Republicans decreasing,” he said. “In December that is still true with confidence among Republicans at 49 and among Democrats at 103, about the same as November.”

Age also affected survey results. Confidence among those under 60 increased two points while confidence for those 60 and over declined one point. “This difference by age is even more pronounced when looking at expectations about personal finances a year from now,” he said.

Worry about the fiscal cliff in the federal budget was another factor. This is mostly reflected in growing pessimism about the next year, both in perceptions of personal finances and expectations about the economy, he said. For example, the survey indicates that respondents’ overall expectation that personal finances will be sound a year from now dropped two points to 75, although perceptions of personal finances now compared to a year ago rose four points to 61. Meanwhile, their confidence in the U.S. economy over the coming year fell six points to 73.

“However, consumers appear to see past the short-term pain of the tax increases and spending cuts and are a little more optimistic about the future over the next five years,” McCarty said. That figure rose one point to 78. In addition, the perception that they are better off economically today than a year ago rose three points to 61.

Finally, the survey-takers’ assessment that the present is a good time to buy big-ticket items, such as a washing machine, rose six points to 84.

Signs of economic recovery in Florida, meanwhile, remain strong. The median price for a single-family home rose in Florida to $150,000 in November, up from $145,000 in October. Housing sales are brisk in most markets.

The state’s unemployment level fell again in November by .4 percent to 8.1 percent, marking the lowest level since the recession ended. The gap between Florida and U.S. unemployment is now only .4 percent.

“This is a big improvement from the 1.8 percent gap from February of 2011,” McCarty said.

Unlike previous months, the November decline in Florida unemployment figures was not mainly the result of a decline in the labor force. The labor force did not decline in November, although it did not increase either. There was an increase in jobs, particularly those related to tourism, McCarty said.

Declining gas prices and a resilient stock market offer even more good news. All these positive trends indicate that state revenues may be higher than estimated for the first time in years.

“Most economists believe that without the fiscal cliff the economy is on a solid path to recovery,” McCarty said. But the recovery will be jeopardized if Congress allows scheduled tax increases and spending cuts to occur.

If that happens a resulting decline in consumer discretionary could mean fewer Florida vacations. McCarty foresees even more economic setbacks for Floridians such as a delay in tax refund checks and less take-home pay as employers increase withholding to reflect the end of Bush and payroll tax cuts. Seniors could also have trouble getting medical attention if Medicare is cut 27 percent.

“The effects would be most pronounced around cities with military bases, such as Pensacola, Jacksonville and Tampa,” he said.

Conducted Dec. 1-18, the UF study reflects the responses of 400 individuals, representing a demographic cross-section of Florida.

The index used by UF researchers is benchmarked to 1966, which means a value of 100 represents the same level of confidence for that year. The lowest index possible is a 2; the highest is 150.

Details of the December survey can be found at http://www.bebr.ufl.edu/cci.

Wagner Vendrame, an associate professor of environmental horticulture with UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, is trying to improve a technique known as cryopreservation, in which living cells or tissues are frozen in liquid nitrogen at minus 321 degrees Fahrenheit for later use. So far, his results from cryopreserving orchid seeds have been promising.

The Florida orchid industry generated more than $43 million in sales in 2011. It produces orchids for both the specialty and mass market using hybrid plants that can be cultivated and are thus not in danger of extinction as many orchid species are.

By freezing seeds, orchid breeders can store them for later use if they have space constraints and are only able to germinate a portion of their seed stock, said Vendrame, who is based at UF’s Tropical Research and Education Center in Homestead. Freezing could also enable scientists to store endangered plants for future studies and restoration efforts.

“It could be a good means of preserving other types of plants that might be disappearing from the face of Earth,” Vendrame said.

There are more than 30,000 species of orchids in the world, and Florida is home to 99 of them — the largest number of naturally occurring orchid species in the United States.

Of the native orchid species in Florida, more than half are either threatened or endangered, including the ghost orchid that was made famous with the book “The Orchid Thief” and the 2002 film “Adaptation,” starring Nicolas Cage and Meryl Streep.

Overcollection and habitat loss are often the biggest threats to wild orchids.

In a study, published in the current issue of the journal Scientia Horticulturae, Vendrame’s team used hybrid orchid seeds to evaluate two cryoprotectants, Supercool X1000 and phloroglucinol. These compounds are added to solutions used for pretreating living tissues before being frozen. Cryoprotectants are similar to antifreeze and minimize freezing damage to tissues by preventing the formation of ice crystals within cells.

The team treated one group of seeds in a solution containing Supercool X1000, another with a solution containing phloroglucinol, and a control group where the solution had no cryoprotectant added. After being frozen for 24 hours, scientists removed the seeds from the liquid nitrogen, thawed them and tried to sprout or germinate them. Successful germination meant a seed had survived freezing.

Adding Supercool X1000 to the pretreatment solution only increased seed germination by about 1 percent more than the solution alone. But adding phloroglucinol increased seed germination by nearly 30 percent.

Altogether, about 79 percent of the seeds treated with phloroglucinol germinated.

So it’s pretty significant,” Vendrame said. “These are excellent results.”

The study is one of the few that has looked at phloroglucinol, which is extracted from brown algae, as a cryoprotectant for plants, he said.

Guillermo Salazar, a UF/IFAS Florida Yards and Neighborhoods extension agent in Miami-Dade County, is an orchid enthusiast who has studied the plants under Vendrame.

He attributes the fascination with orchids to their uniqueness and diversity.

“There are thousands of different species with diverse shapes, colors and scents,” Salazar said. “And they can be found in a variety of ecosystems, from growing on cliffs to in trees and beside rivers. It just really makes them interesting, and you want to experience them all.”

He said there are some orchid species that have disappeared completely and others that can only be viewed in private collections.

“If we could have the possibility to preserve a particular species that is endangered, then future generations would have the ability to enjoy them as well,” said Salazar.

In addition to Vendrame, study authors also included Renato F. Galdiano and Eliana G.M. Lemos with the Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho in Jaboticabal, Brazil and Ricardo T. Faria with Universidade Estadual de Londrina in Londrina, Brazil.

The statistics are compiled from NSF’s annual Higher Education Research and Development, or HERD, survey, which is the primary source of information on research expenditures at higher education institutions in the United States. The report shows that nationally, universities increased their expenditures for research and development by 4 percent between the 2010 and 2011 fiscal years. UF beat the national average, increasing its research expenditures by 8.5 percent from 2010 to 2011.

Florida also moved up in rankings that include private research institutions like Johns Hopkins University and Stanford University. UF placed 18th in the current report, compared with 21st in 2010. Rankings of other institutions in the survey include the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill at 17, Washington University in St. Louis at 19, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology at 20 and the University of California, Berkeley at 21.

UF is the only university in Florida on the list with $740 million in research and development spending in 2011.

“These expenditures represent dollars entrusted to the University of Florida by sponsors in the public and private sectors for the expressed purpose of creating new knowledge, solving relevant problems and creating innovative technologies that are highly valued for both present and future generations,” said David Norton, UF’s vice president for research. “Our research competitiveness relative to the very best universities in the United States directly reflects the talent and capabilities we have assembled here at UF.”

Specifically, Norton points to advances in health care, engineering, agriculture, and the basic sciences that promise to have significant impact both here in Florida and beyond.

For example, UF research has begun using patients’ personal genetic makeup to more effectively prescribe medication following heart procedures. UF engineers and chemists set a world record in the performance of plastic solar cells, and agricultural researchers discovered the enzyme that improves flavor in ripening tomatoes.

In addition, a UF biologist discovered a small African mammal that has the unusual ability to regrow damaged tissue, perhaps leading to new advances in regenerative medicine.

“These are just a few examples of the amazing impact being realized by UF research,” Norton said.

The report states that U.S. research universities spent the majority of their 2011 research dollars, totaling $65.1 billion, on life sciences — namely medicine and agriculture. The next largest field of study was engineering.

“The University of Florida is one of the few institutions with significant strengths in each of the four major areas of sponsored research — the health sciences, agriculture, engineering, and the physical and natural sciences,” Norton said. “This gives us a competitive advantage in staying at the cutting edge of research at the intersections of diverse disciplines.”

UF reported $644 million in research awards for the 2012 fiscal year which ended in June. About two-thirds of that came from federal agencies such as NSF, the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense. Remaining support came from industry and private foundations. Funding from the private sector rose 24 percent in 2012, helping to offset a nearly 21 percent drop in state and local funding.

“While the majority of sponsored research at UF is fundamental in nature, we do have activity and significant capacity for applied research that is directly relevant to the shorter-term needs of industry,” Norton said. “We view our mission as a public, land-grant university to include both the creation of new fundamental knowledge and the extension of new knowledge to the benefit of society within the state and beyond.”

The decline was not a surprise.

“We expected it for two reasons,” McCarty said. “The main reason was the outcome of the elections. Florida was the most divided state in the country, with President Obama winning by 73,309 votes. No matter who won, half of the state was not going to be happy with the outcome.”

In fact, confidence among Democrats in Florida rose from 99 in October to 103 in November, while confidence among Republicans fell from 62 in October to 50 in November, according to McCarty’s analysis.

The survey also reflects worry about the “fiscal cliff” if scheduled tax increases and government spending cuts happen early next year. Public awareness of the potential effects if this occurs has risen because media coverage has increased since the presidential campaigns ended, McCarty said.

He said Floridians should watch how Congress handles the Alternative Minimum Tax, or AMT, which was created to ensure that high-income individuals, corporations, trusts and estates pay a minimum amount of tax regardless of deductions, credits or exemptions.

“Without a fix, the AMT for 2012 will expand greatly from about 4 million to over 30 million Americans. While most of the effects from the fiscal cliff will occur over the year, the AMT would be calculated on this year’s tax bill, potentially slowing refunds and increasing taxes for many middle-class households.”

If that happens, many Floridians will be unprepared for the immediate tax increase in April, McCarty warned. “Those who rely on refunds to pay for holiday spending should consider that without Congressional action, their refund could be delayed as the IRS makes adjustments.”

Such economic concerns may explain why four of the five components used in the survey declined. Respondents’ overall view that they are better off financially than a year ago fell five points to 59, while their expectations their personal finances will rise by this time next year also fell five points to 80.

In addition, their confidence in U.S. economic conditions over the next year dropped three points to 82, while their trust in the national economy over the next five years fell six points to 80.

Only one component showed no decline. Respondents’ expectation that now is a good time to buy an expensive consumer item such as a refrigerator was unchanged at 79.

Despite the pessimistic mood suggested by the study, other economic indicators offer reasons for optimism. For example, Florida’s unemployment rate declined again in October to 8.2 percent, the lowest since the depth of the recession in 2008, with an increase in new jobs primarily in health care, tourism and real estate sectors.

Demand for Florida homes is picking up with the median price for an existing single-family home at $145,000, up 9 percent over last year. “With interest rates at a record low, the demand for housing is likely to continue well into 2013,” McCarty said.

Gas prices have declined steadily since Labor Day and may stay relatively low for several years if fracking of shale oil in the Midwest develops into a reliable source of energy, McCarty said. In addition, the stock market is still holding onto the gains made this year.

Meanwhile, “the holiday season got off to an earlier start this year, but early sales figures were mixed,” McCarty said. “Thanksgiving sales were relatively strong, but clearly robbed Black Friday sales.

McCarty expects holiday sales growth to be positive, yet modest, with an increase of 2 percent as predicted by the Ball State Center for Economic and Business Research.

Conducted Nov. 12-21, the UF study reflects the responses of 420 individuals who represent a demographic cross-section of Florida.

The index used by UF researchers is benchmarked to 1966, which means a value of 100 represents the same level of confidence for that year. The lowest index possible is a 2; the highest is 150.

Details of the November survey can be found at http://www.bebr.ufl.edu/cci.

Though the initial investment can run from $18,000 to $25,000 per acre plus labor, high tunnels deliver better quality fruit, bigger early yields and higher prices if growers beat competitors to market, said Bielinski Santos, an associate professor with UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.

The study, published in the current issue of HortTechnology, tracked two growing seasons on a commercial blueberry farm in Alachua County. The results showed that temperatures outside the tunnels plunged to freezing or near-freezing 61 times during the study. Temperatures fell that low just three times inside the unheated tunnels.

High tunnels may increase air and soil temperatures and protect the plants from wind and rain damage, leading to better flowering and more fruit, said Santos, based at UF’s Gulf Coast Research and Education Center in Balm.

Plants grown in the tunnels produced about 4.5 tons of ripe fruit per acre by the end of March; no ripe fruit came from similar plants grown outdoors during that time. Wholesale prices for domestic blueberries are highest early in the season, starting at about $7 per pound in early April, he said.

“Usually, Florida growers start harvesting in early April,” Santos said. “The more fruit you can harvest early in the season, the more money you’ll make.”

Growers can also save money with high tunnels because they minimize the need for another freeze protection strategy – sprinkling the plants with water to form a layer of ice. In the study, tunnel-grown plants needed about one-tenth the water for freeze protection as plants grown outdoors.

The study involved two blueberry varieties developed at UF, Snow Chaser and Springhigh. Snow Chaser is especially well-suited to life in high tunnels, Santos said.

Made by stretching thick plastic sheeting across an arched frame, high tunnels resemble Quonset huts, he said. Although they have variable dimensions, most tunnels have roofs anywhere from 8 to 20 feet high, with ends and sides that can be open or sealed, depending on the weather.

The technology is popular in other parts of the world but still catching on in the United States, Santos said. In Florida, high tunnels and other protective structures account for about 250 acres of production, mostly for high-value crops such as blueberries, strawberries, tomatoes and bell peppers.

“We always thought it was really complicated and expensive,” Santos said. “So for the past six years I’ve tried to ‘vulgarize’ the technology and develop a system anyone can use.”

Santos said he knows of one Florida blueberry grower using high tunnels; the owners tried 2 acres in 2010 and later expanded to 80 acres. Others have expressed interest in the system.

Santos and co-author Teresa Salame-Donoso, a research associate at the Balm center, have begun collecting data for an economic study on blueberry production in high tunnels.

“We already have some numbers, and we’re collecting the kind of information growers need to make up their own minds about using high tunnels,” he said. “I see more people doing it eventually.”

“Floridians are still feeling relatively optimistic in October as we head into the final week of the election,” said Chris McCarty, director of UF’s Survey Research Center in the Bureau of Economic and Business Research. “The index was revised up a point in September to a post-recession high of 80. Our preliminary October reading of 79 is near that high, although in normal times it would be historically low.”

The National Bureau of Economic Research, a nongovernmental entity, determined the recession began in December 2007 and ended in June 2009 — the longest recession since the Depression.

The five survey components that measure overall confidence indicate that Florida’s consumers were both upbeat and concerned in October. For example, their level of confidence in the nation’s economic health over the next year rose three points to 84, “a post-recession high,” McCarty said. In addition, their shared assessment of the U.S. economy over next five years rose one point to 85.

The survey, however, also showed that confidence in personal finances compared with a year ago fell three points to 61. Meanwhile, Floridians’ expectations of being better off financially a year from now fell two points to 84.

Respondents also were pessimistic as to whether it is a good time to buy a major household appliance, with a five-point drop to 80.

McCarty attributes the increased pessimism over personal finances to coverage of the presidential debates and perhaps some awareness of the set of automatic federal budget cuts and tax increases — the so-called “fiscal cliff.”

Floridians’ ambivalence over the economy may also “be tied to the elections and their mood may change following the elections given that the state appears evenly divided between the two presidential candidates,” McCarty said. “One candidate will lose, and this fact may change the outlook of those supporting him,” he added.

Meanwhile, the economy is clearly in recovery, he said.

Several indicators are positive both in Florida and the nation. New home sales are up and the median price of existing homes, though down slightly from August, is up 7.8 percent from the previous year. In addition, the Federal Reserve’s recent stimulus, which ensures relatively low mortgage rates through next year, will continue to support an improving housing market.

“Several property tax amendments on the Florida November ballot may also stimulate sales,” McCarty said, “although it is unlikely that many potential homebuyers are holding out for these changes given the favorable conditions for buying a home.”

The volatile stock market, meanwhile, has kept most of its gains for the past year. In addition, U.S. economic growth as measured by gross domestic product for the third quarter is higher than expected. Finally, the U.S unemployment rate dropped to 7.8 percent, while Florida’s unemployment fell .1 percent in September to 8.7 percent. “While some of this is due to a decline in the labor force, some jobs are being created,” and we have almost certainly turned the corner in terms of job losses,” he said.

Such promising trends could mean that the next phase of the recovery is a return to normal economic conditions, he said. However, he cautioned that long- term structural change to the U.S. economy caused by macro-economic forces may have redefined what “normal” means.

Prior to the recession, for instance, the natural unemployment level of workers looking for jobs was between 5 and 5.5 percent. The new normal unemployment rate, however, “may now be closer to 6 percent,” McCarty said.

Economic perils also loom ahead.

“As we have pointed out in previous releases,” McCarty said, “the recovery could be derailed if the impending fiscal cliff is not addressed in a sensible and coordinated way. Congress will have less than two months following the elections to modify the impact.”

Lawmakers are expected to extend the Bush tax cuts, while letting others, such as the payroll tax cut, expire. Automatic budget cuts brokered in August 2011, known as sequestration, will likely be delayed, too.

“If Congress and the White House cannot agree on a solution” McCarty said, “the full impact of the fiscal cliff will almost certainly result in a recession at a time when the country and Florida are recovering from the biggest recession in history.”

Conducted Oct. 12 -25, the UF study reflects the responses of 412 individuals who represent a demographic cross section of Florida.

The index used by UF researchers is benchmarked to 1966, which means a value of 100 represents the same level of confidence for that year. The lowest index possible is a 2; the highest is 150.

Details of the October survey can be found at http://www.bebr.ufl.edu/cci.