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Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Research”
By Kirsten S. Pelz-Stelinski and Lukasz L. Stelinski Managing Asian citrus psyllids (ACP) remains a consideration for growers because psyllids transmit the citrus greening disease pathogen, Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas), to newly planted trees. There are several tools that can reduce psyllid populations or mitigate the symptoms of HLB and improve the health of infected trees. However, additional methods that …
The Fruit Crop Physiology Lab at the North Florida Research and Education Center (NFREC) in Quincy is focused on developing a sustainable and profitable cold-hardy citrus industry in the southern United States. To do that, it is conducting research-driven Extension projects. The NFREC is part of the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS). The lab collaborates …
By Danielle Leal During a recent trip to Washington, D.C., California Citrus Mutual (CCM) representatives visited with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and members of Congress to outline several citrus industry priorities and secure funding for research. CCM President and Chief Executive Officer Casey Creamer announced during the 2022 California Citrus Conference that the Citrus Research Board received funding from …
By Homan Regmi, Larry Duncan and Johan Desaeger Two field trials were initiated in a Polk County, Florida, commercial grove of 15-month-old Valencia on Kuharske trees in 2019 to measure the effectiveness of integrated pest management (IPM) tactics for managing sting nematodes (Belonolaimus longicaudatus). Six chemical nematicides, many newly released, were compared in one trial. In the second, perennial peanut …
The Citrus Research and Field Trial Foundation (CRAFT) is accepting applications online for Cycle 4 of the program. All applications must be received no later than 5 p.m. on Nov. 30, 2022. CRAFT Cycle 4 will continue the practice established in Cycles 1–3 of partnering with Florida citrus growers to evaluate the effectiveness and economic feasibility of various HLB mitigation …
The Citrus Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) was able to hold its September board of directors meeting just prior to Hurricane Ian. During the meeting, CRDF awarded funding for Cycle Four of the Citrus Research and Field Trial (CRAFT) program. This will allow for another round of investments in grower-led research projects. “Kristen Carlson, Tamara Wood, the Technical Working Group …
Southeast farmers and ranchers may apply for producer grants from the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education program from the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Producer grants give farmers and ranchers the opportunity to conduct their own two-year research projects to develop sustainable production and marketing practices. They are funded at up to $15,000 for …
By Arnold Schumann, Laura Waldo, Chris Oswalt, Napoleon Mariner, Timothy Ebert, Perseveranca Mungofa, Shankar Shrestha and Laura Cano-Castro Florida grapefruit production for the 2021–22 season was 92% less than in 2003–04, which was prior to the arrival of huanglongbing (HLB) disease [Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service, (USDA NASS)]. The decrease in Florida tangerine production for the …
At 200 boxes per acre, cover crops can be profitable in Valencia orange production, according to a Citrus & Specialty Crop Expo presentation. Tara Wade and Shourish Chakravarty prepared the presentation. Wade is an assistant professor, and Chakravarty is a post-doctoral associate, both at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Southwest Florida Research and Education Center. …
Researchers at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) have discovered new, natural sweeteners in citrus for the first time. This finding opens opportunities for the food industry to produce food and beverages with lower sugar content and lower calories while maintaining sweetness and taste using natural products. Yu Wang, associate professor of food science at …
By J. Scott Angle, jangle@ufl.edu, @IFAS_VP Just as HLB can affect fruit flavor, so can our numerous innovations to manage HLB. Yu Wang works to make sure our solutions are sweet. When the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) hired her as a flavor chemist seven years ago, Wang worked primarily with breeders. Her objective was …
By Jawwad A. Qureshi and Salman Al-Shami The citrus under protective screen (CUPS, Figure 1) system is designed so citrus can grow inside screened enclosures to protect it from huanglongbing (HLB) and the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP, Diaphorina citri). ACP is the primary vector of the pathogen responsible for causing HLB, known as citrus greening disease. This vector-pathogen combination is …
By Fernando Alferez, Daniel Boakye, Susmita Gaire and Tim Gast Growing citrus under protective screen (CUPS) structures for fresh fruit production is effective in controlling HLB disease by completely excluding the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP, Diaphorina citri). After several years of research on CUPS to grow HLB-free trees in Florida, and with commercial growers increasingly adopting this technology, there is …
The Citrus Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) board of directors gathered for its August meeting. Its first order of business was a review of an auditor’s report. “I’m pleased to report there were no findings. A clean audit is always good news,” said Rick Dantzler, chief operating officer of CRDF. The board dedicated time to the budget, analyzing funds available …
All commercial citrus producers in California are invited to apply for participation in the Citrus Research Board’s (CRB) California-focused Citrus Research and Field Trials (CA-CRaFT) project. The overarching goal of CA-CRaFT is to demonstrate the effects of additional mitigations on Asian citrus psyllid control within commercial citrus groves across the various citrus-growing regions in California. The project is supported by …
By Bryony C. Bonning and Lukasz L. Stelinski Asian citrus psyllids (ACP) transfer the pathogen that causes citrus greening from plant to plant as they feed. After confirmation of citrus greening in Florida in 2005, growers intensified their use of insecticides against ACP to try to stop disease spread. However, this method alone has yielded variable success and increased costs. …
By Michael Rogers As we approach a new citrus-growing season, the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) researchers and Extension agents working throughout the state renew their focus on finding solutions that growers can use in the short term to sustain their operations. While we value our longer-term research projects, efforts that provide tangible applications that …
During this summer’s Florida Citrus Industry Annual Conference, Matthew Mattia, a post-doctoral associate with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), discussed his work to identify the origins of the Donaldson citrus variety. The variety is a single tree on the USDA A.H. Whitmore Foundation Farm near Groveland, Florida. Mattia was the first to discover the tree on the farm in …
A Fundecitrus study found that the first four stages of orange tree shoot development are the ones that should be most protected against HLB-spreading psyllids. The Brazilian association reported that among the six stages of shoot development, the first four (V1 to V4) are the most attractive to the psyllid and favorable for its feeding and reproduction. Therefore, those are …
The Citrus Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) board of directors spent much of its monthly meeting in July considering recommendations from the foundation’s research management committee (RMC). TRACKING TREESThe RMC recommended that a request for proposals be put forth to create an inventory of all germplasm existing in field trials from the plant breeding programs CRDF has helped to fund. …
