Freeze protection is a vital part of university research in the cold-hardy citrus region. Growers in South Georgia, South Alabama and North Florida only have to look back to last season to see temperatures that dropped to dangerously low levels for citrus production.
Mary Sutton, University of Georgia (UGA) assistant professor and citrus Extension specialist, discussed freeze-protection measures at the Southeast Georgia Citrus Update in Lyons on July 28.
“Especially when talking to folks trying to establish a new orchard, my biggest advice is when you design your irrigation system, design it with freeze protection in mind,” Sutton said. “Think about how long you might have to run that irrigation during the winter, because that’s the only time you might be running your irrigation 24/7 for a whole week. You need to make sure your well is up to capacity for that.”
Sutton plans to study freeze-protection strategies more closely this year. She said irrigation is the preferred method, though additional options are available.
“Irrigation is by far the most popular. People use it on every age of tree and all different types of citrus. I’m starting to see more and more folks use Tree T-PEEs or Tree Defenders in young trees. I haven’t personally worked with those yet to know how well they’re working. My go-to is still irrigation,” Sutton said.
“Something we will be starting this winter is looking at different freeze-protection methods. When we’ve evaluated freeze protection, it’s just what the grower’s already doing. When we’re comparing methods, it’s usually between very different operations. We’re hoping to be able to compare all of those methods in one central location. That way we can really start figuring out what works well or what doesn’t.”
Whatever method cold-hardy citrus growers use to protect their crops, it is vital that they do so. Temperatures get cold enough to have an adverse effect on trees long-term.
“Even in some of our milder years, we still get down to 28 degrees or sometimes even lower. It’s something we have to learn to live with,” Sutton said.
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