August signals that the Citrus & Specialty Crop Expo is soon to come! The August issue of Specialty Crop Grower magazine previews the show growers look forward to every year. The not-to-be-missed event takes place Aug. 20–21 at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa.
In the Citrus Industry section of the magazine, growers can get an update on the progress of gene-edited citrus varieties under development that are showing strong tolerance to HLB. Nian Wang, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences professor, shares details on the Valencia and Hamlin varieties showing the greatest promise. He also discusses regulatory approval and the expected timeline for availability. Don’t miss the digital edition of the August issue for a simple explanation of how CRISPR, the gene-editing technique used to develop the new varieties, works.
At this year’s Florida Citrus Industry Annual Conference, growers heard presentations focused on the HLB fight. Specialty Crop Grower Editor-in-Chief Frank Giles provides summaries of some of the key talks from the event. Senator Ben Albritton was honored at the conference with the 2025 Citrus Achievement Award. Be sure to see the video in the August digital edition of the magazine for more on Albritton.
One of the speakers from the conference, David Sumner, spoke about his new book, “The Rise, Fall, and Future of Florida Citrus.” Check out the digital edition, which features video coverage of Sumner discussing his work.
Also included in this issue if a report on the historic level of citrus funding allocated to Florida. The Florida citrus industry received even more positive news with the recent announcement of a state block grant to assist growers with hurricane recovery efforts. Read more on the block grant in the Up Front column.
Other citrus columns in the August issue of Specialty Crop Grower are Citrus Nursery Source, UF/IFAS Citrus State, The Buzzz and Pieces of the Past (video included!).
Subscribe to the digital or printed magazine here.
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