A Day in the Life of a UF/IFAS Extension Agent: Juanita Popenoe

Daniel CooperCitrus, Industry News Release, Research

When growers in Central Florida need help with an alternative crop to citrus, they turn to Juanita Popenoe. The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Extension agent spends her days helping farmers who are looking for options to diversify their groves impacted by citrus greening disease. “Since citrus greening has hit the industry so hard, citrus …

hlb

As California HLB Detections Rise, Priorities Refocus

Daniel CooperCalifornia Corner, Citrus, Citrus Greening, HLB Management

By Brian German A series of strategic planning sessions have helped to craft a more detail-oriented approach to address the spread of Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) and management of huanglongbing (HLB) detections. As of Oct. 9, there have been 906 positive HLB detections in California. “The real hot spot for us right now is Orange County. We’re finding a lot of HLB-positive …

crop forecast

Mutual President on Crop Forecast and Tree Health

Ernie NeffCrop Forecast

Tom Mitchell of Riverfront Packing Company in Vero Beach, who serves as Florida Citrus Mutual president, discusses the crop forecast for Florida citrus. The Florida forecast for 79 million boxes of oranges and 6.7 million boxes of grapefruit was issued Oct. 11 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. “I’m primarily a fresh grapefruit grower,” Mitchell says, …

PIECES OF THE PAST: Juice Trains Roll On

Tacy CalliesPieces of the Past

By Brenda Eubanks Burnette Anthony T. Rossi, founder of Tropicana, immigrated to New York with the dream of making movies, but ended up in the grocery business for 13 years before heading to Florida in search of warmer weather. Using the skills he’d developed in the grocery business, he began packing gift fruit boxes for Macy’s and Gimbel’s, and jars …

crop forecast

Ag Commissioner Candidate Discusses Orange Crop Forecast

Ernie NeffCrop Forecast

Matt Caldwell, Florida state representative and candidate for commissioner of agriculture, was on hand at a citrus industry lunch when the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced its initial 2018–19 citrus crop forecast. Caldwell comments on the 79 million-box orange forecast, which was larger than most had expected. “It’s certainly a hopeful change from last year when we dealt with obviously …

Effects of Homobrassinolides on HLB-Affected Trees in Florida

Tacy CalliesHLB Management, Research

By Fernando Alferez, Christopher Vincent and Tripti Vashisth In the current scenario of widespread infection and severe symptoms of HLB in Florida, horticultural practices that improve plant health in the presence of the disease are needed. For this reason, we sought to follow up on reports of positive effects of a brassinosteroid on infected plants. Brassinosteroids are a relatively newly …

Don’t Let Vine Weeds Trip You Up

Tacy Calliesweeds

By Ramdas Kanissery and Camille McAvoy Weedy vines are among the problematic and difficult to manage group of weeds in citrus. Vine weeds twine around the trees, competing with citrus for light and nutrients and causing reduction in yield and harvesting efficiency. Since vines do not have to form strong upright stems, more energy and resources can be diverted into …

HLB, irrigation, nutrition

Soil Moisture Sensors Help in Face of HLB

Ernie NeffHLB Management, soil

University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences researcher Rhuanito (Johnny) Ferrarezi discussed the use of soil moisture sensors at a recent grower workshop in Sebring. He summarizes that presentation, which included a discussion of how the sensors can help in the face of HLB. “The main goal of using soil moisture sensors is to increase irrigation efficiency,” Ferrarezi …

HLB

Whitmore Farm Focuses on HLB Research

Ernie NeffBreeding, HLB Management

More than 20 growers and others attended a tour on Oct. 11 at Whitmore Farm near Groveland in Lake County, Florida. Breeding for HLB tolerance or resistance is the primary goal of research at the farm. “Whitmore Farm was established in the mid-1950s as a foundation farm,” says Brian Scully, who led the tour and discussed research. Scully is director …

Shepp ‘Thrilled’ by Orange Forecast

Ernie NeffForecast

“I’m absolutely thrilled to see that number,” Florida Department of Citrus (FDOC) Executive Director Shannon Shepp said after the 2018-19 Florida orange crop was forecast at 79 million boxes on Oct. 11. The strong forecast was issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service. “I have been looking for positive news for quite some time in this …

scott

Update on Hurricane Irma Financial Assistance

Tacy Calliesfinancial, hurricane

By Mike Sparks It’s been a challenging year since Hurricane Irma struck. We understand the frustration with the lag in getting hurricane relief to growers and realize the urgency of the situation. With that said, we have some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that the Wildfires and Hurricanes Indemnity Program (WHIP) applications and payments for …

HLB

Evaluating Roots of HLB-Infected Trees

Ernie NeffHLB Management

Growers attending a recent workshop in Sebring learned how to evaluate the root systems of HLB-infected trees. University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences researcher Evan Johnson was the instructor. Johnson said evaluation of root systems is important because “HLB is causing a lot of damage to the root system … It’s important to know how the pests …

lemons

Production Practices for Lemons Discussed

Ernie Nefflemons

Crop production consultant Hamed Doostdar spoke on a grower panel as part of a recent University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences workshop on lemons at the Citrus Research and Education Center. He summarizes some key points regarding lemon production practices. Doostdar says lemons grow very fast, often reaching 7 to 8 feet tall by 2 years of …

HLB

Foliar Phosphate for the HLB Fight

Ernie NeffHLB Management

At Citrus Expo in August, Eric Triplett presented research from a variety of sources that shows foliar phosphate fertilization reduces HLB symptoms. Triplett is a University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences professor and chair of microbiology and cell science. “If it’s true that we can reduce the symptoms and disease in citrus by foliar phosphate fertilization, the …

Political Event Falls Short on Facts

Abbey TaylorLegislative

A recent southeast Florida algae rally drew a small crowd. By Gary Cooper U.S. Congressman Brian Mast (R-Palm City) hosted a campaign event in Stuart on Sunday and visited other South Florida areas in recent days. He partnered with anti-farming group Bullsugar.org and featured activist Erin Brockovich to help push his recently introduced Stop Harmful Discharges Act in Congress. The …

orange juice

World Orange Juice Consumption Falls Again

Tacy CalliesGlobal Perspectives

By Marcos Fava Neves The annual compilation of data on the world’s orange juice consumption recently became available for 2017. Markestrat researchers analyzed 40 countries that represent almost 100 percent of the world’s processed juice market. The information was first compiled in 2003. At that time, in frozen concentrated orange juice (FCOJ) equivalent, world consumption was 2,390,000 tons. In 2017, …

farming

Has Farming Become a Political Whipping Boy?

Daniel CooperAgriculture, business, financial

By Gary Cooper Urban expansion is impacting agriculture throughout the Southeast. Florida appears to be the first state in this region to dramatically shift to a much more urban-thinking electorate. In light of this year’s primary elections, there are some points Florida agriculturists should be thinking about. I know many of you have been pondering some of this already, based …

Attorney on Crop Insurance’s Importance

Ernie Neffcrop insurance

Agriculture attorney Bill Crispin told a Citrus Expo crowd that “crop insurance has evolved over the last 20 to 25 years into being a much needed and reliable risk management tool for producers.” He spoke at Expo’s opening general session. “It’s important for producers across the board to participate in the crop insurance program,” Crispin said in an interview summarizing …

PFD

Lake Wales Grower Discusses Foot Rot and PFD

Ernie NeffDiseases, PFD

Lake Wales citrus grower Frank Thullbery, 88, says groves in his area have suffered badly from foot rot, or phytophthora, in recent years. He has also struggled with postbloom fruit drop (PFD). “I’ve seen half of the groves gone bad from foot rot, and a lot of people are not replacing their trees when they pull them out,” Thullbery says. …

HLB Early Detection Methods Available Now; More Coming Soon

Tacy CalliesCalifornia Corner, HLB Management

By Len Wilcox Early detection has become a vital line of defense in the California citrus grower’s war with huanglongbing (HLB) disease. Without careful monitoring, any tree in the grove can become a ticking time bomb that could lead to destruction of the entire orchard. The disease starts unnoticed. Many months can pass before a tree displays any visible evidence …