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Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “HLB Management”
(NSF) — The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services wants the Florida Supreme Court to put on hold a legal battle about payments to Lee County homeowners whose healthy citrus trees were cut down amid an effort to halt the spread of citrus-canker disease. The department on Wednesday filed a motion for a stay, after taking the long-running case to the Supreme Court last …
The Citrus Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) in 2017 agreed to partner with Bayer Crop Science for three years in an effort to develop new technologies to combat HLB. On Dec. 3, a Bayer representative provided a progress update to the CRDF board of directors. CRDF Chief Operating Officer Rick Dantzler discusses the history and possible future of the endeavor. …
The Washington Post recently published a “well-balanced article” about Florida’s citrus industry, telling its woes as well as progress against HLB, says Michael Rogers. “We hosted a reporter from the Washington Post back in July of this year,” says Rogers, director of the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Citrus Research and Education Center. “I think …
University of California, Riverside (UCR) professor Georgios Vidalakis recently provided an update on the state of California citrus for researchers in Florida. Vidalakis is a noted professor and Extension specialist in UCR’s Microbiology and Plant Pathology Department. Among other honors, he was recently named Presidential Researcher for Sustainable Citrus Clonal Protection. Vidalakis pointed out that California has benefited greatly from …
About eight years ago, Ed James had given up on a grove that was ravaged by HLB in the Howey-in-the-Hills area. “I had abandoned the grove,” he says. “I was going to fix the soil to plant alternative crops. And when I started fixing the soil with cover crops, the trees turned around and started producing again.” On Nov. 15, …
The Senate passed an appropriations minibus package that included critical funds for Florida secured by Senator Rubio (H.R 3055, Commerce, Justice, Science, Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, Interior, Environment, Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Act of 2020). In his role on the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Rubio secured major funds for Florida’s citrus industry: $8.5 million …
By Fernando Alferez, Susmita Gaire, Ute Albrecht, Ozgur Batuman, Jawwad Qureshi and Mongi Zekri Controlling the Asian citrus psyllid vector of huanglongbing (HLB) is critical, especially in young trees. Reducing HLB incidence is essential for tree survival and productivity under current endemic conditions. Individual protective covers (IPCs) are a novel strategy based on psyllid exclusion by means of a protective …
Newly planted trees need to have root systems that are as established, robust and healthy as possible before contracting HLB, Evan Johnson told growers at Citrus Expo. That’s because HLB takes out a tree’s fibrous root system and causes dieback of the structural root system. Having strong root systems from the start will increase the productive life of trees, the …
By Christopher Vincent Particle films can both increase tree growth and reduce Asian citrus psyllid populations. University of Florida (UF) research has found particle films delay infection with the CLas bacterium, which causes HLB. They also enhance growth rates and yield. Particle films do have limitations to efficacy, including being washed off in frequent or heavy rains. Overall, particle films …
At Citrus Expo, economist Ariel Singerman discussed the economics of producing citrus under protective screen (CUPS) and covering young trees with individual protective covers (IPCs). The primary purpose of both strategies is to exclude HLB-spreading Asian citrus psyllids. Singerman is with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS). Singerman calculated that a CUPS grower who insures …
By Freddy Ibanez, Nabil Killiny, L. Gene Albrigo and Lukasz L. Stelinski With both Asian citrus psyllids (ACP) and huanglongbing (HLB) distributed throughout Florida groves, there is no longer a need to slow the spread of the disease. So, it is logical to ask whether reducing vector numbers is still something that is worth pursuing, given the investment needed in …
Horticulturist Tripti Vashisth discussed the use of gibberellic acid (GA) in HLB-affected trees at a recent, well-attended OJ Break in Bartow hosted by multi-county citrus Extension agent Chris Oswalt. Vashisth is an assistant professor at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Citrus Research and Education Center. Vashisth told growers that HLB-affected trees are under continuous stress …
Laurie Hurner grew up in a fifth-generation Florida citrus-growing family, and she and her sisters worked their farm in Highlands County. “My parents had three daughters,” said Hurner, the director of University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Extension Highlands County and the county’s citrus agent. “We were all well-rounded.” From their mom, the girls learned what …
Long-time multi-county citrus Extension agent Mongi Zekri, who serves Southwest Florida counties, says individual protective covers (IPCs) work well in the fight against citrus greening, also known as HLB. “They have been very effective in controlling or managing citrus greening, because they don’t allow the citrus psyllid, which is the vector of the disease, to get to the tree,” Zekri …
By Karla Arboleda University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences researchers are getting ready to conduct several trials on tools used to protect young citrus trees from HLB. The team of five researchers will receive $665,471 in funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for experiments at the Citrus Research and Education Center (CREC) in Lake Alfred. Lauren …
By Ernie Neff Like all Florida citrus packers, “our citrus volume is down substantially because of HLB,” says Dundee Citrus Growers Association (CGA) Chairman and President Lindsay Raley. But unlike many packinghouses that have closed since HLB was discovered in Florida, Dundee CGA’s packinghouse is still thriving. Diversifying beyond citrus and helping its members cope with HLB have been keys …
Since 2016, federal authorities have allowed Florida citrus growers to spray oxytetracycline solutions on their trees to combat citrus greening disease. A newly published University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) study suggests that the bactericide would be more effective if it were injected into citrus tree trunks, a practice not currently approved under U.S. law. Citrus …
Research and trials into zinkicide “look very promising” for use against HLB, University of Central Florida researcher Swadeshmukul Santra says. He summarizes a presentation he made at the Florida Citrus Mutual annual conference in Bonita Springs this summer. “It (zinkicide) can improve yield, fruit and juice quality on HLB-affected trees,” stated a slide that Santra presented at the conference. The …
The Citrus Pest & Disease Prevention Committee of the Citrus Research Board (CRB) has endorsed a list of voluntary actions growers can undertake if HLB-infected trees are found in their vicinity. The voluntary actions go beyond the required regulatory response. Beth Grafton-Cardwell, entomologist with University of California Riverside, explained the recommendations during a recent interview with AgNet West multimedia journalist …
Individual protective covers (IPCs) have thus far kept citrus trees free of HLB in research plots, according to Susmita Gaire, a presenter at the recent Florida State Horticultural Society annual meeting. Gaire is a graduate student working with University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) researcher Fernando Alferez at the Southwest Florida Research and Education Center in …
