Nov / 2024New Flame Grapefruit Selection Offers Improved HLB ToleranceNov / 2024Apply Brassinosteroids to Improve Hamlin BrixNov / 2024Australian Lime Interstocks to Combat HLBOct / 2024How Produce Safety Rule Changes Will Impact Your OperationOct / 2024Understanding EPA’s Herbicide StrategyOct / 2024Reduce Post-Hurricane Fruit Drop With PGRsOct / 2024Plan to Attend the Millennium Block Field DayOct / 2024How to Help Trees …
Tips for Trunk Injection of Oxytetracycline
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 ContentA Simpler, Safer and …
PGRs: Multipurpose Tools for Citrus Improvement
By Tripti Vashisth Canopy health of HLB-affected citrus has been directly related to disease severity, fruit drop and overall fruit production. Some success has been found with the use of certain plant growth regulators (PGRs) such as gibberellic acid (GA) and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) to achieve healthier trees with reduced fruit drop and increased production. HLB MANAGEMENT Application of these …
Recovery Will Require a Multipronged Management Program
By Michael Rogers The 2022–23 Florida harvest season is now behind us. Yield losses magnified by the weather events this past season position the next couple of years as “make or break” for many growers. The lingering effects of hurricane Ian will impact next season’s crop as trees continue to recover and balance out canopy regrowth with fruit production. Despite …
Scouting Tips for Finding Asian Citrus Psyllids
A presentation at the recent Citrus Pest & Disease Prevention Committee State of the Central Valley meeting in California highlighted the importance of scouting for Asian citrus psyllids (ACP) in groves. Scouting becomes even more critical as the risk of ACP and HLB, the disease the insect transmits to trees, rises. The presenter, University of California (UC) Riverside Extension Specialist …
Thrips Management Tips
As Florida growers prepare for the spring bloom, it is time to think about a pest that thrives on citrus flowers: thrips. Most notably, flower thrips are known to cause damage to developing flowers in sweet orange. Feeding damage can range from negligible to causing abortion of the flower or developing fruitlet. This pest is particularly challenging because it migrates …
Protect Developing Fruit From Lebbeck Mealybugs
By Lauren Diepenbrock As the March bloom tapers off and fruit begin to set, it is time to think about lebbeck mealybug management to protect developing fruit. Damage to setting fruit causes malformed fruit that are often aborted or not marketable if they continue development (Figure 1). Early-season management is critical to both reducing early fruit damage and to maintaining …
Combined Treatment Reduced Drop and Increased Size
A combination of gibberellic acid (GA) and 2,4-D reduced preharvest fruit drop by 18% and improved fruit size but produced no statistical effect on yield, researcher Tripti Vashisth reported Aug. 30. The combination “seems promising,” the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) horticulturist stated. The report was based on first year results from a trial of …
‘Irma Will Haunt Us’ Regarding Citrus Black Spot
Citrus black spot (CBS) disease has only been found in five Southwest Florida counties, but that could change as a result of 2017’s Hurricane Irma, a researcher reiterated recently. University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences plant pathologist Megan Dewdney, in a Feb. 24 presentation, said “Irma will haunt us for a while.” She explained that Irma likely …
Be Prepared for Postbloom Fruit Drop
A La Niña weather pattern is most likely this spring, with higher-than-average temperatures and below-average rain predicted in Florida, researcher Megan Dewdney reported in a Feb. 24 presentation about postbloom fruit drop (PFD). That could have some influence on the severity of PFD, since its preferred climate is humid and subtropical, and the fungus moves with rain splash and wind-borne …
Freeze Damage: Preparation and Recovery
By Amir Rezazadeh Low temperatures can cause serious injury to leaf, wood and fruits of citrus trees. An extended freeze can kill a citrus tree. A rapid temperature decrease or a longer duration of freezing temperature can worsen the damage. Because preparation is paramount in protecting citrus trees, growers should use the Florida Automated Weather Network. The network provides information …
New Home Page
November 20, 2024Positive Early Harvest ReportsNovember 20, 2024Florida Growers Reminded to Complete State of Industry SurveyNovember 20, 2024U.S. Citrus Production and Value by StateSearchSearch Tip of The WeekNov. 19, 2024New Flame Grapefruit Selection Offers Improved HLB ToleranceNov. 12, 2024Apply Brassinosteroids to Improve Hamlin BrixNov. 05, 2024Australian Lime Interstocks to Combat HLB Sponsored Content Oct / 2024A Simpler, Safer and More …
Protect Against the COVID-19 Delta Variant
By Ben Chapman, Taylor O’Bannon, Matt Krug and Michelle Danyluk If you would have asked us last September if there would still be a need to write a tip about COVID-19 a year later, our answer would have been, “We sure hope not.” So, what’s changed? The simplest explanation is the emergence of the Delta variant. When you hear us …
Landscape Fabric Blocks Diaprepes Larvae
Fabric mulch landscape covers, typically used to block weeds in nurseries, can aid in diaprepes root weevil control, Larry Duncan reported at the recent Citrus Expo. “Some of these products, not all of them, are extremely effective at blocking the diaprepes weevil larvae from getting into the soil” after falling from a citrus tree, Duncan said. Duncan is a University …
Research ‘of Use to Growers Right Now’
“We’ve come a long way in the time that we’ve had HLB here in Florida,” says Michael Rogers. The director of the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences’ (UF/IFAS) Citrus Research and Education Center says early HLB research “covered a wide range of topics.” Now, however, “We’re really narrowing down things that are of use to growers …
All In For Citrus Podcast, April 2021
A whole-systems approach to one University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) research project is the focus of the April All in For Citrus podcast. Citrus Research and Education Center Director Michael Rogers said the project is a good example of citrus researchers taking a more comprehensive look at problems in the industry. “We’re starting to put …
Managing COVID-19 Risks in the Citrus Industry
By Joyjit Saha, Matthew Krug and Michelle D. Danyluk The COVID-19 pandemic has rapidly changed so much. SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) is primarily transmitted person-to-person, with no evidence it is transmitted by food or food packaging, including citrus and citrus products. Managing COVID-19 among workers is extremely important. COVID-19 impacts on the health of employees can have catastrophic …
New Flame Grapefruit Selection Offers Improved HLB Tolerance
By Manjul Dutt, Sheetal Ramekar and Gary England The grapefruit was created by chance from a cross between a pummelo and a sweet orange. It was first discovered in Barbados in the 18th century. All the commercially sold grapefruits today trace their roots back to the Duncan variety of grapefruit. Cultivars existing today were developed through natural and induced mutations …
Apply Brassinosteroids to Improve Hamlin Brix
By Fernando Alferez and Divya Aryal Brassinosteroids (BRs) are a class of plant growth regulators with several effects on plant growth and development. University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) work in the last few years has shown that BR treatments may influence internal maturity in Hamlin sweet orange if performed at the right time. Research has …
Australian Lime Interstocks to Combat HLB
By Ozgur Batuman, Sanju Kunwar and Ana Redondo In a promising effort to protect citrus from huanglongbing (HLB), University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) researchers are exploring the potential of Australian lime as an interstock graft for Valencia scions with Swingle rootstock. The interstock technique uses various limes, known for their natural HLB-tolerant peptides, between the …