A Conversation With SWFREC’s Director

Josh McGill All In For Citrus Podcast

Editor’s note: The September All In For Citrus podcast was recorded prior to Hurricane Ian’s impact on Florida. During the September All In For Citrus Podcast, Michael Burton discussed his recent move to Florida to become the new center director of the Southwest Florida Research and Education Center (SWFREC). Burton provided details on his background and shared his research priorities …

New SWFREC Director Named

Josh McGill Education, Industry News Release, Research

Michael Burton has been named the next director of the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Southwest Florida Research and Education Center (SWFREC). He’s scheduled to start at the Immokalee facility on July 1. Burton recently served for 17 months as proxy for the dean of Missouri State University’s William H. Darr College of Agriculture. He …

SWFREC Recognizes Growers During Farm-City Week

Ernie Neff Agriculture

Nov. 18-25 is National Farm-City Week, a time to recognize and honor the contributions of the country’s agriculturalists and to strengthen the bond between urban and rural citizens. The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Southwest Florida Research and Education Center (SWFREC) took the opportunity to recognize the agriculturists in its area. Some of its statements …

Research

Citrus Research at SWFREC

Ernie Neff HLB Management, Research

Southwest Florida Research and Education Center (SWFREC) Director Kelly Morgan provides an update on citrus research being conducted at the center. SWFREC is operated by the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS). Morgan says most of the research is “related to greening, but not all of it.” Greening is another term for huanglongbing (HLB), the citrus …

Jack Payne on New SWFREC Director

Abbey Taylor Research

By Jack Payne, jackpayne@ufl.edu, @JackPayneIFAS Kelly Morgan is a more reliable water source than rain is. You don’t know when or if you’ll get water from the sky, but what Morgan can teach you makes every drop you have go farther. His focus on the farmer as customer is what has made him so successful as the state’s best management …

morgan

Kelly Morgan Named New SWFREC Director

Daniel Cooper Industry News Release, Research

By Jack Payne I am pleased to announce that Kelly Morgan will be the next director of the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Southwest Florida Research and Education Center (SWFREC). He will assume leadership of the center on August 1. Under the current leadership of Calvin Arnold, who  is retiring, SWFREC has enjoyed a fresh …

online

Find UF/IFAS Citrus Resources Online

Daniel Cooper Education, Tip of the Week

By Michael E. Rogers Were you unable to attend a recent University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) event and want to hear what you missed? Many past presentations are available online. The UF/IFAS Citrus Research Website archives presentations made by UF/IFAS faculty at various meetings across the state. These can be found by scrolling down and …

oxytetracycline

Tips for Trunk Injection of Oxytetracycline

Daniel Cooper HLB Management, Tip of the Week

By Ute Albrecht and Ozgur Batuman Follow these important tips for proper trunk injection of oxytetracycline as a citrus therapeutic. APPLICATION TIMING INJECTION TECHNIQUE ADDITIONAL ADVICE Ute Albrecht (ualbrecht@ufl.edu) and Ozgur Batuman (obatuman@ufl.edu) are associate professors at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Southwest Florida Research and Education Center in Immokalee. Sponsored Content5 Facts About Fire …

Scouting Tools and Tactics

Tacy Callies CEU

By Matt Smith Editor’s note: This article grants one continuing education unit (CEU) in the Core category toward the renewal of a Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services restricted-use pesticide license when the accompanying test is submitted and approved. This article is an updated version of a previous article, “Scouting: The Tip of the IPM Spear,” published in the …

Steam Aids Herbicide in Goat Weed Control

Tacy Callies weeds

Using steam and a low dose of herbicide helped control goat weed in citrus better than a higher dose of herbicide, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) researchers found. Goat weed, which poses major challenges for citrus, is found throughout the Southeast — from Texas, east to South Carolina and south to Florida. “It produces many …

New AgTech Expo Looks at Rapidly Moving Sector

Tacy Callies Events, Technology

The Gulf Citrus Growers Association and the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Southwest Florida Research and Education Center presented the Florida AgTech and AI Expo in Punta Gorda on Dec. 14. The event showcased emerging trends in technology and how some farms are putting ag technology to work in the real world. In addition to …

Florida citrus

IPCs on More Than a Million Florida Citrus Trees

Daniel Cooper IPCs

As recently as five years ago, Florida citrus growers did not routinely put individual protective covers (IPCs) on their trees as part of their grove management. Now, the mesh IPCs cover at least 1 million trees on about 17,000 acres, mostly thanks to experimentation by University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) researcher Fernando Alferez. IPCs keep …

Research Update on Oxytetracycline Injection for HLB Management

Josh McGill HLB Management, Research

By Ute Albrecht The German scientist Paul Ehrlich pioneered the research for “magic bullets” — chemicals that could kill a microorganism but did not harm the patient. He also coined the term “chemotherapy” and paved the way for developing synthetic drugs. The first synthetic antibiotic (the first sulfa-type antibiotic) to successfully treat human bacterial diseases without major side effects was …

Citrus Gets Sasse’s Attention

Josh McGill Citrus, Florida

By J. Scott Angle, jangle@ufl.edu, @IFAS_VP Citrus has the attention of new University of Florida President (UF) Ben Sasse. That bodes well for UF’s continued commitment to the industry. Ag TourIt started on June 3, when I took the president on a 28-hour tour of Florida agriculture. It included a stop at the Southwest Florida Research and Education Center in …

Capitalize on Cooperative Research

Josh McGill Research, Tip of the Week

By Larry Duncan The growers advising the Citrus Research and Development Foundation understand very well the importance of cooperative research projects between growers and scientists. Several years ago, they earmarked a portion of research funding, not for carefully managed laboratory experiments or small plot trials at state, federal or private research centers, but rather for grower-run trials testing potential HLB …

Economists Study Cover Crops in Citrus

Josh McGill Cover Crops, Research

Economists with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) recently published two studies about the adoption of cover crops in citrus. One looked at the economic feasibility of cover crop adoption for citrus growers. The other looked at the preferences and willingness of growers to incorporate cover crops into their production practices. The studies were conducted …

Integrating Use of Organic Soil Amendments and Weed Management

Josh McGill Soil Health, weeds

By Ute Albrecht, Ankit Pokhrel, Sarah Strauss and Ramdas Kanissery The soils in most Florida citrus production areas are sandy. They have less than 1% organic matter and a low cation exchange capacity (CEC). This makes them prone to nutrient leaching, especially after heavy rainfall events in the summer. HUMIC SUBSTANCESOne way to improve soils is by amending them with …

Can Brassinosteroids Help Citrus Cope With Disease and Extreme Weather?

Josh McGill Diseases, Research, Weather

By Fernando Alferez and Muhammad A. Shahid Brassinosteroids (BRs) are a natural group of hormones that regulate physiological and biochemical attributes that include seed germination, flower development, root formation and resistance to various abiotic and biotic stresses. BRs have shown promise in reducing pests and diseases in a wide range of plants, including citrus. A commercial formulation of BRs has …

Top 10 Best Practices for Trunk Injection

Josh McGill HLB Management, Tip of the Week

By Ute Albrecht Replicated field studies have demonstrated positive effects of oxytetracycline administered by trunk injection to manage HLB. In October 2022, a 24(c) special local need label was approved that allows the use of this technology in Florida, and final clearance was given in January.  When practicing trunk injection, it is important to do so properly and to be …

Effects of Compost and Organic Amendments on Weed Control

Josh McGill Research, weeds

By Ramdas Kanissery and Mahesh Bashyal Using compost and soil amendments is beneficial to Florida citrus groves. Florida soils are sandy and have a low organic matter and cation exchange capacity. Adding compost and organic amendments (e.g., humic acid) can enhance the soil’s ability to retain water and nutrients. These practices can also boost soil microbial activity and improve soil …