Last year, Flavia Zambon was named University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) assistant professor of production horticulture of citrus and other tree crops. She is based at the Indian River Research and Education Center (IRREC) in Fort Pierce.
In the February episode of All In For Citrus, Zambon discussed her new position and how she plans to help growers in their fight against HLB and other production challenges. While the position is relatively new, Zambon is not new to citrus research. She earned her Ph.D. in horticultural sciences at the University of Florida with field and laboratory research at the UF/IFAS Citrus Research and Education Center in Lake Alfred.
During her post-doctorate work, she gained more experience through a project manager position with an HLB Multi-Agency Coordination Group project. The project was named “Evaluation of Potential HLB-Tolerant Grapefruit Rootstock/Scion Combinations in the Indian River District of Florida.”
More than 40 experimental blocks were planted with this project, each with 42 grapefruit scion and rootstock combinations that are managed by 16 participating growers. Zambon said this work gave her a great opportunity to work with growers.
“I was fresh from college and graduate school and never had that big of an interaction with growers, so I was a little intimidated,” she said. “They have these huge enterprises, and they are the ones running the businesses. It has been amazing. We’ve had great conversations … they have come to me with questions. As a professional and a woman in this industry, it is very rewarding to have that recognition from the growers. We’ve always had very good interactions and feedback. They rely on me for information, and I rely on them for feedback. It has been a very rewarding relationship.”
Zambon currently has a number of active research projects underway, including one in the IRREC Millennium Block looking at various rootstock and scion combinations.
To hear more about Zambon’s background and her work, listen to the February episode of All In For Citrus. The podcast is a partnership between AgNet Media and UF/IFAS.
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