wage

Senators Call for Freeze on H-2A Wage Rate

Daniel Cooper Labor, Legislative

Sixteen U.S. senators recently introduced a bill to revert the H-2A program’s adverse effect wage rate (AEWR) to the December 2023 rate through the end of the 2025 growing season. Two of the senators who introduced the Supporting Farm Operations Act of 2024 are from citrus-producing states — Rick Scott of Florida and John Cornyn of Texas. A majority of …

Critical Minerals Bill Seeks to Secure Fertilizer Supplies

Josh McGill Legislative, Nutrition

Four members of Congress have introduced a bill to include phosphate and potash on the final List of Critical Minerals of the U.S. Department of the Interior. The U.S. representatives are Kat Cammack of Florida, Barry Moore of Alabama, Elissa Slotkin of Michigan and Jimmy Panetta of California. “A nation that cannot feed itself is not secure,” Cammack said. “Without …

Nutrient Application Rates Bill Signed Into Law

Josh McGill Legislative, Nutrition

Florida Citrus Mutual Executive Vice President/CEO Mathew Joyner announced that Gov. Ron DeSantis signed SB 1000, the Nutrient Application Rates bill. Joyner called SB 1000 “a critical piece of legislation.” See the full text of the new law here. The law takes effect July 1. “Sponsored by Senator Ben Albritton and Representative Lawrence McClure, the bill had previously passed both …

Consequences of Skyrocketing Fertilizer Prices

Josh McGill Economics, Nutrition

By Ariel Singerman and Stephen H. Futch Chemical input prices have increased significantly over the last year. In particular, the price of fertilizer has roughly doubled during the last 12 months, as denoted by Figure 1. Figure 1. Producer Price Index of Nitrogenous Fertilizer Manufacturing Source: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Supply and demand factors help explain such an …

Fertilizer Price Spike Highest Since Great Recession

Josh McGill Economics, Regulation

During January’s Southeast Regional Fruit & Vegetable Conference in Savannah, Georgia, Daniel Tregeagle, an Extension economist with North Carolina State University, gave a presentation on economic and regulatory trends impacting citrus and specialty crop growers. MODEST MARKET GROWTHThe biggest blip on the proverbial economic radar has been COVID-19 and its continuing effects. Tregeagle noted these impacts mostly will be transient, …

Making Sense of Biologicals – Biofertilizers: Improving Nutrition in Citrus Trees

Tacy Callies MSOB, Nutrition

Citrus greening disease appears to be a problem for the foreseeable future for Florida growers. But what if growers could improve nutrition so trees could better cope with the disease? Scientists at Douglas Plant Health believe biofertilizers have that capability. “Think about it from a human health standpoint,” says Marcus Jones, vice president of research and development at Douglas Plant …

Grower Sees Steady Production Without Chemical Fertilizer

Tacy Callies HLB Management

By Owen “Sonny” Conner The two greatest challenges of the last 20 years, for me as a citrus grower, have been HLB and foreign competition depressing prices. Citrus growers had never faced a disease threat even approaching the devastating effects HLB has had on the industry. It was the industry killer we all feared would one day raise its ugly …

Avoid Salt-Out of Liquid Fertilizers

Tacy Callies Tip of the Week

By Ajia Paolillo The use of liquid fertilizers in citrus production has increased over the years. Liquid fertilizers offer the grower a way of applying frequent doses of fertilizer to trees to optimize nutrient efficiency. Now that the winter months are here with cooler weather and some cold nights, growers may face the issue of liquid fertilizer salting-out in the …

Nutrition: Get the Rate Right

Ernie Neff Nutrition

Davie Kadyampakeni emphasized the importance of the four Rs of good nutrition of HLB-affected orange trees, with a heavy focus on the “right rate” of nutrient use. The other three Rs are right time, right placement and right source of nutrient applications. Kadyampakeni, a University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences researcher, discussed nutrition at this year’s virtual …

TCP Might Help Trees Tolerate HLB

Ernie Neff HLB Management, Nutrition

Laboratory tests of tricalcium phosphate (TCP) indicate it has potential use as a fertilizer that might help citrus growers cope with HLB, says Laura Waldo, a University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) laboratory manager. “The hope is that it can help a tree by inducing root hair development and thereby allowing the tree to uptake nutrients …

Strategies for Stronger Roots

Tacy Callies Root health

Citrus growers discuss production practices to improve root health. By Tacy Callies What began as an experiment in Ben Krupski’s 10-acre grove in Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida, is now a common practice he uses as production manager for Lennon Grove Service. Four years ago, Krupski started testing the use of compost in his small leased block of Hamlin trees. In the first …

HLB

Grower Discusses HLB Management Strategies

Ernie Neff HLB Management, Psyllids

Jim Snively, vice president of grove operations at Southern Gardens Citrus, discusses his company’s management of HLB and the psyllids that spread it. He summarizes a presentation he made at the International Citrus Business Conference in March. “By reducing stress, the trees can deal with disease much better,” Snively says. “We’re doing this through continuous-type feeding or frequent feeding with …

Tools for Integrated Management of Citrus Psyllids and Leafminers

Tacy Callies Pests, Psyllids, Research

By Jawwad A. Qureshi, Philip A. Stansly and Lukasz L. Stelinski Pest management has always been important for citrus production in Florida. It has become even more critical following invasion of the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) and citrus leafminer (CLM), due to their association with huanglongbing (HLB or citrus greening) and canker diseases, respectively. ACP and CLM develop and reproduce …

Pruning and Controlled-Release Fertilizer to Rehabilitate HLB Trees

Tacy Callies Nutrition, Production

By Tripti Vashisth and Troy Gainey Pruning is one of the oldest horticultural practices that changes the form and growth of a tree. The pruning process 1) adjusts tree shape and the ratio of framework to fruit-bearing shell of the canopy, 2) alters the shoot/root ratio and 3) changes the carbohydrate (food storage) status of the tree. Under Florida weather …

Controlled-Release Fertilizer Boosts Health of HLB Trees (Part 2)

Tacy Callies Citrus, Nutrition

By Pete Spyke, Joby Sherrod and Jude Grosser Part 1 of this article, published in the April 2017 issue of Citrus Industry magazine, provided some background information on controlled-release fertilizer (CRF) along with a discussion of practical applications in citrus production. This article, part 2, includes summaries of observations from several case studies in which CRF has been applied for …

Controlled-Release Fertilizer Boosts Health of HLB Trees (Part 1)

Josh McGill Nutrition

By Pete Spyke, Joby Sherrod and Jude Grosser Editor’s note: Look for part 2 of this article in the May 2017 issue of Citrus Industry magazine. Part 2 will present case studies using controlled-release fertilizer. Until now, most growers have considered controlled-release fertilizer (CRF) to be primarily for use on young trees, especially resets in existing groves. There is increasing …

Slow-Release Fertilizer in the Grove

Tacy Callies Citrus Greening, Nutrition

Citrus Grower Sees Results with Slow-Release Fertilizer Pete Spyke, citrus grower and co-owner of The Orange Shop in Citra, hosted AgNet Media’s staff for an exclusive, behind-the-scenes tour of his retail shop and gift-fruit shipping business. He detailed the history of the operation and led the staff on a tour of the packinghouse and test-plot grove. Spyke explained his use …

Don’t Rush Freeze Recovery

Josh McGill freeze

Do not apply recovery techniques immediately after a freeze, cold-hardy citrus growers were advised after freezes hit their groves in December 2022 and January 2023. The best strategy is to wait to observe new growth until at least late spring, researcher Muhammad Shahid told the Georgia Citrus Association at its recent annual meeting. Shahid is a University of Florida Institute …

Updates for Citrus Nutrient Best Management Practices

Josh McGill BMPs, Nutrition

By Kelly T. Morgan, Davie Kadyampakeni and Tripti Vashisth This article reviews current University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) citrus fertilizer recommendations and provides updated information about recently approved recommendations for secondary macronutrients and micronutrients. Citrus growers have been very concerned about fertilizer applications and nutrient management since citrus greening (huanglongbing or HLB) was found in …