texas

New and Expanded Canker Quarantines in Texas

Daniel Cooper Diseases, Regulation, Texas

Federal and Texas agriculture officials announced they are establishing four new quarantine areas for citrus canker in Brazoria and Harris counties, Texas. They are also expanding three existing quarantine areas for citrus canker in Brazoria, Fort Bend, Galveston and Harris counties. The U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS) and the Texas Department of Agriculture …

texas citrus

After Recent Challenges, Texas Citrus Looking Up

Daniel Cooper Production, Texas

The Texas citrus industry has faced numerous challenges in recent years, including Hurricane Hanna in 2020, winter storm Uri in early 2021 and droughts in both 2022 and 2023. After Uri, Texas grapefruit production was at about 1.6 million boxes for the 2021–22 season, down 33% from the previous year. Orange production was about 400,000 boxes, down 62%. Juan Anciso, Texas …

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 …

Texas Growers Rebounding From 2021 Freeze

Josh McGill freeze, Texas

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. …

Hairy Approach May Get to the Root of HLB

Josh McGill HLB Management, Research, Texas

Developing disease-resistant, high-quality improved crop varieties may seem like a “hairy” task, but Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientists may have gotten to the root of the issue. A new biological technology that develops and multiplies disease-resistant citrus plants is under development by an AgriLife Research team led by Kranthi Mandadi. Mandadi is an associate professor at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research …

florida citrus

Texas Citrus Assessment Rate Reduced

Josh McGill Marketing, Regulation, Texas

The marketing order assessment rate for Texas oranges and grapefruit for 2022–23 and subsequent years will be reduced from 5 cents to 3 cents per 7/10-bushel carton. The reduction is the result of a final rule by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service (USDA AMS), which implemented a recommendation from the Texas Valley Citrus Committee. The rule’s effective …

Brownsville Mexfly Quarantine Removed in Texas

Josh McGill Pests, Regulation, Texas

Federal and state agriculture officials on Nov. 14 removed the Mexican fruit fly (Mexfly) quarantine in Brownsville, Cameron County, Texas. The quarantine was removed after three generations elapsed with no additional detections in the area. The action was taken by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA). …

Hargill Mexfly Quarantine Removed in Texas

Josh McGill Pests, Regulation, Texas

Federal and state agriculture officials on Sept. 21 removed the Mexican fruit fly (Mexfly) quarantine in Hargill, Willacy County, Texas, after three generations elapsed with no additional detections in this area. The action was taken by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA). This action releases the final …

Mexfly Quarantine Removed in Texas

Josh McGill Pests, Regulation, Texas

Federal and state authorities on Aug. 10 removed the Mexican fruit fly (Mexfly) quarantine area in Weslaco, Hidalgo County, Texas. This area was a portion of the Harlingen-Lyford-Weslaco quarantine. The action was taken by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA). On April 8, APHIS and TDA established …

Texas Mexfly Quarantine Area Reduced

Josh McGill Pests, Regulation, Texas

Federal and state agriculture officials on Aug. 18 released portions of the Brownsville, Cameron County, Texas Mexican fruit fly (Mexfly) quarantine area. The action was taken by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) after three Mexfly life-cycles elapsed with no additional detections in these areas. As a …

Water Shortage Is Latest Texas Citrus Concern

Josh McGill Texas, Water

A little more than 20 inches of rain has fallen on Dale Murden’s Texas grapefruit grove in 2022 — “about average for the year,” he says. But the majority of Texas is in severe drought, and that poses problems for Murden and other Texas growers, especially for the future. “We just are not seeing any rain or significant inflows in …

Texas Mexfly Updates Issued

Josh McGill Pests, Regulation, Texas

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) in late June announced updates regarding Mexican fruit fly (Mexfly) quarantines in Texas: On April 29, APHIS and the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) established a Mexfly quarantine in Lyford, Willacy County, Texas. APHIS and TDA established the Lyford quarantine following the confirmed detection of a mature …

Mexfly Actions Taken in Texas

Josh McGill Pests, Regulation, Texas

Federal and state authorities recently established one Mexican fruit fly (Mexfly) quarantine in Texas and expanded another. The actions were taken by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA). On April 8, the agencies established a Mexfly quarantine in Weslaco, Hidalgo County, Texas. They established the Weslaco quarantine …

Texas Region Plans Citrus Revival

Josh McGill Citrus, Texas

The area of Falfurrias, Texas, was a very prosperous citrus-growing region from 1909 until 1951, according to Romulo Montilla, who has a ranch there. “However, in 1951 there was a freezing temperature that killed close to 90% of the citrus. In 1967, the remaining citrus was eliminated with another terrible freeze.” Montilla and others recently began working to return citrus …

Mexfly Quarantines Expanded in Texas

Josh McGill Pests, Regulation, Texas

Federal and state agriculture agencies on March 22 established a new Mexican fruit fly (Mexfly) quarantine in Zapata County, Texas, and expanded the Brownsville and Harlingen quarantine areas in Cameron County. On March 30, the agencies expanded the Palmview quarantine area in Hidalgo County. The actions were taken by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service …

Funding to Protect Texas Citrus

Josh McGill Citrus, Texas

A significant portion of the $3 million the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is allocating to Texas for pest detection, surveillance, identification and threat mitigation is targeted to the state’s citrus industry. Among other citrus-related projects, the USDA is including money to aid Texas in the control of Asian citrus psyllids and the HLB disease they spread. “Texas has more …

Texas Canker Quarantine Expanded Again

Josh McGill Citrus, Diseases, Texas

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) have established five new quarantine areas for citrus canker in Brazoria, Galveston and Harris counties, Texas. They also expanded two existing quarantine areas for citrus canker in Brazoria, Fort Bend and Harris Counties, Texas, to prevent the spread of the disease. …

Texas Freeze Update: Fruit Is Sparse

Ernie Neff freeze, Texas

Surviving citrus trees in South Texas have bounced back from extreme freeze during Winter Storm Uri in February, but fruit is sparse this season, said Texas A&M AgriLife Extension horticulturist Juan Anciso.   An AgriLife Extension study estimated the severe freeze caused $230 million in damage to Texas’ citrus industry. Around 80% of the orange crop and almost 70% of …