Temperatures warm back up following cold streak this MondayWeb Exclusive: Rachel Cox-Rosen’s Construction Heads-Up
THE WEATHER AUTHORITY Temperatures warm back up following cold streak this Monday The Weather Authority is tracking a noticeable temperature warm-up, with highs in the upper 70s to lower 80s this Monday.
Web Exclusive: Rachel Cox-Rosen’s Construction Heads-Up As construction may dampen your commute, WINK News traffic anchor Rachel Cox-Rosen knows the best way to traverse the roadways in this web-exclusive feature.
CAPE CORAL 3 injured after single boat crash in Cape Coral According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, three people were injured in a single boat crash in Cape Coral.
IMMOKALEE All lanes on Immokalee Road closed due to vehicle collision According to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, a vehicle collision occurred on Immokalee Road Sunday night.
NAPLES Body found in Collier County retention pond According to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, a body was found in a retention pond on Sunday. The body was found on Lindsey Lane.
NAPLES Naples police rescue injured owl outside station Naples police officers took on an unusual task when they rescued an injured owl outside the police department.
PORT CHARLOTTE 2 suspects in custody after allegedly stealing $1500 worth of vapes According to the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office, two suspects are in custody after stealing $1500 worth of vapes early Sunday morning.
WINK Neighborhood Watch: knife attack, robbery at gunpoint and hit-and-run This week’s segment of WINK Neighborhood Watch features a knife attack, a robbery at gunpoint and a hit-and-run on a bicyclist.
FORT MYERS Former Uber driver convicted of rape to be sentenced Monday Felix Torres, a former Uber driver, was found guilty in December of raping one of his passengers and will be sentenced Monday.
the weather authority Sunnier, less humid day in store with highs in the low 70s The Weather Authority says a pleasant day is in store for Southwest Florida, with much more sunshine than we saw on Saturday.
Web Exclusive: Rachel Cox-Rosen’s Construction Heads-Up As construction may dampen your commute, WINK News traffic anchor Rachel Cox-Rosen knows the best way to traverse the roadways in this web-exclusive feature.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers Police department hosts annual Cops and Joggers 5K FMPD hosted the Cops and Joggers 5K event on Saturday. This unique experience takes attendees through the heart of Downtown Fort Myers.
Purple Heart Army veteran receives new home thanks to charity A Purple Heart Army veteran and his family entered their new accessible home on Saturday, thanks to the charity “Homes for Our Troops.”
CAPE CORAL Rain doesn’t stop crowds at 40th Annual Cape Coral Arts Festival For 40 years, the Cape Coral Arts Festival has drawn crowds from across Southwest Florida, showcasing a blend of small businesses from the region.
CAPE CORAL Sports trading card collecting going through “a generational reboot” The hobby of sports trading card collecting has been on the rise since 2020, especially in Southwest Florida with more card shows.
THE WEATHER AUTHORITY Temperatures warm back up following cold streak this Monday The Weather Authority is tracking a noticeable temperature warm-up, with highs in the upper 70s to lower 80s this Monday.
Web Exclusive: Rachel Cox-Rosen’s Construction Heads-Up As construction may dampen your commute, WINK News traffic anchor Rachel Cox-Rosen knows the best way to traverse the roadways in this web-exclusive feature.
CAPE CORAL 3 injured after single boat crash in Cape Coral According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, three people were injured in a single boat crash in Cape Coral.
IMMOKALEE All lanes on Immokalee Road closed due to vehicle collision According to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, a vehicle collision occurred on Immokalee Road Sunday night.
NAPLES Body found in Collier County retention pond According to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, a body was found in a retention pond on Sunday. The body was found on Lindsey Lane.
NAPLES Naples police rescue injured owl outside station Naples police officers took on an unusual task when they rescued an injured owl outside the police department.
PORT CHARLOTTE 2 suspects in custody after allegedly stealing $1500 worth of vapes According to the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office, two suspects are in custody after stealing $1500 worth of vapes early Sunday morning.
WINK Neighborhood Watch: knife attack, robbery at gunpoint and hit-and-run This week’s segment of WINK Neighborhood Watch features a knife attack, a robbery at gunpoint and a hit-and-run on a bicyclist.
FORT MYERS Former Uber driver convicted of rape to be sentenced Monday Felix Torres, a former Uber driver, was found guilty in December of raping one of his passengers and will be sentenced Monday.
the weather authority Sunnier, less humid day in store with highs in the low 70s The Weather Authority says a pleasant day is in store for Southwest Florida, with much more sunshine than we saw on Saturday.
Web Exclusive: Rachel Cox-Rosen’s Construction Heads-Up As construction may dampen your commute, WINK News traffic anchor Rachel Cox-Rosen knows the best way to traverse the roadways in this web-exclusive feature.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers Police department hosts annual Cops and Joggers 5K FMPD hosted the Cops and Joggers 5K event on Saturday. This unique experience takes attendees through the heart of Downtown Fort Myers.
Purple Heart Army veteran receives new home thanks to charity A Purple Heart Army veteran and his family entered their new accessible home on Saturday, thanks to the charity “Homes for Our Troops.”
CAPE CORAL Rain doesn’t stop crowds at 40th Annual Cape Coral Arts Festival For 40 years, the Cape Coral Arts Festival has drawn crowds from across Southwest Florida, showcasing a blend of small businesses from the region.
CAPE CORAL Sports trading card collecting going through “a generational reboot” The hobby of sports trading card collecting has been on the rise since 2020, especially in Southwest Florida with more card shows.
(CREDIT: WINK News) Watermelon farmers are struggling to control disease in their crops and are constantly on the hunt for ways to fight it. WINK News talked to a watermelon farmer about diseases and the agriculture engineer who may have the solution. One such disease, downy mildew, has the nickname ‘wildfire’. That’s because if left unchecked, it can destroy an entire crop within days. But there is new technology to detect disease before farmers even see it. Farmers don’t just grow fruits and vegetables, they’ve got to be experts in plant disease. If they miss the signs they could lose some, most or even all of their crop. Chad Chastain, JDI farmer in Alva said, “All of a sudden you show up and it’s like, oh, boy, we’ve got an issue.” Chastain said downy mildew is one of the top threats he faces. Downy mildew starts as a yellow spot on the watermelon that grows every day until eventually the leaf turns brown, cracks, and dies. “If you don’t catch it a week and a half, you know, 10 days before that, you’re screwed, you can slow it down and you can try to stop it, but you’re not going to,” Chastain said. Chastain said early disease detection is a must. And that’s what drives the Precision Agriculture researcher Dr. Yiannis Ampatzidis of the University of Florida’s Southwest Florida Research and Education Center in Immokalee. Using artificial intelligence, Ampatzidis can tell whether a watermelon is infected with downy mildew before the naked eye can see it. Ampatzidis and his team developed A-I “Sensing systems” to create plant “Signatures”. Drone used to fly over watermelon crops to search for downy mildew. (CREDIT: WINK News) “Think about it like a fingerprint. So we have these fingerprints, the signatures of the plant diseases, then we will going to be able to identify the disease, and again we’re going to target the early stage,” Ampatzidis said. This technology can be used in the lab and out on a farm. It is armed with a camera and sensing system, a drone flies over a farmer’s field. The researchers compare the data to a plant’s “Signature” and then tell a farmer whether the disease is present and exactly where. “And I welcome that because it’s gonna be a good tool that we can use in the future,” Chastain said. Chad Chastin is Ross Chastin’s brother. Ross is a two-time winner on the NASCAR circuit this year. The good news for all farmers is that researchers are working on bringing the cost down of their new technology. Right now it costs around $50,000. The hope is to get it to $3,000 to $5,000 so all farmers can use it very soon.