By Jamie Burrow and Ruth Borger
Over the last several months, the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) citrus team has been preparing for the annual Citrus & Specialty Crop Expo. The excitement is in the air as many faculty are preparing seminar presentations on valuable information that growers may use today to support their operations. Along with preparing presentations, many faculty and staff are working together to bring the latest information to the UF/IFAS citrus booth.
For more than a decade, the UF/IFAS citrus booth has been in the center of the Expo’s exhibit hall. This year, the location is no different, but there is a wide variety of new information.
Looking for information on managing pests and diseases? A brand new, monthly, easy-to-read chart has been created showing the seasonal populations of the most common insects and mites in Florida citrus. The disease management timing schedule has been revised and now includes phytophthora and algal spot.
Have you been hearing about plant growth regulator applications but not certain what they do? A fruit crop timeline showing how gibberellic acid applications can help in growing citrus will be a resource you don’t want to miss. All these new materials are a great resource for making grove management decisions.
Along with all the new resources, the standard favorites such as the 2022–2023 Florida Citrus Production Guide, revised informational sheets and the Florida Citrus Nutrition Guide will be available. For a second year, UF/IFAS is providing an updated Keeping Florida Growers Informed: Citrus Research Summaries publication. This publication provides brief, concise descriptions of more than 80 current UF/IFAS research projects. In addition to updates on projects included in last year’s publication, this year it includes over 40 new project summaries.
Not only can you pick up the latest information, but you can also participate in various hands-on activities. There will be opportunities to view live samples of pests and diseases, along with samples of cover crops, an herbicide demonstration, oak mulch trial samples and more.
Growers should make plans to visit the booth as it has been redesigned with new exhibits focusing on management strategies in all aspects of growing citrus. Come by and get the latest information and visit with UF/IFAS faculty and staff.
Jamie Burrow is an Extension program manager, and Ruth Borger is a communications specialist, both at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Citrus Research and Education Center in Lake Alfred.
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