january

January Citrus Crop Forecast Is Stable

Daniel CooperCrop Forecast

According to Mark Hudson of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the January 2018 Florida all-orange forecast is 46 million boxes, unchanged from the December forecast. If realized, this will be 33 percent less than last season’s production. The forecast consists of 19 million boxes of non-Valencia oranges (early, midseason and Navel varieties) and 27 million boxes of Valencia oranges. For …

Root Weevil Management: Above and Below Ground

Tacy CalliesPests

By Jawwad A. Qureshi and Larry Duncan Root weevils are a major pest group for many kinds of plants, with at least nine species that colonize citrus. Species commonly infesting citrus include Diaprepes root weevil (Diaprepes abbreviates), blue-green citrus root weevils (Pachnaeus litus and Pachnaeus opalus), little leaf notcher (Artipus floridanus), Fuller rose beetle (Asynonychus godmani) and Sri Lanka weevil …

Sweet Orange Scab Detected in Alabama

Tacy CalliesDiseases

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) officials have confirmed the first detection of sweet orange scab (SOS) in Alabama. The fruit sample was collected in Baldwin County by Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries’ (ADAI) plant protection inspectors during a delimiting survey for citrus greening disease. The Auburn University Plant Diagnostic Clinic provided the initial diagnosis of SOS, and USDA Animal …

Attacking HLB From All Angles

Tacy CalliesHLB Management

University of California Riverside (UCR) is committed to a major offensive against huanglongbing (HLB, or citrus greening disease), as the threat is marching ever closer to commercial citrus orchards in California. The only confirmed cases in Southern California have been in residential trees in Los Angeles and Orange counties, including near the UCR campus. But some experts believe it is …

hurricane

Maximizing Insurance Claims After Hurricane Irma

Ernie Neffhurricane

Attorney Steven Boyne with Gunster law firm in Jacksonville suggests ways growers can maximize insurance claims resulting from Hurricane Irma. His remarks summarize a presentation he made at the Florida Agriculture Financial Management Conference earlier this month. “The more documentation you can provide, the better,” Boyne says. “Don’t view the adjuster as an adversary. If you work closely with the …

fresh

Fresh Citrus Minimum Sizes Reduced

Ernie NeffFresh

The minimum size requirement for fresh Florida oranges and grapefruit was recently reduced. The Citrus Administrative Committee (CAC), which manages a federal marketing order for fresh Florida citrus, requested the change. The minimum orange size was reduced from 2.5 to 2.25 inches in diameter. The grapefruit reduction was from 3 and five-sixteenths inches to 3 inches. CAC Manager Duke Chadwell …

citrus

Irma Agriculture Losses Continue to Mount

Daniel CooperCitrus, Industry News Release

Florida’s $2.5 billion request for federal disaster relief for its agriculture industry after Hurricane Irma might not be enough. Members of the House Select Committee on Hurricane Response and Preparedness said on Nov. 16 that month-old damage estimates made by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services are too low. “I actually think your numbers are conservative,” said Rep. …

oranges

Citrus Crop Forecast: Numbers Decline for Florida in All Categories

Daniel CooperCrop Forecast

Mark Hudson of the U.S. Department of Agriculture delivered the November citrus crop forecast. For Florida, non-Valencia and Valencia oranges dropped 2 million boxes each, putting the all-orange forecast at 50 million boxes. This represents a 7 percent decline from the initial crop forecast in October. Florida all-grapefruit came in at 4.65 million boxes, down from 4.9 million boxes last …

Update on Citrus Undercover Production Systems Research

Tacy CalliesHLB Management

By Arnold Schumann, Laura Waldo, Alan Wright and Rhuanito Ferrarezi  Authors’ note: This article was written before Hurricane Irma passed through Florida. We are still assessing the full impact and implications of storm damage to both University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) citrus undercover production systems (CUPS) facilities and will provide updates in future articles. Citrus …

HLB

Replanting Trees in the Face of HLB

Ernie NeffCitrus Greening, HLB Management, planting

  At Citrus Expo, Aaron Himrod of Himrod Citrus Nursery made the case for replanting citrus trees lost to HLB and other causes. “I think growers need to replant because we are having some success with young trees that we’re not having with older trees,” Himrod said. “The young trees are responding a lot better to our treatments. And we …

grapefruit

Citrus Imports Playing Bigger Role in Florida

Daniel CooperCitrus, Industry News Release

Oranges imported to Florida — primarily from Brazil and Mexico — are projected to surpass what is grown in the hurricane-damaged Sunshine State this season. The Florida Citrus Commission on Wednesday approved an adjusted $17.8 million budget that takes into account an increase in imports that will help cover crops lost in September to Hurricane Irma. “With Hurricane Irma’s impact …

budget

Florida Citrus Commission Sets Budget and Grower Assessments

Ernie NeffFlorida Citrus Commission

Florida Department of Citrus (FDOC) Executive Director Shannon Shepp summarizes the Florida Citrus Commission’s actions regarding the FDOC’s 2017-18 budget and grower assessments that help fund programs. The budget is $17.83 million. “That’s about a $4.5 million reduction from last year’s budget,” Shepp says. The reduction comes primarily because of a low crop forecast of 54 million boxes of oranges, …

HLB

Snively: Forecast as Good as We Can Ask for

Ernie NeffCrop Forecast, hurricane

Jim Snively of Southern Gardens Citrus reacts to the Oct. 12 USDA forecast of 54 million orange boxes for the 2017-18 season. He also addresses his company’s damage from Hurricane Irma and the storm’s long-term impact on the citrus industry. “I think the number is as good as what we can ask for right now, with so much uncertainty, not …

florida

Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Putnam on First Citrus Crop Forecast of the Season

Daniel CooperCitrus, Crop Forecast

Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam released the following statement after the U.S. Department of Agriculture released its initial citrus crop forecast for the 2017-2018 season: “Hurricane Irma’s path could not have been more lethal to Florida citrus. I am concerned that today’s forecast does not accurately estimate the damages to our industry, given that groves are still underwater …

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 …

citrus

Putnam Questions Citrus Estimate After Irma

Daniel CooperCitrus, Crop Forecast

Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam cast doubt Wednesday on the first crop estimate for the citrus growing season, as federal officials prepare to release the estimate Thursday. In Washington, D.C. to discuss federal assistance after Hurricane Irma, Putnam suggested that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s forecast for the 2017-2018 growing season may be too high. “I put zero stock in …

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 …

Moroccan Citrus: Increased Production Brings Marketing Challenges

Tacy CalliesCitrus

By Hassan Farouk Ahmed Morocco’s citrus production reached 2.3 million metric tons (MT) in 2016–17, an increase of 15 percent over the previous marketing year. Orange production increased by 4 percent, to 962,250 MT, while tangerine and mandarin production increased 24 percent to 1,325,246 MT. Much of the increase in production was due to increases in the area harvested, as …

Monitoring Tree Health Using Water-Uptake Rate

Tacy CalliesCitrus

By Reza Ehsani, Azadeh Alizadeh and Davie Kadyampakeni Many scientists in Florida and other parts of the world are working hard to find a treatment for citrus greening and frequently conducting field trials to evaluate the effectiveness of their treatments. Monitoring plant physiological factors, yield and fruit quality are usually among the factors that they need to assess tree health. …

citrus

Florida Citrus Harvest Lowest in Decades

Daniel CooperCitrus, Crop Forecast, Industry News Release

by Jim Turner, News Service of Florida The final forecast of the 2016-2017 season for Florida’s struggling citrus industry shows the orange crop falling 16 percent from the previous season — which, itself, had been at a five-decades low. And after a season of severe drought, combined with the continued fight against a deadly citrus disease and the expansion of …