Sneak Peek: August 2019 Citrus Industry Magazine

Tacy CalliesSneak Peek

The August issue of Citrus Industry magazine has everything you need to make the most of your time at Citrus Expo. The complete guide to the event includes a seminar schedule, exhibitor directory, details about the new hands-on citrus session and more. The Vegetable and Specialty Crop Expo is once again being held jointly with Citrus Expo. The general session …

CAPS

Controlling Difficult Weeds in Citrus Groves

Tacy Calliesweeds

By Ramdas Kanissery, Camille McAvoy and Mongi Zekri Some weeds are more difficult to manage in the production system than others due to their ability to grow in an available niche. If given a chance to establish, Guinea grass and goatweed can be the two most difficult weeds to manage. This is not just because they both are prolific seed …

florida

Orange Production Up Slightly From June Forecast

Daniel CooperCitrus, Crop Forecast, Grapefruit

ORANGESThe 2018–2019 Florida all-orange forecast released by Mark Hudson of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is now 71.6 million boxes. The total is comprised of 30.4 million boxes of non-Valencia oranges (early, mid-season and Navel varieties), unchanged from the June forecast, and 41.2 million boxes of Valencia oranges, up 200,000 boxes from last month. California non-Valencia oranges remained at …

Citrus Youth Day Is Fun for Faculty, Too

Ernie NeffCitrus

Sixty-eight people attended the third annual Citrus Youth Day at Lake Alfred’s Citrus Research and Education Center (CREC) on June 27. Jamie Burrow, Extension program manager with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, says the CREC faculty and staff “get, I think, just as excited as the kids. So we really have a good time, even …

PIECES OF THE PAST: Back When Bushel Baskets Were the Next Big Thing

Tacy CalliesPieces of the Past

By Brenda Eubanks Burnette While some things stay the same in citrus, others clearly do not. Today’s growers are experimenting with drones and other technology in the grove, but back in the 1920s, bushel baskets were making waves in the industry. Here’s an interesting excerpt from a March 1921 Citrus Industry article titled “Citrus Fruits in Bushel Baskets” by M.S. …

Understanding Glyphosate Formulations

Tacy CalliesResearch, weeds

By Ramdas Kanissery, Steve Futch, Brent Sellers and Camille McAvoy Glyphosate is a popular post-emergent herbicide among Florida citrus growers for its broad-spectrum of weed control under trees and in row middles. The use of glyphosate as a “burn-down” application alone, or in combination with other herbicides, is a standard practice in citrus groves. Various glyphosate-containing product formulations are available …

Technology: Consider the Costs

Ernie NeffTechnology

Tara Wade, a University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences economist, has some advice for growers considering new technology for the grove. “What we’d like growers to do is start to think about all the costs involved … do the math before they invest,” she says. “Growers have to constantly think about the trade-offs” of adopting new technology …

Update on Brassinosteroids for HLB Management

Tacy CalliesHLB Management, Research

By Fernando Alferez, Christopher Vincent and Tripti Vashisth Brassinosteroids (BR), a relatively newly discovered class of plant hormone, regulate several developmental and physiological processes in fruit crops such as grapes, pears and cherries and in some non-edible plants. BR also induce disease resistance against different pathogens in a great number of crop plants. A form of BR (epibrassinolide) was shown …

TCP Might Help Trees Tolerate HLB

Ernie NeffHLB Management, Nutrition

Laboratory tests of tricalcium phosphate (TCP) indicate it has potential use as a fertilizer that might help citrus growers cope with HLB, says Laura Waldo, a University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) laboratory manager. “The hope is that it can help a tree by inducing root hair development and thereby allowing the tree to uptake nutrients …

commissioner

Florida Citrus Production Continues Downward Trend

Daniel CooperCitrus, Crop Forecast, fruit, Grapefruit, lemons, Production

The 2018–19 Florida all-orange forecast released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on June 11 is 71.4 million boxes. The total includes 30.4 million boxes of non-Valencia oranges (early, mid-season and Navel varieties) and 41 million boxes of Valencia oranges. The June forecast for non-Valencia production is unchanged from the May forecast. Harvest is complete for the included varieties. …

Precision Agriculture Technologies in Citrus

Tacy CalliesPests, Psyllids, Research, Technology

By Yiannis Ampatzidis Citrus growers face issues from an increasing number of pests and diseases. Rapid and accurate tools for early pest and disease detection are needed to improve precision and timely management. Almost all agrochemicals (e.g., pesticides) applied in specialty crop production are made uniformly with conventional spraying equipment, despite the fact that pathogen distribution is typically patchy. Uniform …

Citrus Expo Registration Opens June 1

Tacy CalliesCitrus Expo

The 28th annual Citrus Expo is quickly approaching! AgNet Media, organizer of the event, is excited to once again bring the citrus industry together. Citrus Expo will take place Aug. 14–15 at the Lee Civic Center in North Fort Myers, Florida. All pre-registered growers will automatically be entered for a chance to win a John Deere gun safe, courtesy of …

An Important Reminder on Citrus Tristeza Virus

Tacy CalliesDiseases

By Amit Levy and Ozgur Batuman Citrus tristeza virus (CTV) is an important citrus pathogen that, in the past, had a dramatic effect on the citrus industry and caused the loss of almost 100 million trees worldwide. These trees were propagated on sour orange rootstock. The disease created a need for tristeza-tolerant rootstocks to sustain the citrus industry, because only …

May Florida Citrus Forecast Sees Some Changes

Tacy CalliesCrop Forecast

The 2018–2019 Florida all-orange forecast released May 10 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is 72.4 million boxes, down 5 percent from the April forecast. The total includes 30.4 million boxes of non-Valencia oranges (early, midseason, and Navel varieties) and 42 million boxes of Valencia oranges. The forecast of non-Valencia production is finalized at 30.4 million boxes. Harvest is …

haffield

Haffield Reprises Role at IMG Citrus

Daniel CooperIndustry News Release

IMG Citrus, a family-owned, vertically-integrated citrus grower, packer and shipper in Vero Beach, Florida, renamed Todd Haffield as director of packinghouse operations. He previously held this role with the company from 2010 to 2017. Haffield has been with IMG Citrus since 1999 in various logistics and sales roles in addition to his director position. He contributed to many operational improvements, …

Israel’s Dynamic Citrus Industry

Tacy CalliesCitrus

By Stephen H. Futch and Ariel Singerman As home to three of the world’s major religions, Israel is one of the most diverse countries in the world. Besides its cultural diversity and historical importance, Israel is also a major citrus producer and exporter. Israel’s citrus industry began in 1882. As new immigrants moved to the country, they established many very …

psyllids

Artificial Intelligence Could Help Citrus Growers Detect Psyllids

Daniel CooperCitrus Greening, HLB Management, Industry News Release, Psyllids, Research, Technology

Precision agriculture engineer Yiannis Ampatzidis sees a day when citrus farmers use artificial intelligence (AI) to detect the pin-sized insects that can infect the fruit’s trees with the deadly greening disease. That day could come in the near future, because Ampatzidis and his research team are starting to perfect a system to detect the potentially deadly Asian citrus psyllid. Citrus …

citrus

The Economics of Mesh Bags

Ernie NeffEconomics, HLB Management

Numerous Florida citrus growers have recently put mesh bags over individual young citrus trees to exclude HLB-spreading Asian citrus psyllids. A topic title at the 2019 Florida Citrus Growers’ Institute asked whether the practice is profitable. The presentation was made by University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences economist Ariel Singerman. “The answer to the question of whether …

florida citrus

Some Declines in April’s Florida Citrus Forecast

Daniel CooperCrop Forecast

ORANGESThe 2018–2019 Florida all-orange forecast released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on April 9 is 76.5 million boxes, down 1 percent from the March forecast of 77 million boxes. This includes 30.5 million boxes of non-Valencia oranges (early, midseason and Navel varieties) and 46 million boxes of Valencia oranges. Non-Valencia production is down 500,000 boxes from the March …