Chilean Citrus Exports Soar

Tacy CalliesExport, International

Chilean citrus exports in the 2023 season increased 48% over the previous season, and 16% over the average of the last three seasons, the Chilean Citrus Committee reported. A total of 395,889 tons have been exported, of which 15.5% were clementines, 43.7% mandarins, 23.7% oranges and 17.1% lemons. U.S. IS TOP MARKETThe United States was the main destination market, receiving …

Florida Citrus: The Road Back

Tacy CalliesEconomics, Florida

By Tom Spreen The Florida citrus industry has experienced a difficult stretch of years since the record crop year of 2003–04, when over 240 million 90-pound boxes of oranges were produced. INDUSTRY DECLINEIn 2004, multiple hurricanes crisscrossed the Florida peninsula. They were the first hurricanes to hit the citrus-producing area of Florida since Hurricane Dora in 1964. The hurricanes themselves …

Florida citrus

IPCs on More Than a Million Florida Citrus Trees

Daniel CooperIPCs

As recently as five years ago, Florida citrus growers did not routinely put individual protective covers (IPCs) on their trees as part of their grove management. Now, the mesh IPCs cover at least 1 million trees on about 17,000 acres, mostly thanks to experimentation by University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) researcher Fernando Alferez. IPCs keep …

monitoring

Improved Monitoring of Citrus Maturity

Daniel CooperInternational, Research

A new approach developed primarily by Chinese researchers allows for more precise monitoring of citrus fruit development and optimal harvest timing. A key to improving citrus fruit quality and post-harvest processes is understanding citrus color change, a critical indicator of fruit maturity that is traditionally gauged by human judgment. Recent machine vision and neural network advancements offer more objective and …

citrus forecast

Improvements to Florida Citrus Forecast

Daniel CooperCrop Forecast, Florida

In the Dec. 8 citrus forecast from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (USDA NASS), Florida’s grapefruit and tangerine/tangelo production estimates increased. The all-grapefruit forecast for Florida leaped 26% compared to the season’s initial forecast in October. The state’s tangerine and tangelo forecast climbed 10%. All other variety forecasts in the citrus-producing states — Arizona, California, Florida …

alico

Alico Citrus Production Declines 51%

Daniel Cooperfinancial, Industry News Release

Alico Citrus, a division of Alico, Inc., harvested less than half its citrus in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2023 as it did in the prior year. The decline was largely the result of impacts from Hurricane Ian in September 2022. Alico has approximately 49,000 citrus acres in seven Florida counties. The company reported on Dec. 6 that it …

climate

Heat Wave in Brazil Concerns Citrus Growers

Daniel CooperBrazil, Production, Weather

According to the Center for Advanced Studies on Applied Economics (CEPEA), a new heat wave in Brazil’s São Paulo state has been concerning citrus growers. Temperatures are higher than those registered in the last wave in September and are lasting longer. Many producers say that the weather may affect 2024–25 production, but it is still too early to estimate possible …

impacts

Potential Climate Change Impacts on South American and South African Citrus

Daniel CooperInternational, Weather

Like most speakers in a recent World Citrus Organisation (WCO) climate change discussion, those addressing South America and South Africa focused on potential impacts rather than already observed impacts. SOUTH AMERICA “Whether we are negationist or pro-climate change, we should agree that something wrong is occurring in our sector,” stated a slide from Oscar Salgado, an agricultural engineer and fruit …

phytophthora

Phytophthora Diseases in California Citrus

Daniel CooperCalifornia Corner, Diseases

Greg Douhan with University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources (UCANR) recently wrote about phytophthora diseases in California citrus. Edited excerpts follow: There are at least four species of Phytophthora species (P. citrophthora, P. parasitica, P. syringae and P. hibernalis) associated with citrus in California. The three diseases in citrus caused by these fungal-like pathogens are phytophthora root rot, phytophthora …

evaporative cooling

Avoid Evaporative Cooling in Citrus Freeze Protection

Daniel Cooperfreeze, Weather

Both University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) speakers at a Nov. 28 winter weather workshop warned about the risk of evaporative cooling when using irrigation to protect citrus from freezing temperatures. Microsprinkler irrigation has been the main form of cold protection for Florida citrus for at least the last five decades.     The need to understand evaporative …

areas

Fundecitrus Repudiates Articles About Citrus Greening

Daniel CooperBrazil, Citrus Greening

Fundecitrus says it repudiates recent articles that claim productivity in Brazil’s São Paulo and Minas Gerais citrus belt will be reduced by 60% in the next five years due to citrus greening disease. Fundecitrus says Chilean and Spanish news portals published such reports on Nov. 14.  According to Fundecitrus, this information is not valid, nor was it ever provided by …

citrus production

U.S. Citrus Production in 2022–23: Winners and Losers

Daniel CooperProduction

The U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service’s (USDA/NASS) final estimates for the 2022–23 season show U.S. citrus production reaching 4.9 million tons, down 12% from 2021–22. This marks the lowest combined production levels for U.S. citrus in at least 50 years. The U.S. citrus crop was valued at $2.6 billion in 2022–23, 13.5% below the prior year’s value. …

Florida Citrus Show – Attend

HomeAttendSeminarsHotelExhibitSponsorAttend the 2024 Florida Citrus Show!Registration is now closed. On-site registration will be available. The 2024 Florida Citrus Show is not your average trade show. The show will be hosted at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Indian River Research and Education Center and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Horticultural …

Florida Citrus Show

HomeAttendSeminarsHotelExhibitSponsor2024 Florida Citrus ShowApr / 2024Exhibitors Support Growers at Florida Citrus ShowApr / 2024What to Know Before You Go to the Florida Citrus ShowThe 2024 Florida Citrus Show is not your average trade show. The show will be hosted at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Indian River Research and Education Center and the U.S. …

climate change

Climate Change Impacts Mediterranean Citrus

Daniel CooperInternational, Production, Weather

Turkey’s citrus industry has already experienced effects from climate change, Okan Ozkaya, professor at Cukurova University, reported in a recent World Citrus Organisation (WCO) presentation. His presentation was titled Impact of Climate Change in the Citrus Sector in Turkey and the Broader Eastern Mediterranean Area. “Climate change has been a scenario for many years, but we started to see the …

Brazilian

Economist Provides Brazilian Citrus Update

Daniel CooperBrazil, Economics, Florida Department of Citrus

Agriculture is the driving force in the Brazilian economy, and Brazil is a leading food supplier to the global market, economist Marisa Zansler told the Florida Citrus Commission (FCC) at its last meeting. Zansler is director of economic and market research at the Florida Department of Citrus (FDOC). She visited Brazil in August and provided the FCC with an update …

planning

Planning Pointers for Cold-Hardy Citrus Production

Daniel CooperCold Hardy, Production

Crop planning is an essential part of the citrus production process. What are you going to grow? Where are you going to market? How are you going to overcome HLB (huanglongbing or citrus greening)? John Chater, assistant professor at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Citrus Research and Education Center, discussed the different factors that …

citrus trees

Prolong the Health of Young Citrus Trees

Daniel CooperHLB Management, Tip of the Week

By Fernando Alferez, Ute Albrecht, Ozgur Batuman, Jawwad Qureshi and Saoussen Ben Abdallah Individual protective covers (IPCs), which are psyllid-exclusion mesh bags, are increasingly being adopted to efficiently protect newly planted citrus trees from huanglongbing (HLB) infection. However, IPCs typically must be removed after two to three years due to tree growth. Early evidence indicates that brassinosteroids (Brs), a relatively …

New Decay Control Options on the Horizon for Florida Citrus

Josh McGillFresh, Research

By Mark A. Ritenour and Jiuxu Zhang Preventing decay of fresh fruit has always been critical for a successful citrus industry. Prior to citrus greening (huanglongbing or HLB) in Florida, effective decay control practices were well established. These practices fueled Florida’s robust fresh domestic and export citrus sales, allowing shipping durations of 21 days or more. Since the establishment of …

Measuring California’s Citrus Environmental Benefits and Impacts

Josh McGillCalifornia Corner, Survey

Major retailers have been asking questions about the citrus industry’s sustainability efforts. In response, a California citrus industry life cycle analysis project will quantify the net environmental benefits and impacts of citrus production in a typical year. The information will be gathered from a survey developed by researchers at the University of California, Davis (UC Davis), with support from the …