Tripti Vashisth, associate professor of horticultural sciences with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS), has been studying the use of plant growth regulators (PGRs) to improve citrus tree health and fruit retention for several years now. Her work has culminated into a systems approach of when to use a particular PGR at a certain time for a desired effect.
Vashisth joined the All In For Citrus podcast recently to discuss her research. She spoke about how cytokinins, gibberellic acid and other auxins are a sustainable approach that can perform as well as oxytetracycline (OTC) when applied correctly at the right time. She also noted these materials can be tank-mixed with other products, making the applications more efficient and cost-effective. The use of PGRs will be especially helpful when growers must take a year off from applying OTC per label requirements.
“We are applying the cytokinins with the spring flush with some calcium nitrate,” Vashisth said. “Then we had gibberellins applied in the summer with some nutritional products and potassium nitrate to enhance the fruit quality. With a good irrigation regime, we found excellent results. We saw improvements in yield by 50 pounds more fruit per tree in the first year, which I think is remarkable. Even though I have been working with PGRs for a number of years, getting that response in the first year is beautiful.”
In this trial, Vashisth was using a cytokinin product that is not currently labeled for citrus, but she is currently working on its registration. The product is called Sitofex.
“This is very potent cytokinin, so I am really excited about getting this labeled for use in citrus,” she said.
To learn more about maximizing the use of PGRs in citrus, don’t miss the April episode of All In For Citrus. The podcast is a partnership between UF/IFAS and AgNet Media.
Share this Post
About the Author
