Maximizing Rootstock Seed Production

Tacy CalliesSeed

By Fernando Alferez, Deived Uilian de Carvalho, Daniel Boakye, Tim Gast and Manjul Dutt Endemic HLB in Florida has provoked increased pressure to replant and reset infected groves. This has resulted in concern from citrus growers and nursery operators about seed availability for the most popular rootstocks in the state. In the past, all rootstock fruit (both early and late …

Improved Orange Cultivars

Ernie NeffVarieties

Improved sweet orange cultivars for processing and fresh fruit were the topic of a virtual presentation July 14 by plant breeder Jude Grosser. Grosser works at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Citrus Research and Education Center in Lake Alfred.   HAMLIN SOMACLONE N13-32This new and distinct early-season clone of Hamlin has improved juice color and …

Turkey: Lemons Up, Grapefruit Down

Ernie NeffInternational

Lemon production in Turkey climbed in 2020-2021, but grapefruit production is expected to decline, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service. LEMONSLemon production reached 1.1 million metric tons, which is 13% more than in the 2019-20 season. Lemons have a longer season compared to oranges and tangerines in Turkey because different lemon varieties ripen at different times …

Growers Discuss CRAFT Projects

Ernie NeffResearch

Four Florida growers recently discussed efforts they’ll take to cope with HLB in plantings subsidized by the Citrus Research and Field Trial (CRAFT) program. Their comments were part of a virtual educational session sponsored by the Citrus Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) and Florida Citrus Mutual. CRDF Chief Operating Officer Rick Dantzler said the projects discussed were among 103 funded …

Keeping Young Ag Workers Safe

Ernie NeffEducation, Safety

The National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety (NCCRAHS) announced resources that can be used to help keep young agriculture workers safe. NCCRAHS pointed out that there are serious risks to children doing farm work, as well as positives. During the past decade, more youth have died working in agriculture than in all other industries combined, the …

California

HLB Control Has Been Costly for Growers

Len WilcoxCalifornia Corner, HLB Management

California’s efforts to keep huanglongbing (HLB) at bay have been largely successful. So far, the state’s huge citrus industry has avoided the devastating loss of trees that has occurred in Florida, South America and other commercial citrus-growing regions around the world. However, those efforts have come with a cost to citrus growers. Bruce Babcock, professor of public policy at University …

Mandarin Production Rises Sharply in EU

Ernie NeffInternational

Mandarin production in the European Union (EU) in 2020-21 is forecast to rise 21% from the previous year, to 3.4 million metric tons. The forecast, reported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service, is almost 10% higher than the union’s 9-year average of 3.1 million metric tons. The higher production this season is mainly the result of expected …

Cutrale Achieves Sustainability Gold Score

Ernie NeffAwards

Cutrale recently announced it has achieved a gold score in sustainability for all its orange farms in Brazil and the United States. The award is from the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI) – Farm Sustainability Assessment (FSA), a widely recognized sustainability standard. The FSA was developed by the SAI to enable food and beverage businesses from all crops and countries to …

greasy spot

Time for Brown Rot Management

Tacy CalliesDiseases, Tip of the Week

By Evan Johnson The Florida summer rainy season is in full swing, and there have been one or two root flushes by now. This is a good environment for increases in soil Phytophthora propagule counts. High counts have been seen this year, especially in Southwest Florida. While much of the focus may be on root rot, it is important to …

More Hurricanes Predicted

Ernie Neffhurricane

The Colorado State University (CSU) Department of Atmospheric Science on July 8 increased its predicted number of hurricanes in 2021 to nine, up from eight in its June forecast. It also increased the expected number of named storms to 20, up from 18 in the June forecast. This is expected to be an above-average Atlantic basin hurricane season. The average …

Indian River Millennium Block Shows Rootstock Effects

Tacy CalliesRootstocks

By Rhuanito S. Ferrarezi, J. Martin Zapien-Macias, Mac Hossain, Tom James, Ronald D. Cave, Peter Spyke, William S. Castle, Jude W. Grosser, Fred Gmitter and Ed Stover In the last decade, huanglongbing (HLB) has reduced production of Florida grapefruit by 75%, mandarin by 78% and sweet orange by 52%. This decrease is significant for the Indian River District, which produces …

California to Launch CRaFT Project

Len WilcoxCalifornia Corner

The Citrus Research Board (CRB) has been awarded $3,438,059 in funding from the Huanglongbing Multi-Agency Coordination Group (HLB MAC) to support its California-focused Citrus Research and Field Trials (CRaFT). The overarching goal of the CRaFT project is to demonstrate additional mitigations to improve psyllid control within commercial groves across the various citrus-growing regions in California. This information will inform areawide …

Turkey Orange Production Is Down

Ernie NeffInternational

Orange production in Turkey is estimated to decrease 1.3 million metric tons for 2020-21, a drop of 23% from the prior season. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA/FAS) blamed the decrease on excessive hot weather conditions during the bloom period in May 2020. High price increases continue for input costs such as electricity, fertilizer and chemicals. “Fertilizer …

Wilbur-Ellis Offers $25,000 Student Innovation Award

Ernie NeffAwards

In celebration of its 100th anniversary, Wilbur-Ellis is launching the Wilbur-Ellis Innovation Award. A $25,000 prize for the best idea presented is intended to encourage young people to find innovative ways to feed a growing world population. The Innovation Award invites student teams from U.S. colleges and universities to propose new and better approaches for providing food for more people. …

Avoiding Heat-Related Deaths

Ernie NeffResearch, Weather

A new University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) report showed 215 people in Florida died from heat-related causes in the last 10 years. The fact that heat-related deaths happen throughout the year surprised the researchers who wrote the report. Serap Gorucu, a UF/IFAS assistant professor of agricultural and biological engineering, helped write the report. She and …

EU Orange Production to Increase This Season

Ernie NeffInternational

European Union (EU) orange production is forecast at 6.5 million metric tons in 2020-21, a 5.2% increase over the previous season. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) reported the EU forecast. Expected orange production by country is 3.4 million metric tons for Spain, 1.85 million metric tons for Italy, 915,000 metric tons for Greece, 315,000 metric tons …

alico

CRAFT May Encourage Early-Mid Orange Plantings

Ernie Neffplanting

Officials with the Citrus Research and Field Trial (CRAFT) program are considering giving future participating growers an incentive to plant more early- and mid-season oranges. The topic was discussed by CRAFT’s board of directors after board member Phillip Rucks pointed out there’s a trend for nurseries to propagate far more late-season oranges than early- and mid-season oranges. Tables that the …

Grapefruit Making Strides in South Africa

Ernie NeffGrapefruit, International

The production of grapefruit in South Africa is estimated to increase by 8% in 2020-21 from the prior year, to 373,000 metric tons, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA/FAS) reported in June. The area planted to grapefruit is expected to increase by 5% to 8,700 hectares. The predominant variety planted in South Africa is the Star Ruby, …

OJ Consumption Aids Children’s Health

Ernie NeffOrange Juice

Moderate consumption of 100% orange juice (OJ) should be encouraged in children due to its multiple health benefits and lack of negative impacts on body weight, numerous studies indicate. The studies have revealed that children who regularly drink 100% orange juice have higher intakes of key nutrients, higher quality diets, and may have healthier lifestyle habits than children who do …

What To Do About Algal Spot

Tacy CalliesDiseases, Tip of the Week

By Megan Dewdney I did not need to visit my field trial to know that algal spot was in bloom on citrus in the last month. I have received many phone calls about it recently as growers notice the bright orange doughnuts on their tree limbs. For those unfamiliar with algal spot, it is a disease that occurs mostly on …