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Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Tip of the Week”
Lebbeck mealybug was first found causing damage in Florida citrus in Highlands County in 2019. As of this writing, it has now been found on citrus in 14 counties in Florida. This pest likely gains some dispersal assistance from wind events, either being blown on infested plant material or as crawlers on wind currents as has been noted for scale …
By Chris Oswalt The weather folks are predicting weak to moderate La Niña conditions this winter. Typically, having either the La Niña or El Niño conditions during the winter in Florida is a good thing. There is a historically lower probability of having severe freezing temperatures during either of these El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) conditions in Florida. What this means …
By Amit Levy Citrus leprosis is an exotic viral disease not currently present in Florida citrus, although the virus is present in non-citrus hosts. This disease was reported in citrus in Florida and Brazil in the early 1900s, where it caused great crop and tree losses, but was eliminated from Florida in the early 1960s. In recent years, the disease …
By Yiannis Ampatzidis and Ute Albrecht Optimizing nutrition is important for tree health and productivity and can improve tolerance to stresses and diseases. Good nutrient management requires regular field monitoring to identify problems and examine crop responses. Leaves need to be collected and sent to a specialized laboratory for detailed information on macronutrients and micronutrients, which is time-consuming and costly. …
By Taylor O’Bannon, Michelle Danyluk and Matt Krug If you visited any public building or restroom during the COVID-19 pandemic, you may have noticed an increased focus on handwashing and hygiene principles reflected in an abundance of signage on doors and in hallways. While it is great that public awareness has increased in the last 18 months, these have always …
By Ajia Paolillo Although October is toward the end of hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30, it can still be a very active month for storms. These storms can range from tropical depressions to hurricanes. Major concerns for citrus growers during a storm include personnel safety, damage to trees, fruit loss and damage to equipment and …
By Tripti Vashisth Gibberellic acid (GA) is a naturally occurring plant hormone. GA has been used in citrus production for years to improve fruit set and size, reduce preharvest drop and delay harvest. Recent findings show that monthly foliar application of GA from September to January can improve productivity of HLB-affected Valencia trees. On average, a 30% increase in yield …
By Ariel Singerman For processed oranges grown in Southwest Florida during 2020–21, the estimated cultural costs were $1,508 per acre. Total costs of production were $1,882 per acre. Those estimates are down $214 per acre compared to the previous season. This is the result of growers reducing costs across all grove programs, except for fungicides and irrigation. Such a cutback …
By Lukasz Stelinski The citrus leafminer (CLM) remains a major pest of citrus throughout Florida. The adults are small, white/silver colored moths about half the size of a typical mosquito (Figure 1). Adults are difficult to spot because of their small size and because they are active only in the evening (dusk) and early pre-dawn hours. CLM adults can be …
By Evan G. Johnson It is time to start thinking about protecting the fall root flush that will start soon and continue through November/December. This is the largest root flush of the year that stores carbohydrate reserves for next spring. Coming out of the rainy season, phytophthora has had the chance to build up plenty of inoculum, especially in groves …
By Ben Chapman, Taylor O’Bannon, Matt Krug and Michelle Danyluk If you would have asked us last September if there would still be a need to write a tip about COVID-19 a year later, our answer would have been, “We sure hope not.” So, what’s changed? The simplest explanation is the emergence of the Delta variant. When you hear us …
By Bill Castle The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Citrus Research and Education Center (CREC) plant improvement team has long been engaged in field research to evaluate new scions and rootstocks. That effort continues and has involved trials on public and private property. While public sites are valuable, they are limited in number. Thus, most …
By Ruth Borger Sometimes when it comes to information shared by University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) faculty, Florida citrus growers may suffer from information overload. There is a lot of good, solid, useful information that growers can use immediately to improve their operations. But how do you sift through it all, and where do you …
By Davie Kadyampakeni Nutrients are needed for optimal tree growth, fruit yield and juice quality. Any nutrient deficiencies could result in low yields and decreased revenue. It is important to make sure citrus trees always receive adequate nutrient supplies. Nutrients are categorized into two groups: macronutrients and micronutrients. MACRONUTRIENTSMacronutrients are those nutrients needed in large quantities to influence yield, growth …
By Jamie Burrow and Ruth Borger Citrus Expo, hosted by AgNet Media with programming support from the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS), is being held in person Aug. 18-19 in North Fort Myers. Like in past years, UF/IFAS faculty will be presenting educational sessions on the latest information that growers can use to improve their …
By Lauren Diepenbrock In the past few years, several citrus growers have been impacted by yet another non-native pest in their groves. This time it is not an insect or mite; it’s a snail. Bulimulus sporadicus is a relatively new pest to Florida, first found in Duval County in 2009. It has quickly moved throughout much of the state, causing …
By Evan Johnson The Florida summer rainy season is in full swing, and there have been one or two root flushes by now. This is a good environment for increases in soil Phytophthora propagule counts. High counts have been seen this year, especially in Southwest Florida. While much of the focus may be on root rot, it is important to …
By Megan Dewdney I did not need to visit my field trial to know that algal spot was in bloom on citrus in the last month. I have received many phone calls about it recently as growers notice the bright orange doughnuts on their tree limbs. For those unfamiliar with algal spot, it is a disease that occurs mostly on …
By Amir Rezazadeh Heat stress happens when the body is exposed to extreme heat in a hot environment. Heat-related illnesses include heat cramps, heat exhaustion, heat rashes or heat stroke. Other signs of heat stress include sweaty palms, fogged-up safety glasses and dizziness. Those who work outdoors or in hot environments are at risk of heat stress. Workers who are …
By Tripti Vashisth, Megan Dewdney and Lauren Diepenbrock Citrus flowers profusely, but less than 2% of the flowers become harvestable fruit. In other words, 98% of the flowers seen during bloom will end up on the grove floor at some point during fruit development, whether as a flower, fruitlet, young fruit or mature fruit. Profuse flowering allows trees to produce …
