The Fundecitrus app, launched in February, has a new feature to help citrus growers properly rotate insecticides to manage the psyllid that spreads citrus greening disease. The new feature helps growers choose insecticides with different modes of action. The use of insecticides with the same mode of action in sequential applications can result in an increase in the frequency of …
Citrus Commission Chairman: Marketing Programs Work
Florida Citrus Commission (FCC) Chairman Steve Johnson recently shared his thoughts on the Florida Department of Citrus’ (FDOC) marketing programs. “As the budget has decreased over the past couple of years, and into next year, the FCC has placed a stronger emphasis on the need for the FDOC to utilize data to track their programs,” said Johnson. “Performance has played …
Recovery Will Require a Multipronged Management Program
By Michael Rogers The 2022–23 Florida harvest season is now behind us. Yield losses magnified by the weather events this past season position the next couple of years as “make or break” for many growers. The lingering effects of hurricane Ian will impact next season’s crop as trees continue to recover and balance out canopy regrowth with fruit production. Despite …
Hurricane Preparedness for Citrus Groves: Part 1
By Mongi Zekri, Robert E. Rouse and Jonathan H. Crane Growers look forward to the rainy season because it helps their young trees grow fast and their mature trees produce good crops. However, along with the anticipation of the rainy season, there is also the reality that tropical storms or hurricanes may bring too much rain and wind, causing devastations …
Update on Sweet Orange Scab in California
A California researcher recently provided an update on sweet orange scab (SOS). The fungal disease has been detected in the state 18 times since 2013. University of California, Riverside professor and plant pathologist Jim Adaskaveg said most of the detections have been in Southern California, especially in Imperial County. Eleven detections have been in commercial lemon orchards, three in commercial …
HLB Lessons Learned From Nepal
Citrus is grown in many different regions across the globe. Some of those places look very different than the Florida landscape. But that doesn’t mean growers in different regions can’t benefit from learning about how others grow their fruit. That was the message from Christoper Vincent, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) assistant professor of environmental …
USDA Citrus Breeding Program Focused on Rootstock and Variety Solutions
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) U.S. Horticultural Research Laboratory in Fort Pierce, Florida, has been home to a citrus rootstock and variety breeding program for many years. Kim Bowman, a research geneticist, has been with the program for more than 30 years. More recently, Matthew Mattia, a geneticist, joined the breeding team. They provide an update on the program …
Economists Study Cover Crops in Citrus
Economists with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) recently published two studies about the adoption of cover crops in citrus. One looked at the economic feasibility of cover crop adoption for citrus growers. The other looked at the preferences and willingness of growers to incorporate cover crops into their production practices. The studies were conducted …
Highlights from the Florida Citrus Industry Annual Conference
Florida Citrus Mutual provided a summary of its Florida Citrus Industry Annual Conference held in June: After a year full of challenges, the 2023 Florida Citrus Industry Annual Conference once again offered an opportunity for more than 500 growers, allied members, family and friends to come together and focus on the highlights of the year and the promise of better …
Fair Access to Agriculture Disaster Programs Act Introduced
U.S. Representatives Jimmy Panetta of California and Kat Cammack of Florida have introduced bipartisan legislation to reduce income barriers that producers face in accessing agriculture disaster assistance. The Fair Access to Agriculture Disaster Programs Act aims to ensure that basic safety-net programs for producers are readily available to help full-time farmers recover following natural disasters. Current adjusted gross income (AGI) …
Update on Fungicides for Citrus
In a recent webinar, Jim Adaskaveg, University of California, Riverside professor and plant pathologist, discussed some recently registered fungicides to manage phytophthora and other fungal diseases of citrus. Orondis was registered in 2018, Presidio in 2019 and Revus in 2020. Adaskaveg said Orondis and Revus each contain a new active ingredient with a different mode of action and provide a …
Citrus Grower Forum Focused on New Peptide Product
The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Citrus Research and Education Center hosted a grower forum in mid-June. An educational program during the event provided growers with information on a new HLB therapy working its way through regulatory approvals. The peptide-based product will go by the name Aura Citrus and will be marketed by Nutrien once it …
CRAFT Update Provided at Citrus Industry Conference
During the Florida Citrus Industry Annual Conference earlier this month, Tamara Wood, executive director of the Citrus Research and Field Trial (CRAFT) Foundation, gave an update on a new phase of the CRAFT program. Started in 2019, CRAFT was initially focused on new plantings. The program helps growers cover the cost of new plantings if they agree to an experimental …
All In For Citrus Podcast, June 2023
Speaking at the Florida Citrus Industry Annual Conference in June, Scott Angle, leader of the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS), reaffirmed the urgency the institution has placed on finding viable solutions to HLB. This includes presenting the citrus industry with a road-map document to lay out UF/IFAS HLB research priorities and objectives. One of the approaches …
Sneak Peek: July 2023 Citrus Industry
The July issue of Citrus Industry magazine focuses on the latest work to breed better citrus trees. Chief among the goals is developing varieties resistant or tolerant to HLB. A trio of articles will give readers an inside look at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) and U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service (USDA …
Update on the Cold-Hardy Citrus Region
By Danielle Sprague Williams In North Florida and South Georgia, there has been a significant growth in citrus production due to the relatively mild winters, advances in freeze protection and cold-hardy citrus varieties. In addition to this, there is a relatively low incidence of the citrus greening pathogen and its vector, the Asian citrus psyllid. Due to these factors, many …
Adverse Effect Wage Rates Rule Challenged
In late February, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) pushed through a new methodology used to determine the hourly adverse effect wage rates (AEWR) for agricultural employers. The rule became effective March 30. Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association (FFVA) Director of Labor Relations Jamie Fussell discussed the action’s impact on growers: IMPACT ON EMPLOYERSSimply, the new rule may mean that …
Chilean Citrus Industry Suffers Freeze Damage
The president of Fedefruta (Federation of Chilean Fruit Producers), Jorge Valenzuela Trebilcock, is receiving testimony from farmers affected by damaging frosts. The frosts have spread through various productive areas of fruit and vegetables and have lasted much longer than normal. They have caused damage that is not yet quantifiable to avocados, lemons, oranges, tangerines and avocados. “The frosts have been …
PIECES OF THE PAST: Centennial Celebrations
By Brenda Eubanks Burnette Gap Kovach, formerly head of HESCO, recently sent me a surprise packet of goodies for the Citrus Archives that included citrus labels, the 1986 Miss Florida Citrus program and the Winter Park Public Library 1985 calendar. The calendar was in honor of the library’s centennial celebration and featured numerous Florida citrus crate labels “as a salute …
CRDF Research Priorities Include Trunk-Injection Therapy
The Citrus Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) held its June board of directors meeting in conjunction with Florida Citrus Mutual’s Florida Citrus Industry Annual Conference in Bonita Springs. The June gathering is when the CRDF board passes its budget for the next year. The board funded a project by Zhanao Deng, professor of environmental horticulture with the University of Florida …