A Look Back at 100 Years of Citrus Innovation

Tacy Callies History

By Beverly James, Alec Richman, Brad Buck, Samantha Grenrock and Tom Nordlie The year was 1917. In April, the United States entered World War I. Florida’s population was fast approaching 1 million, and agriculture was the state’s most important economic driver. Citrus cultivation, introduced to Florida 400 years earlier by Spanish explorers, had spawned an industry following the Civil War. …

$760 Million: Initial Estimate of Irma’s Florida Citrus Damage

Tacy Callies Citrus, hurricane

Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam announced on Oct. 4 that the preliminary agricultural damages caused by Hurricane Irma in Florida total more than $2.5 billion. In an initial report, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services estimated losses for each segment of agriculture. The preliminary economic assessments account for current crop losses and ancillary losses, such as …

CRDF and Bayer Announce Partnership at Citrus Expo

Tacy Callies Citrus, HLB Management, Industry News Release

The Citrus Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) and Bayer CropScience announced a new partnership at Citrus Expo. In an effort to discover new technologies to manage citrus greening disease, CRDF will invest $12 million with Bayer over a three-year period. Bayer will focus on product research and development of both biological and chemical controls. Adrian Percy, head of research and …

Tree Defender Stops Psyllids

Tacy Callies Citrus

Sponsored Content A Florida company may hold the key to protecting the world’s young citrus plantings until a permanent solution for the devastating citrus greening disease (HLB) can be found. Widespread devastation from citrus greening has caused billions of dollars in lost revenue and killed over 100 million citrus trees worldwide. Although there appears to be no end in sight, …

Managing Multiple Risks in a Citrus Farming Operation

Tacy Callies Citrus

By Ariel Singerman and Stephen H. Futch Uncertainty can be defined as imperfect knowledge, and risk as uncertain consequences, particularly unfavorable consequences. To take a risk then is to expose oneself to a chance of loss, in some cases expecting a gain in return. Many decisions in agriculture involve risk and uncertainty. Risk management is concerned with reducing the possibility …

Controlled-Release Fertilizer Boosts Health of HLB Trees (Part 2)

Tacy Callies Citrus, Nutrition

By Pete Spyke, Joby Sherrod and Jude Grosser Part 1 of this article, published in the April 2017 issue of Citrus Industry magazine, provided some background information on controlled-release fertilizer (CRF) along with a discussion of practical applications in citrus production. This article, part 2, includes summaries of observations from several case studies in which CRF has been applied for …

Putnam, Graham Gear Up for Governor’s Race

Daniel Cooper Industry News Release

By Dara Kam and Lloyd Dunkelberger The News Service of Florida Ending months of speculation, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam filed papers Monday to run for governor in 2018. The Republican’s entree into the race to succeed Gov. Rick Scott, forced to leave office next year because of term limits, was little more than a formality. Putnam, a former congressman …

Psyllids

Psyllids: Windbreaks, Grove Orientation and Tree Planting

Ernie Neff HLB Management, Psyllids

Populations of HLB-spreading psyllids in groves can be impacted by windbreaks, grove orientation and whether new plantings are resets or solid settings. So says Kirsten Pelz-Stelinski, an entomologist with the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. “Windbreaks are one of the best things that you can do in terms of protecting the grove,” Pelz-Stelinski says. She says …

Controlled-Release Fertilizer Boosts Health of HLB Trees (Part 1)

Josh McGill Nutrition

By Pete Spyke, Joby Sherrod and Jude Grosser Editor’s note: Look for part 2 of this article in the May 2017 issue of Citrus Industry magazine. Part 2 will present case studies using controlled-release fertilizer. Until now, most growers have considered controlled-release fertilizer (CRF) to be primarily for use on young trees, especially resets in existing groves. There is increasing …

leprosis

Blight Research Update

Ernie Neff Diseases, Research

Ron Brlansky, a University of Florida professor emeritus, spent much of his career at the Citrus Research and Education Center researching blight, and he’s still working on it. He discussed efforts to obtain funding for more research at a recent seminar in Lake Alfred attended by about 20 people. “We have a virus that’s associated with it (blight) now,” Brlansky …

Letter to the Editor: The Future of the Florida Citrus Industry*

Tacy Callies Citrus, Letter to the Editor, Rootstocks, Scions

By Bill Castle University of Florida professor emeritus Paul Genho, a former manager of the Deseret Ranch in Osceola County, spoke about soils and food at a Florida land conference in 2015.** He noted that 90 percent of the world’s food production occurred on only four soil types: Mollisols, Alfisols, Ultisols and Oxisols. A goodly proportion of those soil types …

A Holistic Approach to Production

Tacy Callies Citrus Greening, PFD

By Owen “Sonny” Conner EDITOR’S NOTE: Citrus Industry magazine is providing a platform for growers to express their experiences and share their stories as we unite in the quest to fight HLB and bring the citrus industry back to a healthy condition. The views stated in this article are those of the author and do not represent those of AgNet …

Sneak Peek: January Citrus Industry Magazine

Tacy Callies Citrus

A new year is just around the corner and so is the next issue of Citrus Industry magazine. The January issue features a cover story on Callie Walker, chief of the Bureau of Pest Eradication and Control for the Florida Department of Agriculture. Learn about Walker’s deep roots in citrus and what she is doing about the abandoned grove problem. …

Citrus Guide

Table of Contents Citrus Nurseries/Citrus Seed Crop Protection Events Fertilizers Grove Equipment & Supplies Grove Services Insurance/Crop Insurance Nutritionals Citrus Nurseries/Citrus SeedCompany: Agromillora Florida, Inc. Contact: Clay Pederson Mailing Address: 9038 CR 229, Wildwood, FL 34785 Business Phone: (352) 399-2328 Mobile Phone: (352) 661-0139E-mail: cpederson@agromillora.com Website: agromillora.com/en Products or Services: Providing quality citrus liners for wholesale. Crop ProtectionCompany: FMC CorporationContact: …

Managing the Health and Productivity of HLB-Affected Groves

Tacy Callies HLB Management

By Tripti Vashisth In 2005, huanglongbing (HLB or citrus greening disease) was first discovered in Florida. Florida orange production changed from 242 million boxes in the pre-hurricane, pre-HLB, 2003–2004 season to 81.5 million boxes in 2015–2016. This dramatic reduction in yield is attributable to multiple causes, including a reduction in citrus acreage, citrus canker and other citrus diseases. HLB is …

HLB and ‘Tolerance’ as a Practical Matter in Choosing Rootstocks

Tacy Callies Rootstocks

By Bill Castle (Editor’s note: Click on the graphs throughout the article to enlarge them.) By classic biological definition, a particular citrus rootstock-scion combination when infected with Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas) would be considered tolerant if infected trees had no more than slight reductions in performance, sometimes accompanied by a reduced level of the pathogen. That definition implies that the …

Sneak Peek: July Citrus Industry Magazine

Tacy Callies Citrus, Irrigation

Citrus Industry subscribers will soon receive the July issue of the magazine. Featured in the cover story are young citrus leaders LeAnna and Aaron Himrod. Read all about the sister and brother’s accomplishments as they carry on the family tradition of staying in the citrus business. This issue also includes two water-management articles by University of Florida professor Kelly Morgan. …

A Wage and Hour Primer for the Citrus Industry

Kelsey Fry Legislative

As an agricultural employer, you face many business challenges and you must comply with a number of employment-related laws every day, especially if you work with labor-intensive crops. Ensuring that your employment policies and pay practices comply with the law not only helps you avoid liability for potential labor violations, but keeps your workforce productive and motivated. Simply stated, complying …

Discussing Genetic Engineering With a Concerned Public

Josh McGill Citrus

By: Kevin Folta Our farm producers have brought unprecedented low-priced, safe food to the United States and the world. Despite the success, there are challenges to sustained production that may best be solved with genetic engineering. These technologies have proven safe and effective for almost two decades, mostly in the arena of high-acreage agronomic crops like corn, soy and cotton. …