PIECES OF THE PAST: Centennial Celebration

Tacy CalliesHistory

By Brenda Eubanks Burnette Frostproof will celebrate its 100th year beginning at noon on Sept. 1, 2018. The Frostproof Centennial Committee has been posting a number of articles on its Facebook page in honor of the celebration. One of the articles noted how Frostproof was incorporated. On June 18, 1918, at 3:00 p.m., 47 Frostproof men met in the Thompson …

Crate Labels: Marketing Tools Become American Art

Tacy CalliesCalifornia Corner, History

By Len Wilcox The labels that citrus packinghouses formerly placed on their shipping crates have a long and colorful history. These vibrant labels — usually square, depicting a beautiful farm, pretty lady or perhaps some impossibly perfect oranges — have become art objects and unique representations of their time and place in history. LOCATIONS OF COLLECTIONS In Florida, that history …

CUPS Offers Grapefruit Hope

Ernie NeffGrapefruit

A 4-year-old citrus-under-protective-screen (CUPS) trial offers hope for fresh grapefruit growers who struggle to grow fruit in the face of HLB, Arnold Schumann reports. Schumann says last season’s Ray Ruby grapefruit crop enclosed in CUPS at the Citrus Research and Education Center in Lake Alfred had 100 percent packout, even after Hurricane Irma inflicted some damage to the CUPS structure …

Growers Discuss Crop Conditions, Bactericides and More

Ernie NeffBactericides

Highlands County Extension Director and Citrus Extension Agent Laurie Hurner summarizes discussions at a grower forum she hosted in Sebring on Aug. 23. Crop conditions and bactericides for HLB were among topics discussed. “We heard that the crop is looking good,” Hurner says. “I think people were optimistic, but they were also hesitant in their optimism.” She points out that …

HLB, Replanting

What to Ask When Deciding What to Plant

Tacy CalliesRootstocks, Scions, Varieties

By Nate Jameson The decision-making process for choosing a scion/rootstock combination involves multiple factors. The process starts by answering the following questions: Question 1: New planting or resetting? If the block is being reset, is still profitable and will stay in production for several years, then I suggest the grower stay with the existing combination currently planted. If the block …

HLB-Detector Dogs Coming to California

Len WilcoxCalifornia Corner, HLB Management

The use of canines or “sniffer dogs” is again being investigated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for early detection of HLB-infected trees. Through the HLB Multi-Agency Coordination (MAC) program, USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has invested millions of dollars in the research and training of detector canines for finding HLB-positive trees. A recent full-day meeting in …

Rootstock/Scion Combos: What Works and What Doesn’t

Tacy CalliesRootstocks, Scions

By Ernie Neff For Phil Rucks and Tom Powers at Phillip Rucks Citrus Nursery in Frostproof, Florida, selecting rootstock and scion combinations starts by acknowledging that some varieties just don’t do well with HLB. “We don’t recommend some varieties regardless of rootstock,” Rucks says. Powers says varieties that are especially difficult to grow with HLB are Hamlin, midsweet and pineapple …

immigration

Immigration Reform Impacting Agriculture

Ernie NeffImmigration

At the recent general session of Citrus Expo, AgSafe President and CEO Amy Wolfe discussed emerging issues in ag labor and food safety. One of the topics she covered was the federal Ag and Legal Workforce Act that was introduced in Congress on July 18. The new bill is an effort to combine the existing agricultural guestworker program, H-2A, with …

Black Discusses HLB Research Meeting

Ernie NeffHLB Management

Larry Black, president of Florida’s Citrus Research and Development Foundation (CRDF), attended a recent meeting in Fort Pierce to discuss HLB research prioritization and funding. He joined officials with other agencies that fund HLB, including California’s Citrus Research Board (CRB) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Black says the agencies met “to look at ways we can be more …

HLB

‘No Positive Response’ from Bactericides

Ernie NeffBactericides, HLB Management

Citrus Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) President Larry Black discusses grower trial results indicating bactericides used for HLB infection did not increase citrus yields. The results were presented by CRDF staff at a recent meeting of the organization. Black says numerous growers who were using bactericides for HLB volunteered to leave sections of their groves untreated. “CRDF staff went out …

hlb

Schulz on HLB Research Funding Session

Ernie NeffHLB Management

Gary Schulz, president of the Citrus Research Board in California, discusses a recent meeting of agencies that fund HLB research. Representatives of Florida’s Citrus Research and Development Foundation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture also attended the two-day session in Fort Pierce, Florida. According to Schulz, the National Academy of Sciences within the past year recommended “that funding agencies for …

citrus greening

Early Findings Show Plant Hormone May Help in HLB Fight

Daniel CooperCitrus Greening, Industry News Release, Research

University of Florida scientists think a group of hormones may eventually help growers battle citrus greening, but they still want to study them before recommending growers use the chemical. Fernando Alferez, an assistant professor of horticultural sciences at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS), leads a team of UF/IFAS researchers studying the effects of Homobrassinolides …

mandarin

Rootstock Choice May Be Key in Tree Productivity

Tacy CalliesRootstocks

Florida citrus growers recognize the Sugar Belle® mandarin hybrid for its tolerance of citrus greening disease, and new findings from the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) suggest that rootstock selection may play a role in keeping Sugar Belle® trees productive even if they become infected with the bacterial malady. “We now have proof of concept …

Lemons in Florida: Something New Under the Sun?

Tacy Callieslemons

By Fred Gmitter, Bill Castle and Jude Grosser King Solomon once pointed out that “there is nothing new under the sun,” meaning that what has happened before will happen again. Although the idea of growing lemons in Florida is viewed by some these days as a new thing, Florida actually has a fairly long history of lemon production. FLORIDA LEMON …

Texas A&M AgriLife Research, Consortium Get Grant for HLB Research

Tacy CalliesResearch

A Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientist at Weslaco will lead a consortium of researchers in major citrus-producing regions to conduct high-throughput screening in discovering antimicrobials that could prevent citrus greening. Citrus greening, also known as huanglongbing (HLB) disease, has devastated citrus fruit crops in Florida and has made its way to Texas and California. The research grant of approximately $1.2 …

The Sweet Spot

Tacy Calliesplanting, Production, Rootstocks, Scions

Moderate spacing and medium tree size could be the quickest way Florida growers can return to producing 100 million boxes of oranges per year. By Pete Spyke, Bill Castle and Ed Stover The Florida Department of Citrus (FDOC) recently released the results of a study originally titled “Restoring Florida’s Commercial Orange Tree Inventory: Economic Impacts of APS vs. Traditional Plantings.” …

Black Discusses New CRDF Chief Operations Officer

Ernie NeffCRDF

Citrus Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) President Larry Black discusses the organization’s recent selection of Winter Haven attorney and former state legislator Rick Dantzler as chief operations officer. “Rick wasn’t part of the original candidate pool, but his name emerged in recent weeks as a strong candidate, a good leader,” Black says. “He had a great track record as the …

PIECES OF THE PAST: Remembering O.C. Minton

Tacy CalliesHistory

By Brenda Eubanks Burnette I was in Fort Pierce recently doing interviews for an oral history project and ran across some interesting photos and information on O.C. Minton, who was inducted into the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame in 1982. A hard worker who was totally dedicated to the Florida citrus industry, Minton’s defining moments came when fighting for identification …

HLB

New CRDF Leader Discusses HLB Battle

Ernie NeffCRDF, HLB Management

Moments after being chosen on July 24 as the next chief operations officer of the Citrus Research and Development Foundation (CRDF), Rick Dantzler declared the industry will “whip” HLB. He chose Aug. 15 as his first day of work so he can meet many growers at Citrus Expo. “I wanted my first day on the job to be with citrus …

System Stops Psyllid Travel

Tacy CalliesCalifornia Corner

By Len Wilcox Researchers with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) believe that an effective measure has been found that will reduce the risk of spreading huanglongbing (HLB) disease between orchards. The control measure is a fogging system with a carrier and a pesticide that effectively destroys disease-bearing insects before they can leave the orchard and do further harm. NO …