OJ Sales Impacted by Inflation

Josh McGillFlorida Department of Citrus, Orange Juice, sales

Approximately 67% of total orange juice (OJ) is consumed through retail channels, and as much as 93% of not-from-concentrate (NFC) OJ is consumed through retail channels. The Florida Citrus Commission (FCC) learned these statistics at its Oct. 26 meeting. Florida Department of Citrus (FDOC) Economic and Market Research Director Marisa Zansler provided the information, along with other citrus juice sales …

California Citrus Industry Follows in Florida’s Research Footsteps

Josh McGillCalifornia Corner, Research

By Danielle Leal During a recent trip to Washington, D.C., California Citrus Mutual (CCM) representatives visited with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and members of Congress to outline several citrus industry priorities and secure funding for research. CCM President and Chief Executive Officer Casey Creamer announced during the 2022 California Citrus Conference that the Citrus Research Board received funding from …

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Apply for CRAFT Cycle 4

Josh McGillCRAFT, Research

The Citrus Research and Field Trial Foundation (CRAFT) is accepting applications online for Cycle 4 of the program. All applications must be received no later than 5 p.m. on Nov. 30, 2022. CRAFT Cycle 4 will continue the practice established in Cycles 1–3 of partnering with Florida citrus growers to evaluate the effectiveness and economic feasibility of various HLB mitigation …

HLB Tolerance Data Expected in Early 2023

Josh McGillRootstocks, Varieties

Conclusive data on trials in the Millennium Block, expected in early 2023, may reveal which of more than 5,500 trees can tolerate HLB, researchers say. The Millennium Block is at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Indian River Research and Education Center (IRREC) in Fort Pierce. IRREC Director Ronald Cave said the 20-acre grove, established …

CUPS Update From the Citrus Research and Education Center

Josh McGillCUPS, HLB Management, Research

By Arnold Schumann, Laura Waldo, Chris Oswalt, Napoleon Mariner, Timothy Ebert, Perseveranca Mungofa, Shankar Shrestha and Laura Cano-Castro Florida grapefruit production for the 2021–22 season was 92% less than in 2003–04, which was prior to the arrival of huanglongbing (HLB) disease [Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service, (USDA NASS)]. The decrease in Florida tangerine production for the …

Pest Incidence and Management in CUPS

Josh McGillCUPS, Pests, Research

By Jawwad A. Qureshi and Salman Al-Shami The citrus under protective screen (CUPS, Figure 1) system is designed so citrus can grow inside screened enclosures to protect it from huanglongbing (HLB) and the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP, Diaphorina citri). ACP is the primary vector of the pathogen responsible for causing HLB, known as citrus greening disease. This vector-pathogen combination is …

Deficit Irrigation Could Improve Fruit Quality in CUPS

Josh McGillCUPS, Irrigation, Research

By Fernando Alferez, Daniel Boakye, Susmita Gaire and Tim Gast Growing citrus under protective screen (CUPS) structures for fresh fruit production is effective in controlling HLB disease by completely excluding the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP, Diaphorina citri). After several years of research on CUPS to grow HLB-free trees in Florida, and with commercial growers increasingly adopting this technology, there is …

CRAFT Cycle 4 Coming Soon

Josh McGillCRAFT, Florida, planting

The application window for Cycle 4 of the Citrus Research and Field Trial (CRAFT) program is expected to open in early October and remain open for a period of 60 days. Projects approved for year four of the CRAFT program in Florida will have a planting deadline of June 2024. CRAFT is working to finalize a presentation of factors of …

California’s Total Reported Citrus Acreage Slightly Up

Josh McGillAcreage, California Corner

California citrus acreage (bearing and nonbearing) planted in grapefruit, lemons, limes, mandarins and pummelos increased in 2022 when compared to 2020. However, the state’s orange acreage declined. That information was in the 2022 California Citrus Acreage Report by the California Department of Food and Agriculture in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). Although orange …

Florida Citrus Acreage Takes a Hit

Josh McGillAcreage, Florida

Total citrus acreage in Florida dropped 8% in the past year, to 375,302 acres, according to the Commercial Citrus Inventory Preliminary Report. The report was released Sept. 7 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. The net loss of 32,046 acres is 19,942 acres more than was lost the previous season. New plantings, at 7,980 acres, are …

Georgia Growers: Look Out for Lebbeck Mealybug

Josh McGillGeorgia, Pests

University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) specialists are alerting Georgia citrus growers about an invasive pest that’s impacting Florida’s crop. Lebbeck mealybugs have yet to navigate their way to Georgia. But it is only a matter of time, says Lauren Diepenbrock, UF/IFAS assistant professor and entomologist. “It’ll get up to Georgia probably. We’re doing our best …

European Mandarin Production to Drop

Josh McGillInternational, Mandarins, Production

European Union (EU) mandarin production in 2021–22 is forecast at 3.16 million metric tons (MMT), a 2.3% decrease from the previous year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) recently reported. Spain will be the largest EU producer of mandarins in 2021–22 at 2.1 MMT, down from 2.3 MMT the prior year. Italy’s expected mandarin production of 832,300 …

How Alico Had Less Crop Decline Than Average

Josh McGillIndustry News Release, Production

Alico President and CEO John Kiernan recently pointed out that the company had less orange crop decline than Florida as a whole in the 2021–22 citrus season. He noted that while the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that the Florida crop declined 22.7% from the prior season, Alico’s decline was only 12.9%. “The company believes this lower rate of decline …

The Status of Satsuma Mandarins in Georgia

Josh McGillGeorgia, Mandarins, Varieties

Satsuma mandarins remain the predominant citrus variety produced in Georgia, but growers diversified more with their plantings this year. Jake Price, University of Georgia Extension coordinator, described the impact that growers could see with various citrus varieties now in place. He presented this information during the recent Citrus Growers’ Summer Update in Valdosta, Georgia. Price says the citrus industry in …

Non-Certified Donaldson Trees: Limited Availability for Growers

Josh McGillFlorida Department of Citrus, HLB Management

The Florida Department of Citrus’ Program for Expedited Propagation (PEP) of HLB-tolerant and resistant trees was conceived during the 2022 Florida legislative session following the discovery of the Donaldson tree among the collection at Whitmore Farms. The goal is to provide the resources needed to ramp up availability of Donaldson trees and others like it, so that growers interested in …

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Microregion Maps in Brazil Help With HLB

Josh McGillBrazil, HLB Management, Research

Microregion maps developed by Fundecitrus should help Brazilian citrus growers make the necessary decisions to combat HLB disease, also known as greening. Fundecitrus explained that the incidence of HLB differs in the various regions of Brazil’s extensive citrus belt. To allow citrus growers to better understand the places where the disease is located, a study by Fundecitrus divided the belt …

Citrus Root Structures: Lessons From Below

Josh McGillResearch, Root health

By Ute Albrecht There have been numerous reports of malformed roots in field-grown citrus trees recently. The rootstock propagation method is often suspected as the culprit. Before drawing quick conclusions, it is important to recognize that there are many different factors that can influence the root structure of a citrus tree aside from the propagation method. These include the genetic …

Chinese Rootstocks Show Promise in Australia

Josh McGillInternational, Research, Rootstocks

Preliminary data from an Australian research project suggest Chinese rootstocks No. 24 and 85-24 are having a dwarfing effect on citrus tree growth and will be candidates for future high-density cropping systems. Citrus Australia reported that those rootstocks have strong potential in heavy soils, and that results on deep sandy loam soil are also very encouraging. Tahir Khurshid from the …

Progress in Developing Improved Citrus Rootstocks to Mitigate HLB

Josh McGillHLB Management, Research, Rootstocks

By Jude Grosser, Manjul Dutt and Fred Gmitter Exploiting citrus genetic diversity is the key to defeating HLB. Plant species have survived for millennia with evolving, hostile pathogens. This is possible through natural selection within genetically diverse populations. Tolerant or resistant individuals survive and intermate, get through the bottleneck, and the species evolves. Current citriculture is based on extremely limited …