The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Indian River Research and Education Center (IRREC) will host its annual Millennium Block Field Day Nov. 6 from 9 a.m. to noon. The field day will showcase the center’s emphasis on research to find a solution to citrus greening disease.
The IRREC is located at 2199 South Rock Road in Fort Pierce. Registration for the field day may be completed here; attendance is free.
The field day will feature a guided tour across the 20-acre experimental plot, which includes 5,500 trees. During the tour, attendees will see the best-performing trees with fruit still hanging. Data from the last season will be shared. Participants may also taste and evaluate grapefruit from the best performing trees.
The Millennium Block includes various citrus varieties in four research trials, one including 18 grapefruit and three commercial rootstocks. The other three trials have 32 rootstocks grafted with Ray Ruby grapefruit, Glenn Navel sweet orange and UF-950 mandarin. The objective is to identify potential citrus greening tolerance in various scion and rootstock combinations and to evaluate their stress tolerance.
For the past six years, the Millennium Block has been a key tool in citrus greening research. After seven years, researchers will release results about varieties that show promise for tolerance to citrus greening.
The Fort Pierce area is known for its grapefruit production. This Millennium Block is the most comprehensive grapefruit variety trial in Florida, with selections from the UF/IFAS and U.S. Department of Agriculture breeding programs.
The Millennium Block name emerged for the first time in 1999–2000 to mark the 21st Century. The Millennium Block grove was pushed in 2005 due to a plant pathogen ruling. It was prepared for a new citrus research planting in 2016, and the first new citrus varieties were planted in 2019.
Source: UF/IFAS
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