News
Your 2025 Wrapped: Research in Action
December 10, 2025
Dive into Your Year of Floriculture Innovation
Everyone’s comparing Spotify Wrapped results right now, and I was thinking… If AFE research had a Spotify Wrapped, what would it look like for 2025? This year, growers, researchers, and AFE definitely turned the volume up with new trends, new feedback, as well as some old favorites.
So put your headphones on, here’s your AFE Research Wrapped 2025.
Your top tracks of 2025
You responded. We counted. Over 100 growers, researchers, and industry professionals weighed in through our Industry Summit, surveys, events, and conversations nationwide to provide feedback on which research tracks would be most beneficial to the industry.
And the playlist isn’t final yet. There’s still time to take the funding input survey and tell us what focus areas you want AFE to turn up in 2026 and beyond. Share your track suggestions by December 31 and help shape the soundtrack of next year’s innovation.
Breakout Trend: Research Funding Demand Up by Over 100%
This year, something big happened. We received twice as many applications for the Fred C. Gloeckner Foundation Research Fund. We received 3 times more AFE research proposal applications. While this was likely due to funding uncertainty from other sources, it also shows the importance and impact of stable funding programs like AFE, which aren’t impacted by changes in administrations and political policies. It also means that researchers believe in the value of AFE-funded work and are ready to deliver solutions the industry needs.
New Releases: 20 Projects Dropped This Year
Think of this as your “New Music Friday” playlist:
Their focus areas encompassed the classics as well as new trends, including thrips, Botrytis, substrates, sustainability, nutrition, new technology, advanced breeding, and more.
A solid playlist, which will influence the way crops will be produced and protected in future years.
Certified Hits: Grow Pro Webinar Series
Your most replayed content of 2025: The Grow Pro Webinar Series.
Twelve months. Thirteen webinars. Hundreds of registrations, attendees, and YouTube views for each topic. Featuring: practical guidance, new research, real-time Q&A with industry experts, and grower-to-grower connections.
We made you a playlist of all your favorites.
With almost 2,500 registrations this year, Grow Pro earned its place on the “most-streamed” list.
What tour? The World Tour: AFE On The Road
From Miami to Vancouver (twice!) to Bogotá and all kinds of places in between, AFE research took the stage everywhere, including international events like Proflora.
This year’s setlist included conference presentations, industry roundtables and discussions, student engagement, research updates, and new collaborations. If there was an opportunity to engage with the industry, we were there. And we can’t wait to keep the momentum going in 2026.
Longest Charting Track: Thrips & Botrytis Campaign
Yes, the five-year campaign officially ended, but three ongoing projects are still releasing new data, presentations, and management insights that growers are continuing to put into practice. Some tracks are just so good that they keep earning their spot on the charts. Here are some of our top Thrips and Botrytis releases this year:
- Science on Stage, from the September issue of GrowerTalks
- Grow Pro: IPM Strategies for Thrips parvispinus Management on Greenhouse Ornamentals
- Grow Pro: Botrytis Update: Exploring Biorational Products and Tank Mixing
- Ultraviolet Light: A Bright Idea for IPM in Greenhouse Ornamentals (Informational pamphlet)
You can see more in our Thrips and Botrytis Research Library.
Your 2025 Stats Are In
As we head into 2026, keep the insights coming, keep asking questions, and keep growing with us. The number of outstanding proposals we received signaled a surge in demand for innovation. Your energy kept Grow Pro thriving, and we already have an exciting lineup scheduled for 2026. You helped us carry research conversations across the country and beyond, asking sharp questions, surfacing new challenges, and pushing us to stay ahead of the curve. Simply put, you told us what mattered and we adjusted the volume accordingly.
Of course, this wouldn’t be possible without our incredible supporters, volunteers, researchers, and donors who support AFE’s research and educational programs. Help us further expand these resources with a donation before December 31. Together, we’ll keep the research tracks spinning and the industry moving forward.
