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News for citrus growers around the globe
Florida Citrus Mutual has announced its inaugural Julia C. Black Memorial Speech Contest and Scholarship. Its intent is to encourage students to learn more about Florida’s agriculture industry, specifically Florida citrus, and to support high school students with scholarship funds. The application deadline for students in grades 9–12 is Dec. 30, 2023. The speech contest will include two phases: district …
As recently as five years ago, Florida citrus growers did not routinely put individual protective covers (IPCs) on their trees as part of their grove management. Now, the mesh IPCs cover at least 1 million trees on about 17,000 acres, mostly thanks to experimentation by University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) researcher Fernando Alferez. IPCs keep …
A new approach developed primarily by Chinese researchers allows for more precise monitoring of citrus fruit development and optimal harvest timing. A key to improving citrus fruit quality and post-harvest processes is understanding citrus color change, a critical indicator of fruit maturity that is traditionally gauged by human judgment. Recent machine vision and neural network advancements offer more objective and …
By Lukasz Stelinski Here are some basic guidelines that growers can follow to manage pests successfully and economically in their groves: Take-home messages include the following: Lukasz Stelinski is a professor at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Citrus Research and Education Center in Lake Alfred. Sponsored ContentTake Advantage of Rising Temperatures to Treat for Fire AntsJuly …
The updated forecast for the 2023–24 orange crop in Brazil’s citrus belt is 307.22 million boxes of 40.8 kilograms each. That’s a reduction of 2.12 million boxes, or 0.7%, from the September forecast of 309.34 million boxes. The update was issued Dec. 11 by Fundecitrus in cooperation with its partners. The forecast, by varieties, is: IMPACTS ON FRUIT SIZE In …
The Florida Citrus Hall of Fame has announced its Class of 2024 inductees. They are Robert M. “Bob” Behr of New Smyrna Beach, George H. Streetman of Vero Beach and Leland K. Young, formerly of Bartow. They will be inducted March 1, 2024, along with the Class of 2023 inductees. The induction ceremonies and a luncheon will be held at …
By Sandra M. Guzmán Efficient irrigation management is crucial in optimizing tree growth and promoting sustainable management practices in modern agriculture. This article introduces IrrigMonitor, an Internet of Things data visualization platform developed at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Indian River Research and Education Center (IRREC) Smart Irrigation and Hydrology Lab. IrrigMonitor is a …
In the Dec. 8 citrus forecast from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (USDA NASS), Florida’s grapefruit and tangerine/tangelo production estimates increased. The all-grapefruit forecast for Florida leaped 26% compared to the season’s initial forecast in October. The state’s tangerine and tangelo forecast climbed 10%. All other variety forecasts in the citrus-producing states — Arizona, California, Florida …
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated numerous Georgia counties as eligible for disaster relief for a variety of reasons. DROUGHT USDA designated 20 Georgia counties as primary natural disaster areas due to recent drought conditions. This allows the USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) to provide emergency loans to producers recovering from natural disasters. Producers in primary and contiguous counties have …
Alico Citrus, a division of Alico, Inc., harvested less than half its citrus in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2023 as it did in the prior year. The decline was largely the result of impacts from Hurricane Ian in September 2022. Alico has approximately 49,000 citrus acres in seven Florida counties. The company reported on Dec. 6 that it …
California’s Citrus Pest and Disease Prevention Division (CPDPD) has officially updated the requirements for moving bulk citrus fruit within and from a huanglongbing (HLB) quarantine area to a packer/processor. CPDPD is part of the California Department of Food and Agriculture. Here’s an overview of the newly updated requirements, per the CPDPD’s Citrus Grower/Grove Manager Information page: All fruit, no matter …
Florida’s adverse effect wage rate (AEWR), the minimum wage for H-2A agricultural workers, is estimated to climb 3% in 2024. Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association (FFVA) reported the new Florida AEWR is estimated to be $14.77 per hour. Georgia’s AEWR is expected to rise 7%. Georgia Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association (GFVGA) reported Georgia’s new AEWR is estimated to be …
According to the Center for Advanced Studies on Applied Economics (CEPEA), a new heat wave in Brazil’s São Paulo state has been concerning citrus growers. Temperatures are higher than those registered in the last wave in September and are lasting longer. Many producers say that the weather may affect 2024–25 production, but it is still too early to estimate possible …
A newly established quarantine area has been declared following the detection of HLB in five trees in the Valley Center area of California’s San Diego County. The trees were located on a residential property with non-commercial citrus acreage. This is the first time the disease has been confirmed in Valley Center, marking the third area in San Diego County to …
The fresh-market orange crop in the United States rose 2% in 2022–23 compared to the prior year, to 1.44 million tons, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service reported this fall. The increase was due to larger navel orange and early/midseason crops in California and Texas. FRESH FRUIT PRICES FALL With increased supply, grower prices for fresh oranges were …
One of the key components of managing HLB is keeping its vector, the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP), in check. Management recommendations for the pest have evolved over time. The history of that evolution is a subject of discussion in the November episode of the All In For Citrus podcast. Lukasz Stelinksi, an entomologist with the University of Florida Institute of …
Diversification is key to production remaining sustainable in the cold-hardy citrus region. It is message that industry leaders preach to producers who are looking to grow the citrus industry in North Florida, Georgia and Alabama. John Chater, assistant professor at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Citrus Research and Education Center, talked about the importance …
By Davie Kadyampakeni, Lorenzo Rossi and Alan Wright Huanglongbing (HLB) disease lowers tree performance by reducing water and nutrient uptake as a result of root loss. HLB-affected trees have a fibrous root loss of about 30% to 80%, which increases as disease symptoms develop in the canopy. Investigating optimal nutrient concentrations in citrus roots thus improves the understanding of HLB …
Like most speakers in a recent World Citrus Organisation (WCO) climate change discussion, those addressing South America and South Africa focused on potential impacts rather than already observed impacts. SOUTH AMERICA “Whether we are negationist or pro-climate change, we should agree that something wrong is occurring in our sector,” stated a slide from Oscar Salgado, an agricultural engineer and fruit …
Greg Douhan with University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources (UCANR) recently wrote about phytophthora diseases in California citrus. Edited excerpts follow: There are at least four species of Phytophthora species (P. citrophthora, P. parasitica, P. syringae and P. hibernalis) associated with citrus in California. The three diseases in citrus caused by these fungal-like pathogens are phytophthora root rot, phytophthora …
