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The U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service recently released global 2021–22 production estimates for citrus categories and orange juice. Here are highlights from the report, titled Citrus: World Markets and Trade. ORANGESGlobal orange production for 2021–22 is estimated up 1.4 million tons from the previous year to 48.8 million tons. Favorable weather is leading to larger crops in Brazil, …
Individual protective covers (IPCs) on citrus trees have become a more common sight in Florida groves in recent years. The bags that cover young trees exclude the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) from feeding on the plants, thus protecting them from HLB. Some estimates suggest that more than 1 million IPCs are now deployed in the state’s citrus groves. During the …
The Georgia Citrus Association invites growers and industry members to its annual conference on Feb. 28 at the University of Georgia Tifton Campus Conference Center. The event will last from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and includes topics like regenerative farming, organic production, nutrient management, winter production and new varieties. “We’re super excited because we didn’t get to have the …
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Feb. 2 issued an executive order declaring a state of emergency in many counties where citrus and other agricultural commodities were affected by a Jan. 28–30 freeze. It specifically gives state officials authority to relax restrictions on commercial vehicles to facilitate an emergency harvest. “The relaxation of the restrictions on commercial vehicles is necessary to …
Highlands County orange grove workers are invited to celebrate the county’s American Pickers Day by attending a special exhibit at the Highlands Museum of the Arts on Saturday, Feb. 5. Admission is free to the grove workers on that day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The museum is at 351 West Center Avenue in downtown Sebring, Florida. Oil paintings …
Citrus leprosis has not been reported in Florida since 1968, but researcher Ozgur Batuman called it “an approaching threat to Florida citrus” in a recent virtual seminar. Batuman, a citrus pathologist at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Southwest Florida Research and Education Center, urged growers to be on the lookout for the disease. According …
Citrus growers depend on the latest information about best irrigation and nutrition strategies for growing productive trees. University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) researchers will share recent results regarding optimal crop management at a workshop and field visit opportunity on Feb. 8 at the Citrus Research and Education Center (CREC) in Lake Alfred. Davie Kadyampakeni, assistant …
Cold temperatures the mornings of Jan. 29 and Jan. 30 did more citrus damage than an initial report indicated, Highlands County Citrus Growers Association Executive Director Ray Royce said. Royce issued the following update on Feb. 1: “The coldest weather in at least four to five years has left much more damage behind in parts of the South-Central Florida region …
By Bill Castle, Fred Gmitter and Jude Grosser The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Citrus Research and Education Center (CREC) plant improvement team has long been engaged in field research to evaluate new scions and rootstocks. That effort continues and has involved trials on public and private property. While public sites are valuable, they are …
By Ajia Paolillo Editor’s note: THIS ARTICLE IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE FOR CEU CREDIT. Pesticides are widely used in commercial agriculture to manage insects and other arthropods, diseases and weeds. Each application needs to be as effective as possible in managing the target pest. Many factors, such as environmental conditions, tank-mix incompatibility and solution pH, can cause a pesticide application …
The Georgia and Florida citrus industries reportedly came through the Sunday morning freeze with no significant widespread damage. In Florida, temperatures in the 20s were the coldest most groves had experienced in several years. “Everything looks good,” said Lindy Savelle, president of the Georgia Citrus Association. “We got some burn on the top of trees, but very little.” Most of …
Phytophthora infection can lead to severe stunting in newly planted citrus trees, researcher Megan Dewdney told growers and others at a Jan. 19 presentation at the Citrus Research and Education Center in Lake Alfred, Florida. She said stunted trees never thrive or produce adequate fruit. Dewdney is a University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences plant pathologist. She …
Growers gathered in Fort Pierce last week for the Florida Citrus Show. More than 30 presentations and panel discussions were held during the two-day event. Topics covered included production, technology and markets. With the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) predicting the smallest citrus crop in more than 70 years, urgency to seek solutions to HLB was high on the agenda. …
The coldest temperatures in years predicted for Florida this weekend have fruit and vegetable growers worried and preparing to protect their crops. Temperatures in the 20s and 30s are expected deep into the peninsula of Florida. And the freezing weather could persist for up to four hours or more. Gene McAvoy, associate director for stakeholder relations at the University of …
The Citrus Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) governing board on Jan. 25 approved a project aimed at reducing fruit drop by using potassium, zinc, gibberellic acid and the herbicide 2,4-D in different timing scenarios. The funding will allow University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) researcher Fernando Alferez to finish two years of work that CRDF Chief …
Emma Reynolds Ezell will become president of the Highlands County Citrus Growers Association (HCCGA) board of directors during the association’s March 3 annual meeting. Ezell previously served as president in 2015 and has been on the association’s board of directors since 2014. She is involved in both her own and her family’s citrus growing, caretaking and harvesting business. Ezell is …
Michael Rogers addresses the plight of Florida citrus growers, upcoming educational events and recruitment of new University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) personnel. Rogers is director of the UF/IFAS Citrus Research and Education Center (CREC) in Lake Alfred. Rogers says reports of progressively lower citrus yields, coupled with rising costs of grove inputs, have “really made …
European Union (EU) lemon production is forecast at 1.57 million metric tons (MMT) in 2021–22, a decrease of almost 9% from the previous season, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service reported. The decrease is due to expected crop reductions for the EU’s main lemon producers, Spain and Italy, even though the area planted with lemons continued trending upward …
By Brenda Eubanks Burnette I was recently in DeLand visiting the Stetson Mansion and decided to also visit the West Volusia Historical Society. It was closed, but I came across a bust of Lue Gim Gong in the memorial garden that was dedicated to him, so I looked up the society’s website, www.delandhouse.com, and found some fascinating information. I …
In the February issue of Citrus Industry magazine, Florida growers will find out what diseases to watch for this season. Megan Dewdney’s annual foliar fungal disease round-up reports on what some of the major problems are likely to be in 2022. The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) plant pathologist and Extension specialist provides tips on …
