Alva Review-Courier -

LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) — Florida strawberry growers already have experienced a dress rehearsal for the impacts of climate change during the past two seasons.

"We've had a lot of climate variability in recent years," said Vance Whitaker, assistant professor of strawberry breeding at the University of Florida's Gulf Coast Research and Education Center in Balm. "I actually think the last two strawberry seasons have been test cases for global warming."

At the beginning of the 2015-16 strawberry season in November, the above-average hot weather delayed flowering and fruit production on the young plant...