Citrus growers need both quantity and quality for a successful crop. As HLB continues to negatively impact both these factors, growers are seeking strategies to safeguard their fruit. The October issue of Citrus Industry magazine presents ideas for enhancing fruit quality and quantity.
University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) researchers Tripti Vashisth and Christopher Vincent discuss ways to reduce HLB-associated preharvest fruit drop. Their article includes advice on irrigation, transpiration and application of gibberellic acid.
Parson Brown oranges appear to be more tolerant of HLB than other oranges. Gary England and Manjul Dutt of UF/IFAS are working to discover why this is. Their article examines the history of Parson Brown and how this variety could prove useful to growers in the future.
Another idea that has been presented to enhance the quality of citrus is blending Sugar Belle mandarin juice with traditional orange juice. A team of UF/IFAS researchers led by Yu Wang has found that consumers rank blended juice higher than orange juice in taste tests. Read more about the research in their October Citrus Industry article.
Understanding bloom and fruit set requirements are keys to improving mandarin crops. Fernando Alferez, Fred Gmitter and Jude Grosser of UF/IFAS shed light on this topic in their article. Find out how withholding water and the use of gibberellins can affect bloom and fruit set.
These articles and more are all included in the October issue of Citrus Industry magazine, arriving soon. Get a free subscription to the magazine here.
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