Can Zinc and Potassium Curb Fruit Drop?

Tacy CalliesFruit Drop

The Florida citrus industry has been focused on finding solutions to the fruit drop problem that has hit groves hard in recent years. During the 2022 Florida Citrus Show in Fort Pierce, Fernando Alferez, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, assistant professor of citrus horticulture, presented findings from a research trial aimed at reducing fruit drop. The …

What to Do About Bingo Stem Dieback

Josh McGillDiseases, Research, Tip of the Week

By Christopher Vincent, Megan Dewdney and Liliana Cano Bingo is a relatively new and unfamiliar variety, which growers initially sought as a positive alternative. However, it presents some unique production challenges. Bingo is desirable because its high-quality, low-seeded fruits are ripe in October, a valuable harvest window for Florida growers. But in the early years of its propagation, some nurseries …

Georgia Grower Rapidly Reacts to HLB Find

Josh McGillGeorgia, HLB Management

By Lindy Savelle Earlier this year, a small grove owner in Grady County, Georgia, noticed some odd-looking trees in his grove. The leaves, having an asymmetrical discoloration, appeared to be nutritionally deficient. In an attempt to remedy the problem, the grower reached out to the Grady County Extension office for help. The Extension agent began his quest to figure out …

brazilian

Brazil’s Orange Crop Holding Steady

Josh McGillBrazil, Forecast, International

While the February Florida orange crop forecast saw a decline, Brazil’s February orange forecast is unchanged from its December forecast. Published on Feb. 10 by Fundecitrus and its cooperators, the third 2021–2022 orange crop forecast update for the São Paulo and West-Southwest Minas Gerais citrus belt remains at 264.14 million boxes. Should this forecast hold true until harvest ends, Brazil’s …

citrus

Improving Color Break and Brix in CUPS

Josh McGillCUPS, Production, Research

Arnold Schumann recently reported on what he called “the most successful and practical intervention for improving color break and quality in CUPS fresh fruit.” CUPS stands for citrus under protective screen, a growing technique that Schumann, a University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) researcher, helped pioneer in Florida. He reported on his work at a Feb. …

Fruit and Vegetable Consumption Severely Lacking in U.S. Adults

Josh McGillFlorida Department of Citrus, Research

A new study published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that only a small percentage of U.S. adults consume the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables. On average only 12% of U.S. adults meet fruit-intake and only 10% meet vegetable-intake recommendations outlined in the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA). Low intakes may put Americans at increased risk …

Florida OJ Videos Play in Airports

Josh McGillFlorida, Florida Department of Citrus, Orange Juice

The Florida Department of Citrus (FDOC) showed its “The Original Wellness Drink” videos about Florida orange juice (OJ) within major airports during the holiday season. These 15- and 30-second videos played throughout multiple markets via airports in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, New York, Orlando, Tampa/Sarasota and Washington, D.C. The ads ran from Thanksgiving week through New Year’s Eve, targeting at …

Alico

Alico Reports Higher Prices, Lower Yield

Josh McGillAgriculture, Orange Juice, Production

Alico, Inc.  has seen an increase in the price per pound solids for oranges from $2.25 to $2.58 so far this season. A significant reason for the price improvement is the continued strength of consumption of not-from-concentrate orange juice by retail consumers, the company stated. Average pound solids per box were down for the fiscal quarter that ended Dec. 31, 2021. The pounds …

Keep an Eye Out for Postbloom Fruit Drop This Spring

Josh McGillFruit Drop, Tip of the Week, Weather

By Megan M. Dewdney Postbloom fruit drop (PFD) is a flower disease mainly caused by the fungus Colletotrichum acutatum. The fungus is present on citrus trees throughout the year but survives by producing resting structures on leaves and stems. The fungus becomes stimulated to produce spores by substances from the early flowers. These early spores infect the initial flowers and …

Texas Canker Quarantine Expanded Again

Josh McGillCitrus, 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. …

Survey Assessing Freeze Impact on Florida Ag

Josh McGillAgriculture, Florida, Weather

The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) on Feb. 3 activated the Business Damage Assessment Survey to assess the impact freezing temperatures had on the state’s agriculture businesses. Survey responses will allow the state to gather data and evaluate resources that impacted businesses may need to recover after the freezing weather that occurred the weekend of Jan. 28–30. “The agriculture …

HLB: The Path Forward

Josh McGillHLB Management, Research

Rick Dantzler, chief operating officer of the Citrus Research and Development Foundation (CRDF), gave an update at the recent Florida Citrus Show on the latest efforts to find solutions to the HLB problem. Dantzler acknowledged the frustration growers have expressed in the long battle against the disease and the challenge it has presented to the research community. Because of this, …

Foliar Fungal Disease Round-up for 2022

Josh McGillDiseases, Florida, Fruit Drop

By Megan Dewdney The 2021 foliar fungal season was an easier than average year. The La Niña weather pattern predicted last fall came to pass, and the spring was relatively dry from January to the end of May with some rain in February and April. While citrus trees in Florida were likely drought-stressed, the dry weather slowed the usual decomposition …

Florida Orange Ratio and Brix Requirements Reduced

Tacy CalliesFlorida, Regulation

In response to citrus damage from a late January freeze, the Florida Citrus Commission (FCC) on Feb. 3 lowered the minimum ratio requirement for oranges to 8.5:1 with a minimum Brix of 8 for fresh and processed fruit. Florida Citrus Mutual (FCM), the state’s largest citrus grower association, asked for the emergency action on Jan. 31. FCM CEO Mike Sparks …

Emergency Declared for Florida Post-Freeze Harvest

Josh McGillFlorida, Weather

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Feb. 2 issued an executive order declaring a state of emergency in many counties where citrus and other agricultural commodities were affected by a Jan. 28–30 freeze. It specifically gives state officials authority to relax restrictions on commercial vehicles to facilitate an emergency harvest. “The relaxation of the restrictions on commercial vehicles is necessary to …

Keep Leprosis From Re-entering Florida

Josh McGillDiseases, Florida

Citrus leprosis has not been reported in Florida since 1968, but researcher Ozgur Batuman called it “an approaching threat to Florida citrus” in a recent virtual seminar. Batuman, a citrus pathologist at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Southwest Florida Research and Education Center, urged growers to be on the lookout for the disease. According …

Achieving Successful Nursery-Grower-Researcher Partnerships

Josh McGillResearch, Rootstocks, Tip of the Week

By Bill Castle, Fred Gmitter and Jude Grosser 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 …

Increasing Pesticide Effectiveness With Adjuvants

Josh McGillCEU

By Ajia Paolillo Editor’s note: THIS ARTICLE IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE FOR CEU CREDIT. Pesticides are widely used in commercial agriculture to manage insects and other arthropods, diseases and weeds. Each application needs to be as effective as possible in managing the target pest. Many factors, such as environmental conditions, tank-mix incompatibility and solution pH, can cause a pesticide application …

Avoid Phytophthora When Planting

Josh McGillDiseases, Research

Phytophthora infection can lead to severe stunting in newly planted citrus trees, researcher Megan Dewdney told growers and others at a Jan. 19 presentation at the Citrus Research and Education Center in Lake Alfred, Florida. She said stunted trees never thrive or produce adequate fruit. Dewdney is a University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences plant pathologist. She …