Should Florida Growers Be Worried About Lime Swallowtail?

Josh McGillPests, Tip of the Week

By Lauren Diepenbrock Recently, several articles have highlighted a potential new threat to the citrus industry in Florida, the lime swallowtail. While it is true that this pest has been found in residential citrus plantings in Key West, it is unlikely that lime swallowtail will have much of an impact, if any, on Florida’s commercial citrus industry. Lime swallowtail is …

Lessons Learned From HLB as an Immune-Mediated Plant Disease

Josh McGillHLB Management, Research

By Nian Wang How the huanglongbing (HLB) pathogen Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas) causes damage to infected citrus trees has been widely debated. A recent study demonstrates that HLB is an immune-mediated plant disease (Ma et al., 2022). It was discovered that CLas infection of citrus stimulates systemic and chronic immune response in phloem tissues, including reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, …

florida citrus

Texas Citrus Assessment Rate Reduced

Josh McGillMarketing, Regulation, Texas

The marketing order assessment rate for Texas oranges and grapefruit for 2022–23 and subsequent years will be reduced from 5 cents to 3 cents per 7/10-bushel carton. The reduction is the result of a final rule by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service (USDA AMS), which implemented a recommendation from the Texas Valley Citrus Committee. The rule’s effective …

New Plantings a Focus of Phytophthora Management

Josh McGillDiseases

Plant pathologist Megan Dewdney put emphasis on new plantings during a mid-March discussion of phytophthora management for citrus trees infected with HLB. Dewdney is a University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) associate professor at the Citrus Research and Education Center, where she spoke. Dewdney’s presentation was part of an OJ break hosted by UF/IFAS Extension multi-county …

Assistance for Citrus in Wake of Hurricane Ian

Josh McGillfinancial, hurricane

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack recently visited a citrus grove in Polk County, Florida, to survey the impact of Hurricane Ian and meet affected growers. He highlighted efforts by the U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) to help Florida producers recover from the devastating impact of hurricanes. USDA is working through nearly 2,500 requests for assistance following Hurricane Ian. It has aided …

The Seasonal Satsuma Bottleneck

Josh McGillCold Hardy, Mandarins

The short timeframe for satsuma mandarins to be harvested and sold in the fall created a bottleneck of supply around the Thanksgiving holiday in 2022. An excess supply led to a challenge for growers attempting to sell their fruit when demand diminished, according to Kim Jones, who grows and packs citrus in Florida and Georgia. “The week of Thanksgiving when …

Deficit Irrigation in HLB-affected Citrus Trees

Josh McGillIrrigation, Research

By Davie Kadyampakeni, Samuel Kwakye, Hossein Ghoveisi, Lauren Diepenbrock and Jawwad Qureshi Deficit irrigation practices can reduce water and energy costs, thus potentially increasing water-use efficiency and water savings in citrus production. Irrigation management through deficit applications, if timed at periods of reduced water demand, could help trigger increased root water and nutrient uptake while synchronizing citrus flush patterns. These …

Uruguay Has First HLB Detections

Josh McGillHLB Management, International

The first cases of plants with HLB disease have been confirmed in Uruguay, according to a health emergency note released by the country’s Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries. Plants with symptoms were found in a residence in the city of Bella Unión. After laboratory analysis, the presence of the disease was confirmed. Inspections were carried out in the homes …

Gibberellic Acid Shows Promising Results on Hamlin

Josh McGillHLB Management, PGRs, Research

By Tripti Vashisth and Taylor Livingston Grower-led trials in 2022 showed positive results of gibberellic acid (GA) treatment on Hamlin trees in Florida. This article primarily discusses two growers’ trials in detail. Both sites showed improvement in fruit production from the GA application. Many growers have adopted GA applications in the past year as part of their grove management strategy. …

Citrus Industry Impacts Florida’s Economy

Josh McGillEconomics, Tip of the Week

By Julio Cruz, João-Pedro Ferreira and Christa Court Many Florida citrus growers are under stress due to disease and extreme weather events. Citrus growers often request financial or other types of support from local, state and federal governments due to such situations. Understanding and communicating how the citrus industry supports economic activity throughout the state, even outside of the industry …

Register Now for the Florida Grower Citrus Show

Josh McGillEvents

The event’s fresh format will pack plenty of education and fellowship in a single day. The Florida Grower Citrus Show, scheduled for April 13, is fast approaching. The event opens at 7:30 a.m., and breakfast will be served at 8:00 a.m. Growers and industry stakeholders are invited to sign up for complimentary preregistration. NEW LOOK AND LOCATION This year, the …

Exciting Time for Georgia Citrus Industry

Josh McGillGeorgia

The young, burgeoning Georgia citrus industry has its sights set on a bright future. Even in the midst of a challenging winter season with two major freeze events, the industry continues its upward trend, believes Lindy Savelle, president of the Georgia Citrus Association. She discussed the state of the Georgia citrus industry during the association’s annual meeting on Feb. 28 …

Lessons From Hurricane Ian Will Help Growers

Josh McGillhurricane, Survey

Researchers will assess 20 to 30 Florida citrus groves impacted by 2022’s Hurricane Ian to learn lessons that will help growers in the future. University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) researchers Christopher Vincent and Tripti Vashisth and their teams will conduct the assessment. The research will be funded by a $280,000, one-year grant from the U.S. …

Disaster Relief Discussed at Annual Meeting

Josh McGillEvents, hurricane, Legislative

The Highlands Country Citrus Growers Association (HCCGA) held its annual meeting in early March, celebrating 33 years of service to its membership. The event turned out a packed house in Sebring, with growers optimistic despite a challenging season. Matt Joyner, executive vice president and chief executive officer of Florida Citrus Mutual, spoke during the event and outlined a busy list …

pesticide

Campaign Promotes Best Neonicotinoid Practices

Josh McGillPesticides

Growing Matters has kicked off its annual BeSure! campaign to promote best stewardship practices when using neonicotinoid products. Using a wide range of media channels, the campaign reminds growers, crop protection applicators and others to follow label directions to minimize any potential impact on pollinators and other wildlife.  Since its inception in 2019, the BeSure! campaign is estimated to have …

Black Spot Management by Variety and Age

Josh McGillBrazil, Diseases

In Brazil’s São Paulo citrus belt, infections of fruit by black spot usually occur from petal fall, in September/October, until the end of the rainy season, usually in April. Black spot can reduce production by up to 85%. Some studies have shown that the amount of fungicide applications to control black spot can be established according to the orange variety. …

rootstock

Satsumas Look ‘Pretty Darn Good’ Post-freeze

Josh McGillCold Hardy, freeze

Satsumas in the Sweet Valley Citrus region appear to have aced their first test of multiple days of subfreezing temperatures. It is still a wait-and-see approach with other varieties, however. One grower was extremely optimistic about satsumas, the cold-hardy mandarins that look to have survived December temperatures in the teens. “Satsumas are pretty darn good. We lost some leaves, got …

New President Has Plans for Cold Hardy Citrus Association

Josh McGillCold Hardy

Mark Clikas, who became president of the Cold Hardy Citrus Association (CHCA) in February, has a recovery focus and sales goal for the group. “My focus is to get the members of CHCA more involved in the organization to help the growers improve the citrus trees’ health after the major freeze event around Christmas 2022,” he said. “My goal is …

In Defense of Florida’s Citrus Industry

Josh McGillEconomics

By Marisa L. Zansler The Florida citrus industry has endured many challenges throughout its storied history, but never more so than over the past 18 years. During this time, the devastating impact of HLB has become more apparent and entrenched as the root cause of declines in the production of oranges, grapefruit and specialty citrus. HLB, combined with recent weather-related …

Florida Citrus Land Sales Remain Strong

Josh McGillLand

While the real estate boom in Florida has cooled somewhat in the past year, it didn’t temper the turnout for the annual Lay of the Land Conference, which is hosted by SVN Saunders Ralston Dantzler Real Estate. The Feb. 23-24 event drew record attendance to the recently opened Bonnet Springs Park event center in Lakeland, Florida. The event hosts speakers …