The 2023 Florida Grower Citrus Show, presented by AgNet Media, will be held April 13 in Fort Pierce. The show has a new venue this year — the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Indian River Research and Education Center (IRREC) and the adjacent U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Horticultural Research Laboratory.
“We invite growers and the public so that we can share our researchers’ meaningful work with them, said Ronald Cave, IRREC director. “We thank AgNet Media and their work to gain sponsors so that the show may be offered at no cost to our local growers.”
New to the 77th annual show are sessions for vegetable producers. Also new is an outdoor tailgate-style, tented trade show in the parking lots between the two buildings. Scientific educational presentations will be delivered in meeting rooms at the UF/IFAS and USDA facilities.
A cookout luncheon will be served under the shade of oak trees. During the luncheon, USDA researcher Scott Adkins will present a canine trained to detect crop diseases.
Sandra Guzmán, assistant professor, will lead the UF/IFAS educational presentations. “We invite all local vegetable growers to attend,” she said.
A UF/IFAS presentation will focus on research in the Millennium Block, an active experimental grove in which more than 5,500 citrus trees are under study to determine which new rootstocks will tolerate HLB. Other topics will include plant nutrition and methods to manage HLB.
Guzmán said that while citrus remains the state’s signature crop, vegetable production is equally important as Florida is the nation’s winter produce production region. UF/IFAS and USDA researchers work directly with local vegetable producers.
Erin Rosskopf, interim director of the U.S. Horticultural Research Laboratory, said USDA staff has always contributed to citrus talks at the Florida Grower Citrus Show. “But this year we are excited to serve as co-hosts and to have both our citrus and vegetable research included,” she said.
The show will open with breakfast and networking from 8 to 9 a.m. Other activities are:
- Trade show: 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- General session: 9 to 11 a.m.
- Tailgate luncheon: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Concurrent citrus and vegetable sessions: 2 to 4 p.m.
Register for the show here.
Source: UF/IFAS
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