The Citrus Expo team and the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) have joined forces to offer educational sessions in a virtual format for this year’s Citrus Expo.
On Aug. 19–20, the 2020 seminar program will debut online at CitrusExpo.net at 9:30 a.m. Attendees will be able to watch videos of research presentations.
With safety as a top priority, it was apparent that a virtual event would be the most suitable option for attendees and presenters. UF/IFAS presenters are finalizing their presentations and recording them to ensure the information is accessible to growers.
“We want to make sure that we are reaching out to our clientele, our stakeholders with the most updated science,” says Tripti Vashisth, a UF/IFAS assistant professor of horticultural sciences. She organized the educational sessions prior to the cancellation of the in-person 2020 Citrus Expo.
According to Vashisth, this year’s event will feature a very balanced seminar session with information coming from every area of citrus production.
“We have quite a bit of focus on rootstocks, soil health and root disease management, because we understand that we need to improve our production practices in that area and we have a lot of new information coming out in that field,” Vashisth says.
Other topics being discussed will include pest management options for the Asian citrus psyllid and other emerging Florida pests, tree care considerations, individual protective covers, new citrus varieties being used for orange juice blends and more.
By watching the virtual sessions, growers will have the opportunity to earn continuing education units (CEUs) toward the Florida restricted-use pesticide license and the Certified Crop Adviser designation.
See the complete seminar schedule of Citrus Expo speakers and topics and preregister here.
This interview with Vashisth is part of the July All In For Citrus podcast, a joint venture of UF/IFAS and AgNet Media. Listen to the full podcast here.
Ashley Robinson, AgNet Media communications intern, wrote this article.