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Below you'll see everything we could locate for your search of “fresh fruit”
Florida growers, packers and shippers of fresh fruit are being asked to take a survey that will help guide programs addressing fresh fruit decay. University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences researcher Mark Ritenour said he’d like as many survey responses as possible by mid-November. Ritenour said funding has been provided from a Florida Citrus Packers/U.S. Department of …
A new University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) document, Management of Citrus Tree Canopies for Fresh-Fruit Production, addresses the principles of citrus pruning and canopy management. It tells how applying those principles can improve the quality and quantity of fresh fruit production in Florida. Here is an excerpt from the document: “Canopy management has three goals …
By Arnold Schumann, Laura Waldo, Napoleon Mariner and Timothy Ebert According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Florida grapefruit production for the 2019–20 season was only 12 percent of the production recorded in 2003–04, prior to the arrival of huanglongbing (HLB) disease in the state. A major goal of the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences …
Florida Classic Growers (FCG) announced a partnership with Riverfront Packing Company, LLC; The Packers of Indian River, Inc. and Quality Fruit Packers, Inc. The additional citrus volume from the partnering companies will expand product offerings and increase distribution to FCG’s customers marketed under the Florida Classic label. Riverfront and its marketing arm, Scott Marketing, Inc., will continue handling all sales …
Fresh citrus workers need to be trained in health and hygiene in order to comply with the Food Safety Modernization Act’s Produce Safety Rule. Jamie Burrow provided that training at an all-day training session for growers earlier this year at the Citrus Research and Education Center (CREC). Burrow is a University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) …
Mark Ritenour with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) discusses research efforts to keep Florida’s fresh fruit marketable. Ritenour is a postharvest horticulturist at the Indian River Research and Education Center. Ritenour begins with maximum residue limit requirements for chemicals in fresh citrus for export. A UF/IFAS website provides pesticide residue limits by various major …
Polk County grower Ed Dickinson has good things to say about some orange-mandarin juice and fresh mandarins he sampled at the Citrus Research and Education Center (CREC) in November. Dickinson was one of dozens who tried new University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) samples. He and others who scored the juice and fruit will help researchers …
Quality and shelf life were evaluated for new fresh mandarin and sweet orange selections. By Mark A. Ritenour, Cuifeng Hu, Yu Wang and Fernando Alferez New fresh citrus fruit selections continue to be developed and released by the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In addition, promising new varieties are …
By Christopher Vincent and Mark Ritenour Planting fresh citrus varieties has increased in popularity. With these potentially high-value crops come questions about management practices, including pruning. This article discusses pruning practices that can improve the health and productivity of citrus trees. The principles of pruning are the same for any citrus plant. However, quality affects value of fresh fruit even …
Travis Chapin, state specialized Extension agent with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS), discusses deadlines and some requirements for fresh fruit growers to comply with the federal Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). “The compliance date for the largest farms, those with over $500,000 in annual produce sales, is January 26, 2018,” Chapin says. Growers with …
Florida’s fresh citrus industry has suffered even more from HLB than has the much larger juice industry. Duke Chadwell, manager of the Citrus Administrative Committee (CAC), discusses pending organizational changes in the fresh industry, brought on primarily by HLB. The CAC administers a federal marketing order for fresh Florida citrus that has been in place since 1939. “The Citrus Administrative …
Lake Wales fresh citrus grower Marshall Hartley tells why many growers hesitate to move forward with citrus replanting. He also discusses declining fresh fruit taste. “I don’t think that we’ve got the perfect tree yet, and everybody’s kind of wondering, where am I going to spend my last dollar?” Hartley says. “Do I need to not plant a tree for …
Fresh Florida grapefruit shipments continue to decline in concert with the downturn in production resulting from HLB and other problems. On October 26, the Florida Department of Citrus projected fresh Florida grapefruit shipments will be about 4.13 million boxes this season. Three seasons ago, in 2013-14, fresh Florida grapefruit shipments totaled 6.1 million boxes and have dropped in each season …
Orange County Public Schools (OCPS) in Florida are seeking growers to join the Farm to School Partner Program. The program provides students access to nutritious, high-quality, local fruits and vegetables throughout the school year. Set to begin August 2023, the program runs through July 2025. OCPS is looking for a variety of produce items. Desired citrus items are grapefruit, lemons, …
By Jude Grosser, Fred Gmitter and Maria Brenelli The new OLL (Orie and Louise Lee) series of sweet oranges (OLL-4, OLL-8 and OLL-20) are very high-quality processing sweet oranges that generally produce higher soluble solids and better juice color than Valencia. OLL trees are more vigorous than Valencia, and anecdotal evidence suggests they are slightly more HLB-tolerant than Valencia. Trees …
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will purchase up to $20 million of fresh mandarins and tangerines for distribution to food banks, schools and other non-conventional markets. According to California Citrus Mutual (CCM), this is the first time USDA has made such a purchase under authority of Section 32 of the Agricultural Adjustment Act Amendment of 1935. The purpose of …
By Mark A. Ritenour Modern production practices for fresh fruits and vegetables usually include the use of various preharvest and postharvest chemicals, some of which are pesticides. Legally, these materials must be labeled for use on specific crops and may only be used according to label instructions. Chemical residues on fruits and vegetables are monitored by industry and regulators to …
Lemon and grapefruit crops in Spain are both forecast to decrease 10% in the 2022–23 season compared to the 2021–22 season. The forecast was made by the Spanish Lemon and Grapefruit Interbranch Organisation (AILIMPO), which represents the economic interests of producers, cooperatives, exporters and industrialists of lemon and grapefruit in Spain. According to AILIMPO, increased yields from new plantations only …
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently invited offers to sell significant quantities of fresh oranges for use in the National School Lunch Program and other federal food and nutrition assistance programs. Deliveries of various sizes to several states are to be made at different dates between Jan. 2, 2023, and March 29, 2023. The contract specialist handling this purchase …
Growers in Florida’s central and southern citrus belts have long been familiar with ways to market and get paid for their fruit. But those elements of the citrus business are not so familiar in North Florida and South Georgia, where citrus is a relatively new enterprise for many. Some groves in that area are just being harvested for the first …
