Citrus Grower Sees Success with Cover Crops

Tacy CalliesCover Crops

By Juanita Popenoe and Lauren Diepenbrock Ed James has citrus in his veins. He has been working and thriving in the citrus business since he was a teenager — from hoeing orange trees to owning a caretaking business that serviced thousands of acres. That is, until about eight years ago. In 2010, James looked around his personal 45-acre citrus grove …

Studying Citrus Roots in the HLB Era

Tacy CalliesRoot health

By Lorenzo Rossi, Ute Albrecht and Evan Johnson Citrus root systems are confronted with many challenges that limit resource availability needed for tree productivity. Challenges are compounded by huanglongbing (HLB), which now affects nearly all citrus trees throughout Florida’s production areas. Contrary to the above-ground portion of the tree, study of the below-ground portion is considerably more difficult. This article …

PIECES OF THE PAST: Citrus Cultivation a Century Ago

Tacy CalliesPieces of the Past

By Brenda Eubanks Burnette I found the first issue (January 1920) of Citrus Industry, courtesy of Jen Dawson at the Citrus Research and Education Center in Lake Alfred, Florida. As I looked through the issue, I came across an article on soil tillage. Unfortunately, the pages had stuck together and only the last part was readable, but I wanted to …

Citrus Expo

Trees Improving with Good Nutrition

Ernie NeffNutrition

Many things are improving in Florida citrus groves, and Tripti Vashisth gives most of the credit to constant and balanced fertilization. Vashisth is an assistant professor at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Citrus Research and Education Center in Lake Alfred. “You can see that tree health seems to be improving; growth is improving,” Vashisth said. …

Strategies for Stronger Roots

Tacy CalliesRoot health

Citrus growers discuss production practices to improve root health. By Tacy Callies What began as an experiment in Ben Krupski’s 10-acre grove in Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida, is now a common practice he uses as production manager for Lennon Grove Service. Four years ago, Krupski started testing the use of compost in his small leased block of Hamlin trees. In the first …

PIECES OF THE PAST: Think Upside Down

Tacy CalliesPieces of the Past

By Brenda Eubanks Burnette The headline of a Wilson & Toomer Fertilizer Company advertisement in a 1949 Citrus Industry magazine read “how to think UPSIDE DOWN — and make more money!” It included the following copy: “If a tree can be said to think at all — it thinks from the bottom up — just opposite to Man. To make …

Citrus Expo Seminar Planning Underway

Tacy CalliesCitrus Expo

Citrus Expo is just six months away, which means the planning process has started for the seminar program. Growers of citrus, vegetables and specialty crops will once again have the opportunity to earn continuing education units and Certified Crop Adviser credits at the event. Citrus Expo will kick off with a general session on top agricultural issues of importance to …

HLB Here to Stay

Ernie NeffHLB Management

Among other topics she discussed in her part of the latest All In For Citrus podcast, Laurie Hurner emphasized that HLB is here to stay. Hurner is the Highlands County Extension director and a citrus Extension agent. “At some point we do have to make the decision in the field, at the grower production level and at the higher levels …

California Growers Reach Drinking Water Accord with State

Len WilcoxCalifornia Corner

Coalitions of San Joaquin Valley growers created to help comply with water quality regulations have reached a settlement agreement with the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB). The coalitions include the Kaweah Basin Water Quality Association, Tule Basin Water Quality Coalition and Kings River Watershed Coalition Authority. As part of the agreement, the coalitions will install kiosks to ensure safe drinking …

orange

Growing 325 Boxes of Citrus per Acre

Ernie NeffCitrus

Grower Roy Petteway told fellow growers attending a recent grower roundtable meeting in Arcadia that his 400 acres of citrus groves in three counties are averaging production of 325 boxes per acre. That’s approximately double the production level of the average Florida citrus acre hammered by HLB, though far below pre-HLB production levels. Petteway grows fruit for processing in DeSoto, …

PIECES OF THE PAST: Citrus 70 Years Ago, as Told by Uncle Bill

Tacy CalliesPieces of the Past

By Brenda Eubanks Burnette Editor’s note: Citrus Industry is pleased to welcome back Pieces of the Past to the pages of the magazine after publishing it on CitrusIndustry.net for the past year. This popular citrus history column returns to the magazine in preparation for Citrus Industry magazine’s 100th anniversary in January 2020. Leading up to the anniversary, each Pieces of …

Food-Safety Recommendations for Fresh Market Citrus

Tacy CalliesFood Safety

It’s time to prepare for implementation of the Produce Safety Rule. By Travis Chapin, Michelle Danyluk and Keith Schneider In preparation for implementing the Food Safety Modernization Act’s Produce Safety Rule (PSR), growers, harvesters and packers of fresh citrus are required to attend standardized food-safety training, such as the Produce Safety Alliance (PSA) grower training course, which outlines the minimum …

pests

How to Identify and Avoid Nutrient Deficiencies

Ernie NeffNutrition

  Nutrient deficiencies are common in HLB-affected trees, which make up the vast majority of Florida citrus trees. At a recent Citrus Nutrition Day in Bartow, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences researcher Arnold Schumann discussed ways to identify and avoid nutrient deficiencies. A common identification method for nutrient deficiencies is direct observation, “walking through your grove, …

Taking Technology to the Grove

Tacy CalliesCUPS, Technology

By Ernie Neff Jerry Mixon’s use of netting to keep birds from blueberries helped pique his interest in growing citrus under protective screen (CUPS) to exclude HLB-spreading psyllids. But he credits University of Florida researcher Arnold Schumann with helping him bring his Polk County CUPS project to fruition. Mixon met Schumann in 2015, the year after Schumann’s 1-acre CUPS was …

production

Citrus Nutrition Day to Include Field Tours

Daniel CooperCitrus, Citrus Health Management Areas, Industry News Release, Nutrition, Research

This year’s Citrus Nutrition Day — at which growers will learn the latest data about growing the fruit, from the soil up through the plants — is expanding to include tours of field trials. After a morning of updates from University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) researchers, participants may tour field sites at the Peace River …

Sneak Peek: December 2018 Citrus Industry Magazine

Tacy CalliesSneak Peek

Looking for the phone number of your local citrus association? Need to connect with a fertilizer vendor? Or perhaps you want to send an email to your Extension agent? Find all of the industry contact information you need in the 2019 Citrus Guide. Citrus Industry magazine’s annual guide is a directory of citrus organizations, agencies, researchers, Extension agents and vendors. …

Research Update: Citrus Under Protective Screen

Tacy CalliesCUPS

By Arnold Schumann, Timothy Ebert, Laura Waldo, Danny Holmes, Napoleon Mariner, Gary Test, Chris Oswalt, Rhuanito Ferrarezi and Ricardo Lesmes Two studies with citrus under protective screen (CUPS) were established at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Citrus Research and Education Center (CREC) and Indian River Research and Education Center (IRREC) in 2013–14. The goal …

Increasing Yield Through High-Density Plantings

Tacy Calliesplanting

By Rhuanito Ferrarezi, Alan Wright and Arnold Schumann High-density plantings have been tested worldwide in advanced citrus production systems (ACPS) to increase efficiency of water, fertilizer and light, and to maximize yield per area. After the onset of huanglongbing (HLB) in Florida, canopy growth reduced drastically due to negative impacts on plant health, creating the need for new plant spacing …

HLB, irrigation, nutrition

Subirrigation Holds Promise for Citrus Nurseries

Ernie NeffIrrigation, nurseries

Savings in water and fertilizer, along with faster tree growth, can be achieved by using subirrigation in citrus nurseries. University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences researcher Rhuanito (Johnny) Ferrarezi reported on the studies leading to those conclusions at a recent citrus nursery workshop. The event was held at the Citrus Research and Education Center in Lake Alfred, …

nutrition

Some Basics of Good Citrus Nutrition

Ernie NeffNutrition

Studies indicate that constant nutrition supplied by controlled-release fertilizer improves citrus yield and fruit quality, says University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) horticulturist Tripti Vashisth. According to Vashisth, studies also show that increased applications of manganese and boron improve fruit quality. “We are seeing improvement when we are increasing the rate of manganese and boron about …