The next harvest season may still be months away for Florida citrus growers, but management remains a weekly duty. That involves a plethora of chores for grove owners this summer, says Matt Smith, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension agent for Lake and Orange counties.
“Growers definitely need to keep irrigation in mind. And of course, now that we have rain starting to come back in, fungal pressure is going to start kicking back up again, and you’ll see mite pressure decreasing,” Smith said. “Summer is definitely more about feed them, fight off the fungus and cross your fingers for September.”
Florida’s drought continues to be significant. According to the June 18 release of the U.S. Drought Monitor, exceptional drought conditions in North Florida are only observed in parts of Dixie, Gilchrist, Columbia, Suwannee, Lafayette, Taylor, Wakulla, Liberty, Franklin, Madison and Hamilton counties. Extreme drought still extends from Gulf and Franklin counties eastward to Nassau, Duval, Clay and Putnam counties. Extreme drought also is reported along the west coast, starting in Hernando and Pasco counties, southward to Sarasota and Charlotte counties.
Moderate and severe drought conditions are reported throughout most of Florida, including in Lake and Orange counties where Smith serves growers.
“We’re still pretty dry. We’ve been fortunate that there’s been a high pressure parked over the Atlantic for a while, and it has caused a bit of a stronger sea breeze from the Atlantic. So, the line where storms pop up has been pushed a little further west in the peninsula. So, my growers over in Lake County started getting a bit more rain,” Smith said.
Prolonged dry periods could impact citrus production if growers are not applying sufficient moisture through irrigation.
“Trees definitely have a water need this time of year. Irrigation needs are a little different because usually trees are supplied with a good amount of water this time of year, and you just water as needed. But with this year, it has been our worst drought in probably 20 years. It has been a little trickier,” Smith said.
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