The March All In For Citrus podcast previews a couple of events coming in April and May that growers will want to mark on their calendars.
Michael Rogers, director of the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Citrus Research and Education Center (CREC), discusses the Florida Citrus Growers’ Institute scheduled for April 14 at South Florida State College in Avon Park. A presentation that will be given by Matt Smith, UF/IFAS Extension commercial crop production and food systems agent for Lake and Orange counties, will focus on new pesticide regulations related to the Endangered Species Act.
These regulations will apply to any pesticide applications, especially those in pesticide use limitation areas (PULAs). Rogers says this is a big change that comes with a lot of information, so Smith’s presentation is one growers and applicators will not want to miss.
Rogers also previews a workshop being held at CREC on May 19. It will take a deeper dive into these new regulations and PULAs. Both events will be available for pre-registration at the CREC website.
Rogers also takes a moment to congratulate CREC citrus breeders Fred Gmitter and Jude Grosser, who will be honored with a special CREC Professorship Award in April. The award has only been given to a handful of CREC scientists in the center’s more than 100-year history.
Gmitter and Grosser discuss the award and some of their more recent rootstock and variety selections. They say they are proud to be honored together, because they’ve worked as a team for many years at CREC.
After the freeze this year, citrus trees were rebounding and flushing nicely in March. Tripti Vashisth, CREC assistant director, joins the podcast to discuss demands this is putting on trees in terms of irrigation and fertilization needs. Irrigation is especially important as many areas in Florida continue to be suffering from significant drought.
Don’t miss the March episode of All In For Citrus. The podcast is a partnership between UF/IFAS and AgNet Media.
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