Qingren Wang

Disease Control for Snap Beans in Florida

Shouan Zhang, Nicholas Dufault, Mathews Paret, Pamela Roberts, Guodong Liu, and Qingren Wang

This publication suggests a sequential disease control program for snap beans in Florida. Postharvest disease problems are addressed only to the extent that they are affected by field practices. The application of the following sequential control program should minimize yield losses for the majority of plantings.

Regulations and Guidelines for Chemigation

Haimanote K. Bayabil, Kati W. Migliaccio, Jonathan H. Crane, Teresa Olczyk, and Qingren Wang

Management of Powdery Mildew in Beans

Qingren Wang, Shouan Zhang, and Teresa Olczyk

Powdery mildew is one of the most commonly occurring diseases on many types of beans. Although the causal organism rarely causes extensive damage, significant yield losses were reported in Columbia County when infection occurred in dry beans prior to flowering. Accurately identifying this disease and immediately taking action for control are critical to effectively prevent spread of powdery mildew in order to reduce significant losses of yield and quality.

Grower’s Guide to Identifying and Correcting Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium Deficiencies in Luffa Production

Md Jahidul Islam Shohag, Qiansheng Li, Yuncong Li, Qingren Wang, and Guodong Liu

Luffa, referring to the smooth (Luffa aegyptiaca Mill.) and angled (Luffa acutangular (L.) Roxb.) types, is a climbing vegetable from the family Cucurbitaceae that has grown for centuries across Asia. Luffa are consumed as vegetables when immature and used as natural sponges when mature. Luffa is gaining popularity as an alternative vegetable crop in regions like Florida and California, thanks to favorable growing conditions and rising demand for Asian specialty produce. Successful cultivation of luffa relies heavily on proper nutrient management, particularly for nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) because mismanagement can lead to deficiencies that cause stunted growth, leaf discoloration, and reduced yields. Early diagnosis and intervention are crucial for ensuring healthy growth and maximizing profitability. This Extension publication provides practical guidance for growers, Extension agents, and students on identifying and correcting N, P, and K deficiencies in luffa.

Consuming Local Vegetables from Our Local Growers

Qingren Wang, Edward A. Evans, Margie Pikarsky, and Teresa Olczyk

This publication promotes local vegetable consumption by pointing out some of the advantages, benefits, and business opportunities associated with local vegetable production and consumption. The targeted audiences of this article are food crop producers, consumers, business managers, extension agents and specialists, and government policy makers. Minor revision of the UF/IFAS Horticultural Sciences Department, written by Qingren Wang, Edward A. Evans, Margie Pikarsky, and Teresa Olczyk; 5 pp.

Pepper Production in Miami-Dade County, Florida

Qingren Wang, Shouan Zhang, Yuncong Li, Dakshina Seal, Waldemar Klassen, and Teresa Olczyk

This publication provides general information and guidelines for pepper growers in Miami-Dade County, including major pepper varieties, their horticultural traits, and fundamental soil and water management requirements. A minor revision of the UF/IFAS Horticultural Sciences Department by Qingren Wang, Shouan Zhang, Yuncong Li, Dakshina Seal, Waldemar Klassen, and Teresa Olczyk; 9 pp.

Implementing the Four Rs (4Rs) in Nutrient Stewardship for Tomato Production

Qingren Wang, Guodong Liu, Kelly Morgan, and Yuncong Li

A UF/IFAS numbered Fact Sheet for Commercial audience(s). in support of UF/IFAS Extension program: Integrated Pest Management

Nutrient Management Recommendations Based on Mehlich-3 Extractant for Calcareous Soils in Miami-Dade County

Yuncong Li, Qiang Zhu, Rao Mylavarapu, Kelly Morgan, Guodong Liu, Jonathan Crane, Qingren Wang, Henry Mayer, Jeff Wasielewski, Laura Vasquez, Qingchun Liu, and Teresa Olczyk

This factsheet provides information about the history of soil testing calibrations and justification for recommending extraction of soil nutrients using Mehlich-3 for calcareous soils in Miami-Dade County. The dominant soils from this County have an extraordinarily high concentration of calcium resulting in high pH. This document also includes UF/IFAS approved Mehlich-3 extractant-based testing interpretations and recommendations for these soils. The purpose of this publication is to elucidate an appropriate approach for analyzing the unique calcareous soils from Miami-Dade County for plant available nutrients. The target audiences are Extension agents, agronomists at soil testing laboratories, crop advisors, growers, representatives of the state and local agencies, and others concerned about soil testing and plant analysis in Miami-Dade County.

Summer Squash Production in Miami-Dade County, Florida

D. Seal, S. Zhang, P. Dittmar, Y. C. Li, W. Klassen, Q. Wang, and T. Olczyk

Summer squash is an important vegetable crop in Miami-Dade County. It is grown annually on about 6,000 acres and sold nationwide during the winter in the fresh market. This 16-page fact sheet describes the varieties of summer squash, land preparation and transplanting, what fertilizer to use, irrigation and freeze protection, disease management, insect management, weed management, harvest, and crop rotation.

Sunn Hemp—A Promising Cover Crop in Florida

Qingren Wang, Yuncong Li, Waldemar Klassen, and Edward A. Hanlon Jr.

As one of the promising cover crops under tropical, subtropical, or even template climate, sunn hemp (Crotalaria Juncea L.) has shown great advantages in improving soil fertility and increasing the yield and quality for subsequent cash crops. Due to the leguminous feature, sunn hemp can grow well in the soil with poor fertility, grow fast, accumulate a significant amount of nitrogen from soil, suppress weeds and soil root-knot nematodes, and tolerate dry and wet environmental conditions. Therefore, this article aims to elucidate unique features, origin, plant growth, handling, potential benefits, and the limitation in seed production of sunn hemp. It provides basic information to growers, stakeholders, and anyone interested in growing cover crops for crop rotation to optimize the cropping systems for sustainable agriculture.

Cover Crop Benefits for South Florida Commercial Vegetable Producers

Q. Wang, Y. Li, E. A. Hanlon, W. Klassen, T. Olczyk, and I. V. Ezenwa

This document describes the use of major cover crops grown in southern Florida. The intent of this document is to identify promising cover crops adaptable to Florida's climate. Identified cover crops must also contribute to nutrient conservation and improve soil organic matter by incorporation of cover crop biomass. This document also includes discussion of other aspects of cover crop use in the vegetable production systems of south Florida.

Handling Florida Tomatoes—Round and Roma Types

Steven A. Sargent, Jeffrey K. Brecht, Qingren Wang, and Teresa Olczyk

If picked at the proper mature-green stage and handled properly, tomatoes will ripen to excellent edible quality. Proper postharvest handling of Florida tomatoes is critical to ensure the continued competitiveness of Florida growers. This publication focuses on round and roma (plum) tomatoes since these types are handled similarly under commercial conditions.

Tong Hao—an Asian Vegetable Expanding in Florida

Guodong Liu, Qingren Wang, Bonnie Wells, Yuncong Li, and David Dinkins

A UF/IFAS numbered Fact Sheet. in support of UF/IFAS Extension program: Plant Systems

Regulaciones y Guías para la Quimigación

Haimanote K. Bayabil, Kati W. Migliaccio, Jonathan H. Crane, Teresa Olczyk, Qingren Wang, Laura Vásquez, Carlos Balerdi

El propósito de este documento es proveer una breve reseña de regulaciones y alguna ayuda para la aplicación a flujos aprobados. Written by Haimanote K. Bayabil, Kati W. Migliaccio, Jonathan H. Crane, Teresa Olczyk, Qingren Wang, Laura Vásquez, and Carlos Balerdi, and published by the UF/IFAS Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, November 2021.

Chapter 5. Ethnic Vegetable Production

Guodong Liu, Bonnie Wells, Yuncong Li, Qingren Wang, Johan Desaeger, and Xiaoying Li

Chapter 5 of the Vegetable Production Handbook of Florida

Chapter 6. Cole Crop Production

Lincoln Zotarelli, Peter J. Dittmar, Nicholas S. Dufault, Johan Desaeger, Prissy Fletcher, Qingren Wang, and De-Fen Mou

Chapter 6 of the Vegetable Production Handbook of Florida

Chapter 15. Root Crop Production

Julien M. Beuzelin, Peter J. Dittmar, Johan Desaeger, Lincoln Zotarelli, Shouan Zhang, Qingren Wang, Craig Frey, and Anna Meszaros

Chapter 15 of the Vegetable Production Handbook of Florida

Chapter 11. Legume Production

Craig Frey, Peter J. Dittmar, Dakshina R. Seal, Jawwad Qureshi, Shouan Zhang, Johan Desaeger, and Qingren Wang

Chapter 11 of the Vegetable Production Handbook of Florida

Symptoms of Nitrogen and Iron Deficiency in Luffa

Qiansheng Li, Marina Gluck, Yanlin Wang, Wendy Mussoline, Qingren Wang, Yuncong Li, and Guodong Liu

Luffa (Luffa aegyptiaca, synonym Luffa cylindrica) is a tropical and subtropical climbing plant belonging to the cucumber family (Cucurbitaceae), natively cultivated in South and Southeast Asia. There are two main species of luffa grown in Florida: smooth luffa (Luffa aegyptiaca Mill.), primarily grown in small gardens and angled luffa (Luffa acutangula (L.) Roxb.), basically grown for commercial production (https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/HS1285). It is commonly called sponge gourd, Egyptian cucumber, or Vietnamese luffa. Young fruits are edible and rich with nutritional and medicinal value (Partap et al. 2012; Azeez, Bello, and Adedeji et al. 2013). The mature fruit has strong fibrous insides, which can be used as natural porous fiber (Siqueira, Bras, and Dufresne 2010; Sivakandhan et al. 2020) for dishwashing or shower scrubbing. This publication is written for growers, state and county Extension faculty, and students interested in crop production.

What is 4R nutrient stewardship?

Guodong Liu, Kelly T. Morgan, Yuncong Li, Lincoln Zotarelli, Qingren Wang, and James DeValerio

A UF/IFAS numbered Fact Sheet. in support of UF/IFAS Extension program: Integrated Pest Management

Long Bean—an Asian Vegetable Emerging in Florida

Guodong Liu, Qingren Wang, Yuncong Li, David Dinkins, Bonnie Wells, and Kshitij Khatri

A UF/IFAS numbered Fact Sheet. in support of UF/IFAS Extension program: Plant Systems

Chapter 10. Minor Vegetable Crop Production

Dakshina R. Seal, Qingren Wang, Ramdas Kanissery, Anna Meszaros, Crystal A. Snodgrass, Julien Beuzelin, Johan Desaeger, Nicholas S. Dufault, Katia Viana Xavier, and Shouan Zhang

Chapter 10 of the Vegetable Production Handbook of Florida

Controlled-Release and Slow-Release Fertilizers as Nutrient Management Tools

Guodong Liu, Lincoln Zotarelli, Yuncong Li, David Dinkins, Qingren Wang, and Monica Ozores-Hampton

A UF/IFAS numbered Fact Sheet. in support of UF/IFAS Extension program: Urban Water

Bitter Melon—an Asian Vegetable Expanding in Florida

Guodong Liu, Qingren Wang, Yuncong Li, David Dinkins, Bonnie Wells, and Yuqi Cui

A UF/IFAS numbered Fact Sheet. in support of UF/IFAS Extension program: Plant Systems

Chapter 7. Cucurbit Production

Craig Frey, Nathan S. Boyd, Qingren Wang, Johan Desaeger, Jawwad Qureshi, Anna Meszaros, Nicholas S. Dufault, Pamela D. Roberts, and Xavier Martini

Chapter 7 of the Vegetable Production Handbook of Florida

Long Squash—an Asian Vegetable Expanding in Florida

Guodong Liu, Yuncong Li, David Dinkins, Bonnie Wells, Qingren Wang, and Yuqi Cui

A UF/IFAS numbered Fact Sheet. in support of UF/IFAS Extension program: Plant Systems

Pest Management of Peppers in Miami-Dade County, Florida

Qingren Wang, Shouan Zhang, Dakshina Seal, and Teresa Olczyk

To assist local pepper growers in maintaining crop productivity and improving the quality of produce, this publication illustrates common pests including major diseases and insects and their effective management. The targeted audiences are pepper growers, pest control operators, extension agents and specialists, crop advisors, industrial personnel, and graduate students. A minor revision of the UF/IFAS Plant Pathology Department, written by Q. Wang, S. Zhang, D. Seal, and T. Olczyk; 8 pp.