Growers won’t want to miss the May All In For Citrus podcast. This episode addresses concerns about bactericide use in citrus, includes an interview with Scott Angle, director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture, and provides a summary of citrus under protective screen research.
First, Michael Rogers, Citrus Research and Education Center director, focuses on recent media coverage, mostly negative, about antibiotic use in citrus. He talks about the safety measures in use for antibiotics, commonly referred to as bactericides, which many have used as a tool against HLB and tells why the University of Florida Institute of Food d Agricultural Sciences has no guidelines for antibiotic use.
Rogers also reminds growers to plan on attending Citrus Expo Aug. 14–15 in North Fort Myers, Florida. Pre-registration for the 2019 Citrus Expo opens on June 1. All pre-registered growers will automatically be entered for a chance to win a John Deere gun safe, courtesy of Everglades Equipment Group.
Next in the podcast, listeners will hear from Scott Angle, director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Angle took his seat as director in October 2018, and one of his first visits was to Florida. During the interview, originally conducted by the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences communications team, he discusses some of the things he saw and his hopes for the future.
Lastly, in May’s All In For Citrus Podcast, Arnold Schumann, professor of soil science at the Citrus Research and Education Center, reports on his five years of research into citrus under protective screen (CUPS) for fresh fruit. He says CUPS, used to exclude the psyllids that spread HLB, requires a different production system than conventional outdoor growing systems but offers excellent yield and fruit quality. Schumann discusses the startup and ongoing production costs for CUPS and shares his optimism that growers can be profitable with CUPS.
Listen to the latest episode of the All In For Citrus podcast.