florida citrus

Governor Rick Scott Appoints Three to the Florida Citrus Commission

Daniel CooperIndustry News Release

Governor Rick Scott announced two appointments and one reappointment to the Florida Citrus Commission. Lee Bouldin, 62, of Vero Beach, is a citrus shipper at DNE World Fruit. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Wake Forest University. Bouldin succeeds Michael Garavaglia and is appointed for a term beginning August 9, 2017, and ending May 31, 2019. Carlos Martinez, …

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 …

Varieties: Replacing Hamlins with Early Valencias

Ernie NeffVarieties

University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences plant breeder Jude Grosser makes a case for Florida’s citrus industry replacing Hamlin oranges with early-maturing Valencia oranges that he and others are developing. “I think that’s a no-brainer because Hamlins are having a really bad time with greening, and orange juice sales are declining,” Grosser says. “Hamlin is half our juice. …

export expectations

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 …

In-Field Fruit Fogging for Psyllid Control

Tacy CalliesPsyllids

The California Citrus Research Board (CRB) hosted live Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) fogging demonstrations in April. The purpose was to show the viability of controlling the spread of ACP by fogging shipments of citrus on the truck, as close to the harvested field as possible. Spencer Walse, CRB research scientist specializing in chemical applications in agriculture, carried out the demonstrations. He is based at …

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 …

Fred Gmitter: Slow Road to Fast Genetics

Tacy CalliesBreeding, Citrus

By Ernie Neff Even Nostradamus would have struggled to predict a career path for a 25-year-old Fred Gmitter. Gmitter had quit college after three years at Rutgers University, where he studied English literature with plans to teach. He said he “became completely disillusioned” with that plan. He married, worked as a delivery truck driver and warehouse laborer, and traveled out …

Grove

Hunt on FDOC Budget and Grove Conditions

Ernie NeffFlorida Citrus Commission

The Florida Citrus Commission (FCC) on June 21 set a preliminary 2017-18 Florida Department of Citrus (FDOC) operating budget of $17.5 million. That’s a 22 percent reduction from last season and the lowest FDOC budget in decades. The final budget will be set after the U.S. Department of Agriculture issues the first Florida citrus crop forecast of the new season …

citrus

Citrus Industry Tightens Belt Amid Industry Woes

Daniel CooperCitrus, Florida Citrus Commission, Industry News Release

by Jim Turner, News Service of Florida The Florida Department of Citrus plans to continue to squeeze its operations during the coming year as the industry struggles, though travelers will still be able to receive free orange juice at state welcome centers. The Florida Citrus Commission, which oversees the department, approved a preliminary $17.5 million operating budget Wednesday that would …

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 …

Final Figure for Brazil’s 2016–17 Crop

Tacy CalliesGlobal Perspectives

By Marcos Fava Neves In May, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimated the Florida orange crop at only 68 million boxes. The final number for the Brazilian 2016–17 crop was released by Fundecitrus on April 10 and was 245.31 million boxes. It is relevant to note an important point for the orange juice chain participants in Florida and São …

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 …

HLB

Growers Share HLB Frustrations and Experiences

Ernie NeffBactericides, HLB Management, Psyllids

Growers shared their frustrations and experiences with HLB at a May 4 grower roundtable meeting in Wauchula. Event co-host Steve Smith, executive director of Peace River Valley Citrus Growers Association, summarizes the discussions. “A lot of the growers were talking about fertigation and how much, and what’s working for them on the short-term basis as far as tree health goes,” …

citrus celebrates anniversary

CREC and FDOC: Decades of Working Together

Daniel CooperCitrus, Industry News Release, Research

As the University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Citrus Research and Education Center (CREC) celebrates its 100th anniversary, administrators are praising a decades-long relationship between researchers with CREC and the Florida Department of Citrus (FDOC). “Housing the FDOC and CREC scientists at the same location has brought together the expertise needed to address any issue facing the …

Citrus Canker Management for 2017

Kelsey FryDiseases

By Evan Johnson The citrus canker season is quickly approaching again, so it is time to start preparing your canker management plan. It is easy to forget the importance of controlling citrus canker with the current state of HLB in Florida. However, citrus canker can cause almost complete crop loss if environmental conditions are favorable for disease early in the …

Global Perspectives

Brazil’s Shrinking Citrus Crop

Tacy CalliesCitrus, Global Perspectives

By Marcos Fava Neves The latest announcement of Brazil’s orange production is 244 million boxes, almost 2 percent smaller than the September estimate (249 million boxes) and 0.6 percent smaller than the May number (246 million boxes). Hot weather in October and November reduced the expected yields. The crop is predicted to be 18 percent less than last season, and …

hall of famer jim ellis

Hall of Famer Ellis on His Influencers and the Future

Ernie NeffCitrus

Recent Florida Citrus Hall of Fame inductee Jim Ellis of Bartow credits “God, my parents, my family and the members of the Florida citrus industry” for his success. Ellis was inducted on March 10, along with Florida Citrus Mutual CEO Mike Sparks and the late T. Ralph Robinson, in ceremonies at Florida Southern College in Lakeland. “My passion is to …

endophytes

Orange Forecast Drops for Florida and California

Taylor HillmanCitrus, Crop Forecast

The citrus crop forecast, delivered by Mark Hudson of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service in Washington, D.C., showed a 4 percent drop in Florida oranges and a 2 percent drop in California oranges. In total, the U.S. all-orange forecast for the 2016-2017 season dropped 3 percent from last month and is down 13 percent from …

Psyllids, PFD

New Highlands President on PFD, Psyllids and More

Ernie NeffHLB Management, PFD

Billy Barben, new president for the Highlands County Citrus Growers Association (HCCGA), says he is optimistic that new fertilizer programs and future genetic trees “will give us hope in the future.” Barben, whose brothers, Bobby and John, have also served the association as president, says, “I’m more of the dirt guy in my family.” As a grower, he has opinions …

Finger Lime Could Be New Crop for Citrus Growers

Tacy CalliesBreeding

By Manjul Dutt, Ethan Nielsen and Jude Grosser The finger lime is a citrus relative, scientifically named Microcitrus australasica. Finger limes are native to Australia and are so named because the fruits are long and fingerlike in shape (see figures 1 and 2). Finger limes belong to a group of similar citrus relatives, all originating from Australia with common names …