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Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Diseases”
The Citrus Industry section in the March issue of Specialty Crop Grower magazine offers timely information citrus growers won’t want to miss. Now is the time for Florida citrus producers to begin thinking about their disease management programs for the season. Megan Dewdney, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) plant pathologist, offers a foliar disease outlook …
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, …
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced an investment of more than $70 million in the Plant Protection Act program. This includes funding of 357 projects in fiscal year 2025. The work will strengthen the country’s defenses against plant pests and diseases, safeguard the U.S. nursery system, and enhance pest detection and mitigation efforts. Part of the funding is going …
Growers in the cold-hardy citrus region should consider fungicide application following snow last week and multiple days of running irrigation for freeze irrigation. That advice comes from Lindy Savelle, executive director of the Georgia Citrus Association, on the heels of historic snowfall recorded across the Southeast. “I’ve heard some people having up to 10 inches of snow where we grow …
Effective immediately, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), in cooperation with the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), is expanding the sweet orange scab quarantine in the Santa Ana area of Orange County in California. APHIS is expanding this quarantined area by 32 square miles because of a sweet orange scab detection in …
The Applied Research Center for Innovation and Sustainability in Citrus Farming was inaugurated Dec. 12 in a ceremony at the Palácio dos Bandeirantes, seat of Brazil’s São Paulo state government. Its purpose is to combat the main citrus diseases, such as citrus variegated chlorosis, sudden citrus death and above all, citrus greening. The São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), Fundecitrus and …
An area quarantined for huanglongbing (HLB), also known as citrus greening disease, in California was recently expanded. The U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) in cooperation with the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) issued the expansion. The quarantined area in the Mission Viejo area of Orange County expanded by approximately 85 square miles. …
Hurricanes bring immediate tree damage from high winds and torrential rainfall, but storms also can lay the groundwork for citrus disease problems. Soon after Hurricane Milton passed through citrus-growing regions, the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) hosted a webinar that covered various topics including post-storm disease management. CANKER Megan Dewdney, UF/IFAS associate professor of plant …
Citrus canker has long been a presence and concern for Florida’s citrus growers. Growers in North Florida, South Georgia and South Alabama should be wary of its potential spread into the cold-hardy citrus region. Clive Bock, a research plant pathologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, spoke about the disease during the recent Cold-Hardy Citrus Meeting at the University of …
The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) has confirmed the detection of the citrus plant disease huanglongbing (HLB) in inactive citrus acreage in the city of Yorba Linda, Orange County. The detections mark the first time HLB has been confirmed in plant samples on non-residential, non-nursery citrus acreage. The detection site, which is not currently operational or being cultivated …
Agricultural officials recently expanded the areas in California quarantined for citrus greening disease [also known as huanglongbing (HLB)], which is spread by Asian citrus psyllids. The quarantined area in Orange and Riverside counties was increased by a total of approximately 31 square miles. The U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS) in cooperation with the …
Not all citrus disease concerns center around huanglongbing (HLB). While HLB disease garners much of the headlines because of its devastation to Florida’s citrus crop, growers in the cold-hardy citrus region should be mindful of other diseases that can devastate a crop if left untreated. Jonathan Oliver, University of Georgia (UGA) assistant professor and small fruits pathologist, highlighted some of …
Citrus canker could spread in Florida groves as a result of Hurricane Milton, researcher Megan Dewdney warned. A University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) associate professor of plant pathology, Dewdney offered suggestions for dealing with canker at a recent UF/IFAS hurricane recovery webinar. WIND WOUNDS High winds and rain, which were abundant during the hurricane, move …
Phytophthora, citrus black spot and HLB are among diseases that could be spread in Florida groves as a direct or indirect result of Hurricane Milton, researcher Megan Dewdney cautioned. Dewdney, a University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences associate professor of plant pathology, offered suggestions for dealing with those diseases during a recent hurricane recovery webinar. PHYTOPHTHORA Phytophthora …
By Ariel Singerman Orange yield in Florida has decreased by more than 80% since HLB was first found in the state in 2005. It is hard to find another example in recent history of an industry as iconic as Florida citrus that has declined so significantly as a consequence of a plant disease. As a comparison, at the global level, …
The area quarantined for HLB in San Diego County, California, has been expanded, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS) announced on Sept. 23. USDA APHIS took the action in cooperation with the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA). HLB, a plant disease caused by Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus, is also known as citrus …
Citrus growers impacted by Hurricane Helene now must decide the best management strategy to protect trees from potential disease issues prior to harvest. Kim Jones, a citrus grower and packer with operations in Monticello, Florida, and Tifton, Georgia, weighed in on what to consider to protect trees. “Fungus is the biggest risk at this point,” said Jones. “The sunshine is …
The Citrus Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) board of directors had a busy meeting in September. The board approved several research proposals for funding. And one researcher was asked to revise and resubmit a proposal. “A complicating factor was several of the proposals were put together before the ‘off-year’ of oxytetracycline (OTC) usage was repealed, but we concluded that it …
By Megan Dewdney It is late summer or early fall, and the usual time to consider brown rot treatment options has passed. However, you smell a sharp fermented fruit odor. When you look closer, fruit have the telltale soft brown lesions of brown rot. What options exist to minimize losses now? It is too late for the traditional control options …
U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA/APHIS) officials, in cooperation with the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), recently expanded the areas quarantined for huanglongbing (HLB) and sweet orange scab (SOS) in the state. HLB The quarantined area in Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties has been expanded by approximately 50 square miles. Additionally, the …
