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Florida citrus producers voted to amend the federal marketing order regulating the handling of oranges, grapefruit, tangerines and pummelos grown in Florida, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced on Aug. 29. In a referendum held April 1–May1, all amendments met the requirement of being favored by two-thirds of the producers voting or by two-thirds of the volume represented. The …
This week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of the Army (the agencies) announced a final rule amending the 2023 definition of waters of the United States (WOTUS) to conform with the recent Supreme Court decision in Sackett v. EPA. The agencies are committed to following the law and implementing the Clean Water Act to deliver the essential …
The nomination deadline for potential 2024 inductees into the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame is Nov. 1, 2023. Nominations received after that date will be considered for the following year. Eligible nominees are distinguished leaders who made significant contributions to the Florida citrus industry in any of the following fields: pioneering, harvesting, packing, processing, marketing, science and/or education. Nomination forms …
Texas growers appear to be back on track after Winter Storm Uri caused significant setbacks to many groves in February 2021, according to a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service expert. ACREAGE STATUSDespite citrus production losses to the storm, Juan Anciso, AgriLife Extension horticulturist at Weslaco, said he was pleasantly surprised that the industry was faring much better than he expected. …
Work on HLB carried out at Fundecitrus by student Leandro Jun Soki Shibutani was honored at the recent Brazilian Congress of Phytopathology. The first part of Shibutani’s dissertation on the theme “Frequency of spraying thiamethoxam and transmission of Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus in orange trees under constant arrival of infective psyllids” took second place in the Best Master’s Works category. It …
Invaio Sciences in late August announced that its Trecise technology to deliver ArborBiotic for the suppression of HLB in oranges received approval from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The approval came under section 24(c) of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act. Invaio stated that the product’s closed-system design does not require drilling. Unlike conventional injection treatments, …
The cold-hardy citrus region endured another test of Mother Nature on Wednesday with Hurricane Idalia moving through the Southeast. One industry expert is optimistic that the area’s trees survived this latest challenge. “I am happy to report that citrus in Georgia appears to have fared very well,” said grower Lindy Savelle, president of the Georgia Citrus Association and member of the …
Citrus Australia is closely monitoring a biosecurity import risk analysis being conducted on fresh pomelo fruit from Vietnam. The Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) has commenced the risk analysis, in response to a market access request from Vietnam. Nathan Hancock, Citrus Australia chief executive officer, said his organization would hold DAFF to a high standard during the …
By Brenda Eubanks Burnette This year, John Fuller, the new global marketing manager for the Florida Department of Citrus (FDOC), and Matt Joyner, executive vice president/chief executive officer of Florida Citrus Mutual, served on the panel of judges for the Miss Florida Citrus/Miss Winter Haven Competition. It was interesting to introduce them both to this iconic, grassroots promotional program that …
By Mongi Zekri During heavy rains in the summer, excess water must be removed from the root zone. Flooding injury can be expected if the root zone is saturated for three days or more during extended summer rains at relatively high soil temperatures (86 to 95 degrees). Flooding during the cooler December–March period can be tolerated for several weeks at …
Global production of tangerines/mandarins for 2022–23 is estimated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA FAS) to be 36.9 million metric tons (MMT), down 900,000 metric tons (MT) from the prior year. China production, which accounts for almost 72% of global tangerine/mandarin production, is estimated to be down 2% to 26.5 MMT due to lower yields. European …
U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service (USDA ARS) scientists have discovered a way to augment a citrus tree’s natural resistance to pathogens, including HLB. The scientists are in the Crop Improvement and Genetics Research (CIGR) unit in Albany, California. According to James Thomson, a geneticist at CIGR, by incorporating receptors that can recognize pathogens, scientists are able to activate …
The California and Arizona departments of agriculture received funding for four citrus-related projects from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) for 2023. Nationwide, USDA AMS allocated $72.9 million in Specialty Crop Block Grant Program funding. DROUGHT-TOLERANT VARIETIESThe California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) received $499,921 for designing drought-tolerant specialty crops using metabolic modeling. The University …
Citrus canker was found for the first time in Georgia this past season. Unfortunately, it may be here to stay. Jonathan Oliver, University of Georgia (UGA) assistant professor and small fruits pathologist, talked about the disease during a citrus meeting in Valdosta, Georgia, on Aug. 9. He emphasized that Georgia producers may have to learn to live with the disease …
By Megan Dewdney It is summer in Florida, and the early fruit are maturing. This is always a risky time for brown rot in early sweet oranges and grapefruit cultivars. The summer rains have been happening, but they have been intermittent depending on location. This means that phytophthora propagule counts may vary depending on how much rain has occurred in …
With the trunk-injection season winding down in Florida groves, growers anxiously await to see positive results in HLB-infected trees. Two oxytetracycline (OTC) products have been approved for use in Florida citrus as HLB treatments. A third OTC formulation expects Environmental Protection Agency approval soon. Trunk-injection treatments are the focus of the latest All In For Citrus podcast. Michael Rogers, director …
Six Fundecitrus researchers recently received an award from the journal Tropical Plant Pathology, edited by the Brazilian Society of Phytopathology. The award is in recognition of the researchers’ work in the scientific article “Overview of citrus huanglongbing spread and management strategies in Brazil.” The researchers honored are Renato Beozzo Bassanezi, Sílvio Aparecido Lopes, Marcelo Pedreira de Miranda, Nelson Arno Wulff, …
Matt Joyner, executive vice president and chief executive officer of Florida Citrus Mutual (FCM), reported that a group of Florida citrus growers spoke to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency representatives about federal relief programs at the recent Citrus & Specialty Crop Expo. The Expo was held this year at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa. “This year’s …
By Michael E. Rogers We have all been waiting (and waiting some more) for new varieties to be developed that are resistant to HLB. Ten years ago, researchers thought they were really close to having new HLB-resistant varieties developed using gene-editing CRISPR technology. But as science goes, the story was much more complicated than first believed. A single edit to …
Brazil’s primary citrus region recorded a significant increase in the average number of HLB-spreading psyllids captured in the first half of August compared to the previous fortnight and the same period of 2022. In the citrus belt of São Paulo and Triângulo/Sudoeste Mineiro, there was an average growth of 80.4% in the capture of psyllids in the last fortnight compared …
