monitoring

Improved Monitoring of Citrus Maturity

Daniel Cooper International, Research

A new approach developed primarily by Chinese researchers allows for more precise monitoring of citrus fruit development and optimal harvest timing. A key to improving citrus fruit quality and post-harvest processes is understanding citrus color change, a critical indicator of fruit maturity that is traditionally gauged by human judgment. Recent machine vision and neural network advancements offer more objective and …

impacts

Potential Climate Change Impacts on South American and South African Citrus

Daniel Cooper International, Weather

Like most speakers in a recent World Citrus Organisation (WCO) climate change discussion, those addressing South America and South Africa focused on potential impacts rather than already observed impacts. SOUTH AMERICA “Whether we are negationist or pro-climate change, we should agree that something wrong is occurring in our sector,” stated a slide from Oscar Salgado, an agricultural engineer and fruit …

ctv

Australia Seeks Vaccine-Like Solution to CTV

Daniel Cooper Diseases, International, Research

Australian scientists are developing a vaccine-like solution to arm citrus growers with an effective way to combat citrus tristeza virus (CTV), a significant challenge for the Australian citrus industry.  The $1.5 million initiative is being delivered through Hort Innovation and collaboratively led by the University of Queensland, the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries (NSW DPI) and Auscitrus. Researchers …

climate change

Climate Change Impacts Mediterranean Citrus

Daniel Cooper International, Production, Weather

Turkey’s citrus industry has already experienced effects from climate change, Okan Ozkaya, professor at Cukurova University, reported in a recent World Citrus Organisation (WCO) presentation. His presentation was titled Impact of Climate Change in the Citrus Sector in Turkey and the Broader Eastern Mediterranean Area. “Climate change has been a scenario for many years, but we started to see the …

April

All In For Citrus Podcast, November 2023

Daniel Cooper All In For Citrus Podcast, HLB Management, International

Michael Rogers, the director of the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Citrus Research and Education Center, and some of his colleagues recently attended the Asian Citrus Congress in India. During the November All In For Citrus podcast, Rogers discusses what was learned and observed on the trip. While many of India’s citrus groves are small-scale …

Northern Hemisphere Citrus Production to Rise

Josh McGill Crop Forecast, International

The World Citrus Organisation (WCO) on Nov. 15 projected that Northern Hemisphere citrus production will hit 28.98 metric tons in 2023. That’s up 12.21% compared to the prior year and 1.48% higher than the four-year average. It also exceeds the WCO’s forecast of 24.35 million tons for the Southern Hemisphere. Oranges are forecast to account for 50% of Northern Hemisphere …

Insights on India’s Citrus Industry

Josh McGill HLB Management, International

Fundecitrus researcher Franklin Behlau lectured about canker and HLB and participated in other ways at the recent Asian Citrus Congress in Nagpur, India. His lecture addressed the advancement of HLB (also known as greening) in the Brazilian citrus belt and the work carried out by Fundecitrus in combating HLB and canker. Behlau also moderated a technical session and participated in …

Texas A&M Professor Honored

Josh McGill Awards, International, Texas

The Indian Society of Citriculture has bestowed an honorary fellowship to Texas A&M AgriLife Research Professor Bhimu Patil. Patil is in the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Department of Horticultural Sciences. He is also director of the Vegetable and Fruit Improvement Center at Texas A&M University, College Station. The society recognized Patil for his “outstanding contribution in the …

citrus forecast

FFVA Endorses Glyphosate Renewal in Europe

Josh McGill International, Pesticides, Regulation

Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association (FFVA) recently submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service endorsing the European Union’s (EU) 10-year registration renewal efforts for glyphosate. In the letter, FFVA stressed that glyphosate herbicide has been used safely and successfully in Europe for more than 40 years. It noted that leading health regulators, including in Europe, the …

Australian Plant Protection Guides Available Online

Josh McGill Education, International

The latest plant protection guides for citrus and deciduous fruit growers in Australia’s New South Wales (NSW), developed by NSW Department of Primary Industries (NSW DPI), are now available online. The citrus plant protection guide 2023–24 is available here. The orchard plant protection guide for deciduous fruits can be found here. The plant protection guides are developed by NSW DPI …

Texas Grapefruit Headed to Vietnam

Josh McGill Grapefruit, International, Trade

Early this year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), in cooperation with other government agencies, got Vietnam to open its market to U.S. grapefruit. Fresh citrus grower, harvester and packer Wonderful Citrus, which has worked with the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) to grow its exports, saw a ripe new opportunity.  “Wonderful Citrus and our grower partners are excited for …

Australian Citrus Season Sees Improvement

Josh McGill International

There have been signs of improvement for the Australian citrus industry in the 2023 season compared to 2022. Among other things, Citrus Australia Chief Executive Officer Nathan Hancock said fruit quality has improved this season. The tail end of the 2023 harvest has been particularly strong from a quality perspective, according to Hancock. “While the earlier fruit this season struggled …

Imports From Japan Would Pose Pest Risk

Josh McGill Export/Import, International, Regulation

A federal pest risk assessment for the importation of fresh citrus from Japan has identified the Japanese orange fly (Bactrocera tsuneonis) as posing a high risk of introduction into the United States. The 120-page assessment was prepared by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS). The agency assessed the risk of scores of insects, …

Egyptian Citrus Imports Would Be ‘Calamity’ for California Growers

Josh McGill International, Trade

Egyptian citrus could be on the way to the U.S. market after a request was made to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). A pest risk assessment has been drafted by USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). Jim Cranney, president of the California Citrus Quality Council (CCQC), said the assessment is for fresh oranges and tangerines, which would …

Gene Confers Resistance to HLB and Citrus Canker

Josh McGill HLB Management, International, Research

In August, Horticulture Research published a paper titled An endolysin gene from Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus confers dual resistance to huanglongbing and citrus canker. Researchers found that an endolysin encoded by the Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas) prophage has dual resistance to huanglongbing (HLB) and citrus canker. A prophage is the genetic material of a bacteriophage, and a bacteriophage is a virus …

Why Argentine Orange and Tangerine Production Is Down

Josh McGill Crop Forecast, International

Argentine fresh orange and tangerine production will decline in 2022–23 compared to the prior season, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA FAS) forecast recently. Fresh orange production is forecast at 623,000 metric tons (MT), down from 830,000 MT the prior season. Fresh tangerine production is projected to decrease to 285,000 MT, down from 380,000 MT the prior …

Reasons for Less Argentine Lemon Production

Josh McGill Crop Forecast, International, lemons

Fresh lemon production in Argentina in 2022–23 is forecast to decline to 1.65 million metric tons (MMT), down from 2.1 MMT the prior year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA FAS) reported recently. The decline is due to the impact of rising costs, which have prompted smaller producers to limit the maintenance needed on lemon-bearing trees and …

Worldwide Citrus Production Down in All Categories

Josh McGill Crop Forecast, International

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA FAS) recently estimated that world citrus production is down for oranges, mandarins, orange juice (OJ), grapefruit and lemons/limes. For all categories, production will be lower in 2022–23 than in the prior year. OJGlobal OJ production for 2022–23 is estimated 9% lower to 1.5 million metric tons (MMT). Production is down due …

Citrus Australia Monitoring Pomelo Risk Analysis

Josh McGill International, Trade

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 …

Global Mandarin Production Declining

Josh McGill Crop Forecast, International, Mandarins

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 …