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News for citrus growers around the globe
By Jaci Schreckengost Due to the rapid rate huanglongbing (HLB) has affected citrus, researchers are working on new management techniques for the disease. Rhuanito “Johnny” Ferrarezi, assistant professor in citrus horticulture at the University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Indian River Research and Education Center (IRREC), says research is being done to answer questions about how HLB …
Governor Rick Scott announced two appointments and one reappointment to the Florida Citrus Commission. Lee Bouldin, 62, of Vero Beach, is a citrus shipper at DNE World Fruit. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Wake Forest University. Bouldin succeeds Michael Garavaglia and is appointed for a term beginning August 9, 2017, and ending May 31, 2019. Carlos Martinez, …
August 9, 2017 Citrus growers, vendors and industry professionals are looking forward to gathering on Wednesday, August 16 at 8:00 a.m. at the Lee Civic Center in North Fort Myers. That’s when the doors officially open to the 2017 Citrus Expo trade show, the biggest and best annual gathering of citrus industry members in the United States. There are only …
By Jude W. Grosser and Frederick G. Gmitter It’s no secret that citrus greening disease, or HLB, continues to take a heavy toll on the beloved Florida citrus industry. It has been estimated that the industry will need to replant over 3 million trees per year for the next 10 years just to get back to normal. So the million-dollar …
The vast diversity of organisms in soil can have positive impacts on citrus, Sarah Strauss told growers and others at a July seminar in Immokalee. “Potentially, though we haven’t verified this, (there are) up to a billion organisms in one gram of soil underneath a citrus tree,” the University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences soil microbiologist says. “A …
Eat citrus to prevent dementia? A new study published in the British Journal of Nutrition suggests just that. It shows that older people who frequently eat citrus fruit were 23 percent less likely to get dementia. The study was also reported by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) on its Brain Health and Wellness website. The study was conducted on more than …
By Jaci Shreckengost The H-2A program is a guest-worker program that allows people from other countries to come to the United States on a visa as agricultural employees for temporary, seasonal work. Many industries are beginning to use H-2A due to uncertainty over the domestic labor supply, says Fritz Roka, an associate professor of agriculture economics at the University of …
By Jaci Schreckengost Ben Albritton, Florida House Representative from District 56, says it is encouraging to see the positivity in the citrus community, especially in challenging times. Due to the rise of huanglongbing (HLB), known as citrus greening disease, Florida citrus growers are facing the challenges of reduced production and health of their crops. There have been some changes in …
Nominations are now being sought for potential inductees to the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame. Induction ceremonies are scheduled to take place on Friday, March 9, 2018, at Florida Southern College in Lakeland. The luncheon is co-sponsored by Florida Citrus Mutual and the Florida Department of Citrus. Eligible nominees are those distinguished leaders who have made significant contributions to the …
By Jaci Shreckengost Concern over availability of domestic employees in the United States has caused growers to change where they get their labor. Fritz Roka, associate professor of agriculture economics at the University of Florida’s Southwest Florida Research and Education Center in Immokalee, says the uncertainty surrounding the immigration policies of the current United States administration has led growers to …
By Harold Browning Column sponsored by the Citrus Research and Development Foundation As we start the new fiscal year at the Citrus Research and Development Foundation (CRDF), there are a number of priority activities in place to focus effort and resources on important tools for managing citrus in the presence of HLB. Here are some highlights. Currently, CRDF is sponsoring …
University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences plant breeder Jude Grosser makes a case for Florida’s citrus industry replacing Hamlin oranges with early-maturing Valencia oranges that he and others are developing. “I think that’s a no-brainer because Hamlins are having a really bad time with greening, and orange juice sales are declining,” Grosser says. “Hamlin is half our juice. …
A citrus tree in the city of Riverside tested positive for huanglongbing (HLB) disease. The detection is the first case of HLB found in a major citrus-producing county and the most northern in California. The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) confirmed the detection of HLB disease in a sample taken from a grapefruit tree located in a Riverside …
By Richard F. Lee The old-timers called citrus leprosis “nailhead rust.” Prevalent in Florida in the early 1900s, the disease was first called leprosis in the 1920s by H.S. Fawcett. Although the disease was widespread in Florida at one time, it mysteriously disappeared in the mid-1960s. L.C. Knorr [University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Citrus Research and Education …
University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) plant physiologist Ute Albrecht described the use of microbial amendments, specifically biostimulants, at a July 26 seminar in Immokalee. Albrecht works at the UF/IFAS Southwest Florida Research and Education Center, site of the seminar hosted by multi-county citrus Extension agent Mongi Zekri. “Biostimulants come in a wide range of different products” …
Citrus Expo is excited to host U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue on Wednesday, August 16, along with U.S. Representative Tom Rooney. Perdue and Rooney will walk the trade show floor and mingle with the Citrus Expo exhibitors and attendees. Citrus Expo will provide Perdue and Rooney with a firsthand look at the challenges faced by the U.S. citrus industry, …
Even when Matt Mattia was studying tomato breeding as a master’s student at the University of Florida (UF), he was dreaming of citrus. Now a doctoral student at UF, he’s working toward achieving that dream of working in one of Florida’s most important industries. Thanks to the Hunt Brothers Fellowship, which funds graduate research in citrus, Mattia can live, work …
By Hassan Farouk Ahmed Morocco’s citrus production reached 2.3 million metric tons (MT) in 2016–17, an increase of 15 percent over the previous marketing year. Orange production increased by 4 percent, to 962,250 MT, while tangerine and mandarin production increased 24 percent to 1,325,246 MT. Much of the increase in production was due to increases in the area harvested, as …
The August issue of Citrus Industry magazine serves as the show guide for the 2017 Citrus Expo. Now in its 26th year, Citrus Expo is the largest trade show and seminar program of its kind in the United States. The event takes place August 16–17 at the Lee Civic Center in North Fort Myers, Florida. This year, Citrus Expo is …
The California Citrus Research Board (CRB) hosted live Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) fogging demonstrations in April. The purpose was to show the viability of controlling the spread of ACP by fogging shipments of citrus on the truck, as close to the harvested field as possible. Spencer Walse, CRB research scientist specializing in chemical applications in agriculture, carried out the demonstrations. He is based at …
