IMG Citrus Moving Forward With More CUPS

A Nov. 22 Lake County farm tour, hosted by University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension, included a visit to the 13-acre citrus under protective screen (CUPS) site owned by IMG Citrus. Located in Groveland, the facility consists of Ruby Red grapefruit on Swingle rootstock planted in May 2022.

Clint Updike, IMG citrus production manager, told farm tour attendees about the impressive production achieved in CUPS. “Trees are only two years old, but they are already yielding one box of fruit per tree,” he said. “I expect 1,000 boxes to the acre in the next five years. Outside of CUPS, our grapefruit production is 200 to 250 boxes per acre.”

Ninety percent of the CUPS fruit is shipped for fresh consumption, while the remainder goes to juice.

In addition to prevention of HLB and canker, other advantages attributed to the CUPS growing environment are the elimination of wind scar and less nitrogen use, said Updike.

Although the CUPS structure lost 90% of its roof to Hurricane Milton, trees and fruit did not sustain any damage. In comparison, Updike said IMG’s traditional groves suffered 75% fruit loss from the storm.

While the company awaits materials to replace the CUPS roof, Updike is taking proactive steps to prevent HLB-spreading psyllids from infecting trees. He is closely monitoring for the pests with sticky traps and spraying insecticide every 30 days. So far, no psyllids have been detected in the CUPS trees.

According to Updike, the biggest pest problem in CUPS is chilli thrips. Leafminers and mealybugs can also enter through the screen. All of these pests are controlled with insecticides.

IMG plans to add two new CUPs sites. The first one, at 25 acres, is nearing completion in Groveland. Grapefruit trees are expected to be planted by the end of this year. The CUPS will contain 375 trees per acre, a higher density than the 272 trees per acre in IMG’s original CUPS. The decision to increase the planting density was driven by the high cost ($45,000 per acre) to build the structure. Higher tree density allows for a quicker return on investment.

The other new CUPS site will be 10 acres in Vero Beach. Construction is expected to start in the spring.

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