orange

Citrus Crop Forecast: Florida All Oranges at 54 Million Boxes

Daniel CooperCitrus, Crop Forecast

The 2017-2018 Florida all-orange forecast released today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is 54 million boxes, 21 percent less than last season’s final production. Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam and Florida Citrus Mutual both issued statements indicating they are concerned that the forecast did not accurately account for the full damage inflicted by Hurricane Irma. Listen to the …

A Look Back at 100 Years of Citrus Innovation

Tacy CalliesHistory

By Beverly James, Alec Richman, Brad Buck, Samantha Grenrock and Tom Nordlie The year was 1917. In April, the United States entered World War I. Florida’s population was fast approaching 1 million, and agriculture was the state’s most important economic driver. Citrus cultivation, introduced to Florida 400 years earlier by Spanish explorers, had spawned an industry following the Civil War. …

$760 Million: Initial Estimate of Irma’s Florida Citrus Damage

Tacy CalliesCitrus, hurricane

Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam announced on Oct. 4 that the preliminary agricultural damages caused by Hurricane Irma in Florida total more than $2.5 billion. In an initial report, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services estimated losses for each segment of agriculture. The preliminary economic assessments account for current crop losses and ancillary losses, such as …

dorian

Hurricane Irma Damage Report from Gulf Citrus Growers

Tacy CalliesCitrus

Ron Hamel, Gulf Citrus Growers Association executive vice president, says it has been difficult to reach area growers in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma due to the lack of power. At this point, he says, people are busy assessing the damage to the citrus crop and trying to get standing water out of groves. Hamel says Collier and Hendry county …

orange juice

What Is Happening to the Orange Juice Market?

Tacy CalliesEconomics

A historical perspective and current conditions are key to understanding what will happen to the orange juice market in the future if HLB-resistant trees are introduced. By Allen Morris Between 2001–02 and 2016–17, the Nielsen-measured retail U.S. orange juice market declined by 50 percent, Florida orange production declined by 70 percent and retail orange juice prices increased by 53 percent …

bactericides

Grower Jerkins Revises Stance on Bactericides

Ernie NeffBactericides, HLB Management

At Citrus Expo in August, Premier Citrus President Tom Jerkins clarified comments about bactericides and their effectiveness that he made at the June Florida Citrus Mutual conference in Bonita Springs. “In Bonita Springs, I kind of stated publicly it was difficult for Premier to see a difference in the treated (with bactericides) versus untreated,” Jerkins says. “I said it was …

Harvesting Charges for Florida Citrus

Tacy CalliesEconomics

By Ariel Singerman, Marina Burani-Arouca, Stephen H. Futch and Robert Ranieri This article summarizes the charges for harvesting citrus in Florida during the 2016–17 season. The estimates provided are key for computing on-tree prices and to estimate economic returns to citrus growers. The estimates are based on a survey of harvesters conducted in May 2017. A total of 15 harvesters …

florida

Florida Citrus Acreage Tumbles 5 Percent

Ernie NeffAcreage

Florida lost another 25,148 acres of citrus in the past year, or 5 percent of the crop’s acreage, according to the annual Commercial Citrus Inventory released on August 31. The number of acres dropped to 454,973 from 480,121 in 2016. The inventory was released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. “It turns out that our citrus …

More Juice to Come from Brazil

Tacy CalliesGlobal Perspectives

By Marcos Fava Neves The first forecast of the 2017–18 Brazilian orange crop was published in May. Brazil expects a total of 364.47 million boxes, including the following: 68.49 million boxes of Hamlin, Westin and Rubi varieties 17.42 million boxes of Valencia Americana, Valencia Argentina, Seleta and Pineapple varieties 114.52 million boxes of the Pera Rio variety 123.04 million boxes …

Rootstocks and HLB Tolerance — Another Perspective

Tacy CalliesHLB Management, Rootstocks

By Ute Albrecht Tolerance to a disease is generally defined as the ability to be productive in the presence of disease-causing organisms. This is contrary to resistance, which is defined as the ability to completely evade a pathogen due to specific resistance mechanisms. The question as to what defines an HLB-“tolerant” rootstock was posed in an article by Bill Castle, …

Time to Get Serious About Trialing New Scion/Rootstock Combinations

Tacy CalliesRootstocks, Scions

By Jude W. Grosser and Frederick G. Gmitter It’s no secret that citrus greening disease, or HLB, continues to take a heavy toll on the beloved Florida citrus industry. It has been estimated that the industry will need to replant over 3 million trees per year for the next 10 years just to get back to normal. So the million-dollar …

planting

High-Density Planting Increases Yields

Ernie Neffplanting

Larry Black, general manager of Peace River Packing Company in Fort Meade, told growers at the recent Florida Citrus Mutual conference about his company’s success with high-density plantings. Black reported some four-year-old Valencia blocks are producing more than 300 boxes per acre. That’s double the current average Florida citrus yield of about 150 boxes per acre in the face of …

citrus crop forecast

Final U.S. Citrus Crop Forecast Down 17 Percent from Last Season

Daniel CooperCitrus, Crop Forecast

Candi Erick, the agricultural statistics administrator with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Florida Agricultural Statistics Service, reports the final citrus crop forecast of the 2016-17 season. The United States all-orange forecast for the 2016-2017 season is down 2 percent from last month and down 17 percent from last season’s final utilization. The 2016-2017 Florida all-orange forecast released …

florida citrus

June Citrus Forecast: Oranges Up; Tangerines Down

Daniel CooperCitrus, Crop Forecast

ORANGES The 2016-2017 Florida all-orange forecast released by Mark Hudson of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service is up 500,000 boxes to 68.5 million boxes. The increase is in Valencia oranges. The total includes 33 million boxes of non-Valencias (early, midseason, and Navel varieties) and 35.5 million boxes of Valencias. For the previous 10 seasons used in …

HLB

Grower Discusses Many HLB-Related Issues

Ernie NeffBactericides, Citrus Greening, HLB Management

Wauchula citrus grower and orange grove salesman Kenny Sanders was one of the growers sharing experiences at a recent grower roundtable meeting in Wauchula. Sanders tells why he attends the meetings and discusses several practices aimed at coping with HLB. “This is very interesting,” Sanders says of the roundtable meetings. “We hear from the growers ourselves, and today we learned …

Dual Treatment Tested for HLB Trees

Tacy CalliesCitrus, Nutrition

Severe pruning combined with enhanced foliar nutrition did not prove cost-effective. By Monica Ozores-Hampton, Fritz Roka, Robert Rouse and Pamela Roberts Citrus trees affected by huanglongbing (HLB) become diminished, weak and develop dieback resulting in reduced production. Decline in fruit yield ultimately prevents economically acceptable commercial citrus production. Pruning and spraying foliar nutritionals are two practices being considered to restore …

Florida orange

May Citrus Crop Forecast Has Small Changes

Daniel CooperCitrus, Crop Forecast

  Mark Hudson of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service issued the May 2017 citrus crop forecast. Florida forecast: United States forecast: Florida Oranges All Oranges The 2016-2017 Florida all-orange forecast is up 1 million boxes to 68 million boxes. The total includes 33 million boxes of the non-Valencia oranges (early, midseason, and Navel varieties) and 35 …

usda

USDA Citrus Crop Forecast

The first USDA citrus crop forecast for the 2024-25 season is scheduled to be released at 12:00 noon Eastern Time/9:00 a.m. Pacific Time on October 11, 2024. You will be able to tune in and hear the numbers as they are given by the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service. Click on the player below to hear the …

Controlled-Release Fertilizer Boosts Health of HLB Trees (Part 2)

Tacy CalliesCitrus, Nutrition

By Pete Spyke, Joby Sherrod and Jude Grosser Part 1 of this article, published in the April 2017 issue of Citrus Industry magazine, provided some background information on controlled-release fertilizer (CRF) along with a discussion of practical applications in citrus production. This article, part 2, includes summaries of observations from several case studies in which CRF has been applied for …

Insight on Improved Management of HLB-Affected Trees

Josh McGillIrrigation, Nutrition

Recent studies shed light on foliar nutrient and irrigation practices. By Kelly T. Morgan and Said Hamido Most citrus growers are well aware that citrus greening (HLB) is one of the most devastating citrus diseases in many parts of the world. The disease is widespread in Florida, Texas, Brazil, Mexico and other major production areas, causing significant concerns about the …