New Planting Options for Citrus Growers

Tacy CalliesVarieties

By Fred Gmitter, Ed Stover, Randy Driggers, Greg McCollum and Jude Grosser The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service citrus breeding program has a long history of releasing successful scion and rootstock cultivars. There had been a 15-year lapse in creating new hybrids, and the recently released cultivars largely reflect breeding efforts that preceded the onslaught of HLB …

acreage

The Complex Path for New Citrus in California

Tacy CalliesCalifornia Corner, Varieties

By Len Wilcox Continuous research and development of new varieties is an important function of the University of California, Riverside (UCR). Efforts have led to hundreds of profitable varieties now being grown in California. According to a report in California Agriculture, University of California’s (UC) research journal, one of those varieties has been a source of more than $14 million …

Cold-Hardy Citrus for North Florida

Tacy CalliesVarieties

By Xavier Martini and Peter Andersen Cold-hardy citrus has a long history in North Florida, Alabama, Louisiana and Georgia. Records show that sweet orange, citron, lemon, lime and pummelo were brought to Saint Augustine, Florida, from Spain in 1565. However, it was not until the late 1700s that the Jesuits introduced satsuma (Citrus unshiu) to what is now Louisiana. SATSUMA …

HLB

Rucks on Citrus Varieties and Industry Recovery

Ernie NeffHLB Management, hurricane, Varieties

Phil Rucks of Phillip Rucks Citrus Nursery weighs in on the increasing demand for late versus early orange varieties, the impact of Hurricane Irma and HLB. Rucks notes that over the past 30 years, the demand for early-season oranges versus late-season oranges has essentially reversed. In the past, he says, early varieties accounted for about 60 percent of plantings. Now, …

Progress on Engineering HLB-Tolerant/Resistant Citrus

Tacy CalliesVarieties

By Manjul Dutt and Jude W. Grosser Huanglongbing (HLB) threatens the survival of the Florida citrus industry. Both conventional cultivars and genetically engineered cultivars that can grow in the presence of HLB have been developed at the University of Florida’s Citrus Research and Education Center (CREC) in Lake Alfred. Among the two citrus improvement techniques, engineering citrus remains the fastest …

What Lies Ahead for Florida Citrus?

Tacy CalliesDiseases, HLB Management, Pests, Varieties

Editor’s note: This article is part of the special coverage on the 100th Anniversary of the UF/IFAS Citrus Research and Education Center, found in the October 2017 issue of Citrus Industry magazine. By Tom Nordlie Although it’s difficult to predict future events, directors of the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Citrus Research and Education Center (CREC) …

Specialty and Miscellaneous Varieties to Watch

Abbey TaylorVarieties

Peter Chaires, executive director of the New Varieties Development and Management Corporation, recently spoke at the 2017 Central Florida Fruit Grower Day in Tavares. During his presentation, he discussed findings on specialty varieties from the 2016–2017 season, as well as some miscellaneous varieties catching the eyes of Florida growers. Chaires said he is seeing a lot of interest in some …

Varieties: Replacing Hamlins with Early Valencias

Ernie NeffVarieties

University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences plant breeder Jude Grosser makes a case for Florida’s citrus industry replacing Hamlin oranges with early-maturing Valencia oranges that he and others are developing. “I think that’s a no-brainer because Hamlins are having a really bad time with greening, and orange juice sales are declining,” Grosser says. “Hamlin is half our juice. …