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Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Grapefruit”
A decrease in grapefruit production costs among Indian River growers allowed the average grower to approach the break-even point in the 2015-16 season, a University of Florida economist reports. Ariel Singerman made his report at the recent Florida Citrus Show in Fort Pierce. The report was based on a July 2016 survey of 70 growers representing a majority of grapefruit …
University of Florida researcher Mark Ritenour kicked off the Florida Citrus Show in Fort Pierce on January 25 with an overview of new federal regulations with which fresh fruit growers must comply, starting with large producers in two years. The regulations are part of the Food Safety Modernization Act. Water that is likely to contact fruit is a key focus. …
Fresh Florida grapefruit shipments continue to decline in concert with the downturn in production resulting from HLB and other problems. On October 26, the Florida Department of Citrus projected fresh Florida grapefruit shipments will be about 4.13 million boxes this season. Three seasons ago, in 2013-14, fresh Florida grapefruit shipments totaled 6.1 million boxes and have dropped in each season …
Heavy winds from Hurricane Matthew Friday caused some fruit drop in the Indian River citrus area. But the amount of drop was “not catastrophic,” said Florida Citrus Mutual spokesman Andrew Meadows. “The fact that it stayed offshore helped tremendously,” Meadows said. Some Indian River growers and packers told Mutual that in addition to fruit drop, there will likely be some …
Canker and HLB have made things very difficult for Indian River citrus growers, but outgoing Indian River Citrus League President Scott Lambeth is optimistic about bactericides. “For the last three years with the contraction of the industry, it’s very difficult to keep an open mind and stay positive when you see family farms that are third and fourth generation still …
By: Ernie Neff Mexican fruit flies were a major nuisance to Dale Murden this spring. “As a fresh fruit grower in south Texas, I have to say Mexican fruit fly is our biggest worry,” the citrus grower and president of Texas Citrus Mutual said. The fruit flies infested Texas’ three-county (Cameron, Hidalgo and Willacy) citrus industry in November 2015, prompting …
Tom Stopyra, technical crop advisor for The Packers of Indian River, shares experiences with HLB and offers opinions on numerous other topics he addressed at a recent seminar in Immokalee. Regarding the record high populations of HLB-spreading psyllids throughout Florida’s citrus belt this year, Stopyra says: “We’ve never seen populations like we have this year, even though we’ve been spraying …
Tom Stopyra, technical crop advisor for the Packers of Indian River, told more than 75 growers at an Immokalee seminar last week how his company gets excellent canker management utilizing a four-pronged program: “You have to control the leafminer. You have to have frequent copper sprays at a lower rate. You have to have windbreaks and sanitation, which is the …
