The Push for Pruning in Brazil’s Dense Groves

Josh McGill Brazil, Pruning

Due to major problems with pests and diseases, Brazilian producers have adopted alternative practices, such as dense planting, Fundecitrus’ Citricultor magazine recently reported. These practices reduce costs, increase yield and achieve a faster return on investment. As a result of this trend, new production practices are needed to improve management, including the frequent pruning of trees, which is essential in …

Know Your Purpose for Pruning

Josh McGill Pruning

“Don’t prune if you do not know why you are pruning,” University of California Cooperative Extension’s Craig Kallsen cautioned in a June 6 webinar about pruning navel oranges. “It’s a lot of work and thus expensive.” “Generally, pruning of any kind reduces total fruit yield,” the citrus and pistachio farm advisor for Kern County stated. “The goal of pruning is …

Pruning Pointers for Cold-Hardy Citrus

Josh McGill Cold Hardy, Pruning

Three University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) researchers recently authored an Extension newsletter article about pruning practices for cold-hardy citrus. Authors are Muhmmad A. Shahid, assistant professor of horticulture; Shahid Iqbal, horticultural post-doctoral associate; and Fernando Alferez, assistant professor of horticulture. Highlights from the article follow. Establishment of proper plant structure and canopy through pruning is …

Pruning Recommendations and Benefits

Josh McGill Pruning

By Mongi Zekri Pruning is an important grove practice that increases sunlight penetration within the tree canopy. Sunlight enhances flowering, fruit quality and color development. Sunlight also allows foliage to dry quickly after a rain shower, which reduces problems of fungal diseases. Pruning trees can improve fruit quality and increase fruit size. However, tree response to pruning depends on scion …

Pruning Citrus in South Georgia

Josh McGill Pruning

Jake Price with University of Georgia Extension in Lowndes County provided an update on pruning of South Georgia citrus trees in a recent Cold Hardy Citrus Connection newsletter. The newsletter is published by the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. His report follows: In February 2021, we pruned the Owari rootstock trial trees to where most limbs …

Pruning Principles for High-Quality Citrus

Tacy Callies Pruning

Planting citrus varieties for fresh market production has increased in popularity. With these potentially high-value crops come concerns about management practices, including pruning. Recently, Fernando Alferez informed growers in a virtual presentation about manual pruning principles. Alferez is a University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences citrus horticulturist at the Southwest Florida Research and Education Center. According to …

Optimize Fresh Fruit Results With Selective Pruning

Tacy Callies Production, Pruning

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 …

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 …

Pruning to Rehabilitate HLB-Affected Sweet Orange Trees

Josh McGill Citrus

By Tripti Vashisth and Troy Gainey In the last 11 years, Florida orange production has declined more than 60 percent. This dramatic reduction in yield is attributable to multiple causes, including loss of citrus acreage in the state, citrus canker and other diseases, but huanglongbing (HLB) is now recognized as the primary reason for declining citrus yields. HLB-affected trees are …

Citrus Health Forum

Citrus Health Forum Helps Cold-Hardy Growers

Daniel Cooper Cold Hardy

Production in the cold-hardy citrus region is still in its infancy. Growers and industry leaders need events like the Citrus Health Forum to obtain the necessary information to help this young industry continue to flourish. The latest forum took place at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) North Florida Research and Education Center in Quincy …

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 …

winter

Prepare Now for the Winter Season

Daniel Cooper freeze

By Maegan Beatty As the cooler months start to arrive, it is important to protect citrus trees from overnight freezes and extreme weather conditions. Last December, the All In For Citrus podcast addressed what cold protection should look like for Florida citrus growers in an interview with Chris Oswalt, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) citrus …

greening

Brazilians Discuss How to Avoid Florida’s Fate With Greening

Daniel Cooper Brazil, HLB Management

Brazil’s government, institutions and citrus growers need to join efforts to overcome greening “so that Brazil does not go through the same situation as Florida,” a São Paulo agriculture official declared Nov. 7. Orlando Melo de Castro, undersecretary of agriculture, made those remarks to about 500 people at an international citrus symposium in Araraquara, São Paulo. “To this end, we …

Australian Plant Protection Guides Available Online

Josh McGill Education, International

The latest plant protection guides for citrus and deciduous fruit growers in Australia’s New South Wales (NSW), developed by NSW Department of Primary Industries (NSW DPI), are now available online. The citrus plant protection guide 2023–24 is available here. The orchard plant protection guide for deciduous fruits can be found here. The plant protection guides are developed by NSW DPI …

Brazilians Learn About Mechanical Harvesting

Josh McGill Labor, Technology

Representatives of Fundecitrus and the Brazilian citrus industry went to Seville, Spain, to participate in a meeting about mechanical harvesting of citrus. The key objective was learning about different tools and machines designed for the mechanization of citrus handling. One example of machinery is the mechanized harvesting equipment used for densely cultivated orange groves. In one of their visits, the …

Trunk Injection Wounding: What You Need to Know

Josh McGill HLB Management, Tip of the Week

By Ute Albrecht and Leigh Archer  Trunk injection is an alternative technique for applying crop protection materials. This technology has now been approved to deliver oxytetracycline (OTC) for huanglongbing (HLB) management in Florida. Injections cause injury, and best practices need to be established to minimize injection-induced tree damage. University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences researchers (UF/IFAS) injected …

Alert Issued for Leprosis in Brazil

Josh McGill Brazil, Diseases

Brazil’s Fundecitrus is alerting citrus growers to take extra measures against leprosis during the current critical period for disease occurrence, May to September. At this time, fruit are in development, and the lack of rain favors outbreaks of the leprosis-transmitting mite. Leprosis is an important disease of Brazilian citrus that in recent years has caused significant damage to orange groves. …

No Perfect Tree Spacing for Multiple Objectives

Josh McGill California Corner, planting

Looking for the perfect tree planting density to meet all of your objectives for citrus fruit quality and yield? That may not be possible, University of California Cooperative Extension’s Craig Kallsen said in a recent talk about planting density’s impact on navel orange yield and quality.  The citrus and pistachio farm advisor for Kern County gave the example of a …

Safeguarding Citrus From Heat Stress

Josh McGill Tip of the Week, Weather

By Amir Rezazadeh Rising temperatures and climate change challenges of recent years have brought a significant threat to citrus trees. Heat stress, caused by prolonged exposure to high temperatures, poses a severe risk to citrus trees. Excessive soil evaporation, inconsistent rainfall and poor soil water-holding capacity can make trees even more sensitive to heat. High temperatures result in shortened internodes, …

Citrus Research Board to Host Webinar Series

Josh McGill California Corner, Education

California’s Citrus Research Board (CRB) has announced its 2023 Citrus Growers Educational Webinar Series. CRB will hold four one-hour webinars on Tuesdays at 10:00 a.m. The dates are June 6, 13, 20 and 27. Each webinar will highlight valuable research and practical discussions for growers. Here’s the lineup: JUNE 6Topic: Tree Density and Pruning Affect Fruit Numbers, Size, Quality and …