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News for citrus growers around the globe
Miss Florida Michaela McLean of Clermont loves Florida orange juice. “I don’t have a choice,” she says with a laugh. After all, she comes from a fifth- generation citrus family. Her father is Ben McLean III, a board member of the Citrus Research and Development Foundation. She has helped customers in her grandfather Benny McLean’s u-pick grove and rung up …
In a recent letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), California Citrus Mutual (CCM) expressed concern over China’s 2017 request to export citrus to the United States. The request is undergoing evaluation by the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). In 2014, APHIS proposed to allow China to export citrus fruits to the United States if all …
By Tacy Callies The average age of principal farm operators in Florida is 60, according to the 2018 State Agricultural Overview for Florida published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. As current growers approach retirement age, who is going to step in to fill their role? This is a question that’s often asked in Florida citrus, especially given the industry’s …
Amid ongoing struggles in Florida’s citrus industry, the Florida Department of Citrus appears to be turning attention to studying orange juice consumption. The department said Tuesday it is looking for three separate studies that would assess various aspects of orange juice consumption, including how it can affect people’s moods when drinking it as a snack. According to a bid notice, …
Citrus Research and Education Center Director Michael Rogers discusses a recent Florida visit by some U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) administrators who make the decisions on how millions of dollars in farm bill citrus research money are allocated. He explains that the visit was very valuable for the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) officials because they got to …
Production levels and techniques as well as citrus marketing were topics at a recent Peace River Valley Citrus Growers Association roundtable meeting in Wauchula. Executive Director Kait Shaw summarizes the discussion. “I think a lot of the growers felt that it had been a pretty good year,” Shaw says. “Things are starting to look up from greening.” She says growers …
University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences researcher Rhuanito “Johnny” Ferrarezi reports on research leading to fertilizer recommendations for grapefruit, especially in the Indian River area. Grapefruit has been especially hard hit by HLB, the devastating citrus disease discovered in Florida in 2005. “We are entering the second season (of the research project) and we hope to have …
By Tripti Vashisth, Lisa Tang and Sukhdeep Singh In citrus, huanglongbing (HLB) causes an increase in the mature fruit drop rate up to three months prior to commercial harvest. This preharvest fruit drop results in a great reduction in yield and overall grove productivity. Since the plant growth regulators that improve fruit retention on healthy trees do not have consistent …
By Ernie Neff It’s common belief — and probably true — that small Florida citrus growers have suffered more than larger growers as a result of HLB. Del Murphy might agree, but his family’s 66-acre citrus grove east of Avon Park is doing well by any Florida standard. He says the Murphy Partnership production program seems to be working “as …
Southwest Florida Research and Education Center (SWFREC) Director Kelly Morgan provides an update on citrus research being conducted at the center. SWFREC is operated by the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS). Morgan says most of the research is “related to greening, but not all of it.” Greening is another term for huanglongbing (HLB), the citrus …
“A bigger gorilla by far than HLB, going into the future, is slumping market demand for citrus products from Florida and apparently from other producing areas in the United States as well,” declares Apopka citrus grower Chip Henry of McGuire Groves. He believes the decline in demand for Florida citrus products is related to HLB reducing fruit quality. “Consumers are …
Sixty-eight people attended the third annual Citrus Youth Day at Lake Alfred’s Citrus Research and Education Center (CREC) on June 27. Jamie Burrow, Extension program manager with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, says the CREC faculty and staff “get, I think, just as excited as the kids. So we really have a good time, even …
Recent University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) research shows that HLB-spreading psyllids can feed on weeds, and that good weed control can increase fruit yield. The research results were presented by UF/IFAS weed scientist Ramdas Kanissery, who works at the Southwest Florida Research and Education Center (SWFREC) in Immokalee. Kanissery said his work on psyllids feeding …
Researchers with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) are already trying to help growers figure out how to effectively manage the problems created by an invasive pest – confirmed last week in Highlands County — that could further erode citrus production at a time when growers are just beginning to turn the corner on managing …
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) Division of Plant Industry issued an updated pest alert for lebbeck mealybug. Laurie Hurner, Highlands County Extension director, says this pest and its damage have been found in Highlands County citrus. “It has been misidentified as cottony cushion scale,” says Hurner. “It has been found in young trees under net and …
By Brenda Eubanks Burnette While some things stay the same in citrus, others clearly do not. Today’s growers are experimenting with drones and other technology in the grove, but back in the 1920s, bushel baskets were making waves in the industry. Here’s an interesting excerpt from a March 1921 Citrus Industry article titled “Citrus Fruits in Bushel Baskets” by M.S. …
Hardee County orange grower Kenny Sanders said at a grower roundtable meeting on June 25 that he produced 409 boxes per acre in the 2018–19 Florida citrus season. “This is the best year financially I’ve ever had in the citrus business,” Sanders said at the Wauchula gathering hosted by Peace River Valley Citrus Growers Association. “In 2012, I picked 500 …
Best Practices Developed by Grower-Led, Science-Supported Task Force To provide California citrus growers with a strong toolbox of science-supported strategies and tactics to protect their orchards from huanglongbing (HLB), the Citrus Pest & Disease Prevention Committee endorsed a set of best practices for growers to voluntarily employ in response to HLB in California. The recommendations — which were developed based …
University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) plant pathologist Ozgur Batuman discusses efforts to get materials that fight HLB into the citrus tree’s phloem, where it might be most effective. Batuman explains that bacteria that cause HLB “live inside the phloem of citrus. That is very difficult to reach to kill … by conventional methods, such as …
Four articles on grove management will give citrus growers food for thought in the July issue of Citrus Industry magazine. The first article tells how one grower handles HLB. Del Murphy discusses production practices that have helped him cope with the disease. Bactericides, irrigation and nutrition management are among the topics he addresses. The second article is for growers who …
