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News for citrus growers around the globe
By Megan Dewdney Spring is the time to start thinking about foliar disease management in Florida. Depending on the type of citrus being produced and the market destination, different diseases will be important. POSTBLOOM FRUIT DROP The disease that affects all citrus, particularly oranges, is postbloom fruit drop (PFD). This disease is highly dependent on the weather during bloom. Currently, …
By Peter Chaires On October 24, 2024, the University of Florida’s (UF) Cultivar Release Committee unanimously approved the release of seven citrus varieties to Florida Foundation Seed Producers, Inc. Florida Statutes now require that, before being released to the general public, any new variety of citrus developed as a result of any research or study accomplished using any percentage of …
Alico, Inc., which will cease citrus production after this season, reported its citrus harvest declined in the three months ending Dec. 31, 2024 compared to the same period a year earlier. For those three months, Alico Citrus harvested approximately 4 million pound solids of fruit, compared to 4.7 million pound solids in the same period in the prior fiscal year. …
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA/FAS) expects lemon production in South Africa in 2024–25 to grow by 7% from the prior year to 780,000 metric tons (MT). PLANTED AREA USDA/FAS forecasts that the country’s land planted in lemons will remain unchanged at 18,000 hectares. Producers are holding back from planting any more lemons due to an oversupply …
By J. Scott Angle, jangle@ufl.edu, @IFAS_VP My 89-year-old father-in-law has planted new trees in his California grove in the last two years. Bruce Kelsey believes in the future of citrus, and that reinforces my belief in the future of citrus. I’m not saying everything Bruce does makes sense. I wish he didn’t still go up on ladders and pick fruit, …
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) has announced the opening of the nomination process for the Woman of the Year in Agriculture and the Agricultural-Environmental Leadership awards. Nominations for both awards must be submitted by March 1. “Florida agriculture thrives because of the extraordinary people who dedicate their lives to it,” said Florida Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson. …
The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) hosted its annual Citrus Nutrition Day in January at the Citrus Research and Education Center in Lake Alfred. The event was well attended and covered various fertilizer and nutrition topics. Muhammad Adnan Shahid, UF/IFAS assistant professor of horticulture, presented his ongoing research on the use of silicon as a …
A citrus mechanical harvesting demonstration and a discussion of Brazilian citrus farming were among presentations at Demo Citrus 2025, held in Seville, Spain in late January. Harvest+ demonstrated a robot harvesting oranges. Harvest+ is a consortium of Fundecitrus, Move Agro and the Andalusian Institute for Research and Training in Agriculture, Fisheries, Food and Organic Production in partnership with Pek Automotive. …
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA/FAS) recently forecast Morocco’s tangerine/mandarin production for 2024–25 at 1.1 million metric tons (MMT). That’s an increase of 16% from the prior season due to increased irrigation practices and a high level of new plantings coming into full production for the Nadorcott and Afourer varieties. The Moroccan area planted with tangerines/mandarins is …
Federal and state agriculture officials have reduced, established and expanded several Mexican fruit fly (Mexfly) quarantines in Texas. The U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) took the quarantine actions. EDINBURG On Jan. 8, the two agencies reduced the Edinburg Mexfly quarantine in Hidalgo County. The reduction includes the …
Global production of lemons and limes in 2024–25 is forecast to be down 651,000 tons, to 10.2 million tons, by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA/FAS). The decline is due to a drop in production in the European Union (EU) and Türkiye as a result of unfavorable weather and yields. Exports are forecast to rise with high …
U.S. representatives from Florida have reintroduced legislation to have the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) alter the Brix standard in not-from-concentrate pasteurized orange juice from 10.5% to 10%. The Defending Domestic Orange Juice Production Act was reintroduced by Reps. Scott Franklin and Debbie Wasserman Schultz and is cosponsored by the entire Florida congressional delegation. Currently, oranges below the 10.5% …
Fundecitrus and its cooperators released an orange crop forecast on Feb. 10. Total production is forecast to be 228.52 million boxes for 2024–25. This is a 2.4% increase from the December forecast of 223.14 million boxes, but a decrease of 1.7% from the season’s initial orange estimate that was released in May. This forecast is for the São Paulo and …
The Florida Citrus Show is a day packed full of educational opportunities. If you are a citrus, small fruit or vegetable grower, there’s plenty to learn during the seminar program. In addition, the event provides a great opportunity for growers to interact with fellow farmers and industry stakeholders, which is an equally valuable component of the meeting. And it is …
The Feb. 11 citrus crop forecast, as reported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service (USDA NASS), shows both decreases and an increase for Florida when compared to the January forecast. LESS ORANGESThe 2024–25 Florida orange forecast is 11.5 million boxes, down 500,000 boxes, or 4%, from the January forecast. If realized, this will be 36% less …
By Fernando Alferez and Divya Aryal Like the work being done with Hamlin sweet orange, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) researchers are studying the effect of brassinosteroids (BRs) on the internal maturation of Valencia sweet orange fruits. The conditions of the treatments are the same as in Hamlin: A treatment of 186 milliliters of BR …
The Florida Citrus State of the Industry Survey seeks input from growers on key issues affecting their groves. The survey has been conducted for many years, has tracked the trajectory of HLB and reported on production practices. While not a scientific survey, it has reflected general trends over the years. Last month, we published results on trunk-injection therapy and the …
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA/FAS) recently forecast that Mexican orange and orange juice (OJ) production will both increase slightly in 2024–25. ORANGES Orange production is forecast at 5.05 million metric tons (MMT), 2% more than the previous season. Mexico ranks fourth worldwide in the production of oranges with 10% of total production. It trails only Brazil, …
By J. Scott Angle, jangle@ufl.edu, @IFAS_VP About 18 months ago, Matt Joyner, Kyle Story, Morgan McKenna Porter, Emery Smith and other Florida citrus leaders visited me in Gainesville. Together, we shaped an idea to accelerate our search for solutions to HLB. The idea is already reality. The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Crop Transformation Center …
Two University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) scientists reported on research into more effective and environmentally friendly degreening methods for fresh citrus. They are Muhammad Shahid and Muhammad Nadeem, assistant professor of horticulture and postdoc scholar, respectively, at the UF/IFAS North Florida Research and Education Center (NFREC). Edited excerpts follow: Some varieties of citrus fruit, even …
