Returning Southwest Florida Research Center Leader Eager To Strengthen Studies
April 22, 2014 
Dr. Calvin Arnold
1. Can you give us a brief synopsis of your agriculture background?
Arnold: I was raised on a beef cattle ranch in Okeechobee County and received a Ph.D. in Horticulture at Michigan State University after receiving bachelor’s and master’s degrees at University of Flrorida majoring in fruit crops. I have just completed a 13-year employment with USDA-ARS serving as lab director of the U.S. Horticultural Research Lab in Ft. Pierce. Previously, I had retired from UF/IFAS after serving as center director of research and education centers in Monticello, Immokalee, and Ft. Pierce. During my prior employment with UF/IFAS, I completed a three year tour-of-duty with USAID living with my family in Malawi in Southeast Africa.
2. What are some of your top priorities as your return to a leadership position at SWFREC?
Arnold: I look forward to returning to Immokalee with a top priority on coordinating with growers, UF/IFAS administration, and faculty/staff with a common goal to strengthen and expand the Center to generate new technologies and extend those technologies to clientele. The Center already is fulfilling significant roles in the battle against HLB, especially in regard to citrus health management areas, biological controls, foliar nutritionals, bicarbonates in irrigation water, and polymerase chain reaction testing for disease.
I anticipate an expanded role in development of short-term integrated therapies to combat HLB. The Center also has active research and Extension programs in support of the Southwest Florida vegetable industry as well as other regions in the state. An expanded role in vegetable plant pathology also is expected in addition to more active evaluation of promising citrus scion and rootstock selections from the UF/IFAS breeding program at Lake Alfred.
3. What are some of the challenges facing the Center?
Arnold: I am concerned that the Center is not adequately funded to achieve these expanded roles. So I am very appreciative of the commitment by agricultural producers in the Southwest Florida region to obtain additional funding from the Florida legislature in support of the Center. I also appreciate the unified commitment of the UF/IFAS administration to endorse a long-term future for SWFREC as a full-fledged research and education center.
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