South African Grapefruit Growth Continues

Josh McGillGrapefruit, International

The growth in South African grapefruit plantings is expected to continue in 2021–22, increasing by 3% to 9,200 hectares, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA/FAS) stated in a recent report. The area planted to grapefruit grew by 25% over the past seven years. Limpopo province is the leading growing region for grapefruit in the country, accounting for …

Major Increase in Mandarins Planted in Chile

Josh McGillInternational, Mandarins

Land planted in mandarins in Chile increased significantly over the past 10 years, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) recently reported. In marketing year 2021–22, the area planted totaled 11,194 hectares, a 32.6% increase over 2019–20. A decade ago, planted mandarin area totaled only 3,629 hectares. The mandarin industry includes clementines and tangerines. FAS said the planted …

Argentina’s Lemon Crop to Increase

Josh McGillExport/Import, International, lemons

In its semi-annual citrus report for Argentina, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA/FAS) increased its 2021–22 estimate for Argentina’s lemon crop production by 15%, to 1.9 million metric tons (MMT). Lemons are grown principally in the northwest provinces of Tucuman, Salta and Jujuy, with some minor production in northeast Argentina. Over the past few years, both existing …

Oriental fruit fly

Oriental Fruit Flies Found in Florida

Josh McGillFlorida, Pests

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) has confirmed the presence of Oriental fruit flies, Bactrocera dorsalis, in Pinellas County. Two male flies were captured during routine trapping in a methyl eugenol-baited fruit fly detection trap in St. Petersburg on May 17. Expanded intensified delimitation trapping over the 80-square-mile surrounding area resulted in two additional males being captured …

Orange Acreage Declining in Chile

Josh McGillInternational, Oranges

Land planted in oranges in Chile totaled 6,371 hectares in marketing year 2021–22, down from 7,389 hectares 10 years earlier, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) recently reported. The orange acreage decreased gradually as producers shifted to mandarins and lemons because of their higher profitability, FAS stated. Orange plantings are located mainly in the Metropolitana and O’Higgins …

Preliminary Department of Citrus Budget Approved

Josh McGillfinancial, Florida Citrus Commission, Florida Department of Citrus

The Florida Citrus Commission on June 15 approved a preliminary 2022–23 operating budget for the Florida Department of Citrus of $29.9 million. The preliminary budget includes $19.125 million in general revenue funding from the state of Florida for marketing, research and administration. The majority of the budget will fund domestic marketing programs aimed at driving sales of Florida orange juice (OJ). …

Lemon Acreage Increasing in Chile

Josh McGillInternational, lemons

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service, lemon acreage planted in Chile grew from 5,911 hectares in 2016–17 to 8,038 hectares in 2021–22. PLANTED AREASSince lemons are sensitive to low temperatures and frost, producers are in the central and northern regions of Chile, where temperatures are higher compared to the southern regions. Growers strategically plant citrus …

Sweet Orange Scab

Sweet Orange Scab Regulations Modified

Josh McGillDiseases, Regulation

The conditions under which citrus fruit may be moved interstate from areas quarantined for sweet orange scab (SOS) when destined for processing or packing in a commercial citrus-producing state without a statewide SOS quarantine have been modified. The modification was made by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS). In 2010, APHIS published Federal …

Florida Citrus June Forecast Mixed

Josh McGillCrop Forecast

By Ernie Neff The June 10 federal citrus crop forecast increased the expected Florida Valencia orange crop by 2% but dropped the state’s grapefruit and tangerines/tangelos production expectations. The forecast was issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). The projected Valencia crop rose 500,000 boxes from the May forecast, to 22.5 million boxes. NASS declared …

An Update on Oak Mulch to Increase Soil Health

Josh McGillResearch, Soil Improvement

By Lukas M. Hallman, John M. Santiago and Lorenzo Rossi At first glance, one may not see how oak trees relate to citrus production. But in the early 2010s, growers and scientists reported seeing little to no HLB symptoms on citrus growing underneath the dripline of oak trees compared to citrus trees nearby but not directly under oak trees. These …

Progress With SuperSour Rootstock Trials

Josh McGillResearch, Rootstocks

By Kim D. Bowman The breeding of new citrus rootstocks is not an endeavor for the impatient. Two of the most popular rootstocks in Florida, US-942 and US-812, each were included in field evaluation for more than 20 years before the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released them for commercial use. In these cases, the time invested in thorough testing …

Oak Leaves and Turnpike Signs

Josh McGillHLB Management, Marketing, Research

Citrus growers Travis Murphy and Tom Thayer developed a formulation based on oak leaf extract that was observed to rejuvenate trees back to economic productivity. But the rejuvenation effects observed in the growers’ trials were not observed in field trials using a modified version of the formulation. U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) research geneticist Randall Niedz reported that result in …

Citrus Department Proposes Preliminary 2022–23 Budget

Josh McGillfinancial, Florida Citrus Commission, Florida Department of Citrus

The Florida Department of Citrus (FDOC) in May proposed a preliminary 2022–23 operating budget of $31.4 million to the Florida Citrus Commission, its governing body. The 2021–22 operating budget was $29 million. Global marketing and public relations represent the bulk of the 2022–23 budget at $22.9 million, a 3.5% reduction from the previous season. The proposed orange budget will increase …

Finger Lime

Italy Seeks Finger Lime Entry into United States

Josh McGillExport/Import, International, Limes

The government of Italy has asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to authorize the importation of fresh finger lime (Citrus australasica) for consumption into the United States. USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has drafted a pest risk assessment that describes potential pests associated with the commodity. APHIS shares draft pest risk assessments to determine whether stakeholders …

Florida Growers Consider Bamboo Potential

Josh McGillAlternative Crops

An event in Lake Placid, Florida, on the potential of bamboo as an alternative commercial crop drew a large turnout of growers. Citrus growers, in particular, are interested in crops that could go on marginal grove land until a more viable solution to HLB comes along. Bamboo might fill that need, according to Phillip Rucks, owner of Phillip Rucks Citrus …

Alico Has Lower Production but Higher Prices

Josh McGillIndustry News Release, Production

Alico Inc. reported it had reduced orange production and lower pound solids per box during the six months that ended March 31. However, the company received higher prices per pound solids. For the period, Alico Citrus harvested approximately 4.1 million boxes of fruit, a decrease of 10.3% from the same period of the prior fiscal year. The decrease is principally related to fewer pieces …

Surprising Change in Florida Orange Forecast

Tacy CalliesCrop Forecast

The May 12 federal crop forecast increased Florida’s expected Valencia orange crop by 10% and reduced the state’s grapefruit projection by 6%. The Valencia crop was increased by 2 million boxes, to 22 million boxes, in the forecast from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service. As of late April, 88% of the Valencia crop had been …

mexfly

Mexfly Actions Taken in Texas

Josh McGillPests, Regulation, Texas

Federal and state authorities recently established one Mexican fruit fly (Mexfly) quarantine in Texas and expanded another. The actions were taken by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA). On April 8, the agencies established a Mexfly quarantine in Weslaco, Hidalgo County, Texas. They established the Weslaco quarantine …

Consortium Research Aims at HLB

Josh McGillHLB Management, Research

Scientists from the New Mexico Consortium (NMC) say research they have conducted may lead to development of strategies for the control of HLB disease. The research is a collaborative effort between the Gupta laboratory, the NMC and the Stover laboratory at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (USDA/ARS). The study focuses on the two putative virulence proteins of …