The November episode of the All In For Citrus podcast covers a multitude of grant-funded research that the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) citrus team both leads and collaborates on. Citrus Research and Education Center Director Michael Rogers begins the podcast with a discussion on research projects UF/IFAS scientists are playing critical roles in collaborative …
SWFREC Recognizes Growers During Farm-City Week
Nov. 18-25 is National Farm-City Week, a time to recognize and honor the contributions of the country’s agriculturalists and to strengthen the bond between urban and rural citizens. The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Southwest Florida Research and Education Center (SWFREC) took the opportunity to recognize the agriculturists in its area. Some of its statements …
Cold Acclimation and Freeze Protection for Florida Citrus
By Chris Oswalt and Davie Kadyampakeni In preparation for winter in Florida, citrus growers must first understand some essential concepts related to protecting citrus from freezing temperatures. Specifically, growers need to know when and how to protect citrus trees from freeze damage. WHEN TO PROTECT When (i.e., at what critical temperature) will damage begin to occur? This temperature is dependent on …
Worker Safety Resources Available in Spanish
Free online resources from the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Extension put safety in the hands of Spanish-speaking agricultural workers and pesticide handlers. The Extension Farm Labor Education programs are part of UF/IFAS Extension Online Learning. For the first time, the Worker Protection Standard Train the Trainer (WPS TTT) certification course is available online in …
Scout IPCs for Pests
By Jawwad Qureshi Young citrus trees produce shoots with feather-stage leaves more frequently, making them highly attractive to the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP). This pest requires young shoots with feather-stage leaves to develop and reproduce. ACP is the pathogen’s primary vector responsible for causing huanglongbing (HLB) disease. Plant infection with HLB at an early age makes it challenging to bring …
Spotting the Symptoms of Citrus Black Spot
University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Extension recently provided the following information about identification of citrus black spot (CBS): Fruit symptoms can be observed around this time of year with the onset of color break and fruit maturity. Growers and agricultural workers should learn to identify the symptoms of CBS even if they are not located …
Adjuvants Did Not Improve Delivery of Foliar-Applied Oxytetracycline
In 2016, federal authorities began allowing Florida citrus growers to spray oxytetracycline solutions on their trees to combat citrus greening disease. Since then, researchers have been investigating oxytetracycline delivery methods. In a Citrus Expo presentation, Christopher Vincent, assistant professor of horticultural sciences at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Citrus Research and Education Center, shared …
Controls for Sting Nematodes
Larry Duncan provides updates on the damage done by sting nematodes and research into controlling them with nematicides and perennial peanut as a cover crop. Duncan is a University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) nematologist at the Citrus Research and Education Center. Sting nematodes have become a “real issue” for Florida growers in the past five …
Five Years of Fresh Fruit Production in CUPS
By Arnold Schumann, Laura Waldo, Napoleon Mariner and Timothy Ebert According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Florida grapefruit production for the 2019–20 season was only 12 percent of the production recorded in 2003–04, prior to the arrival of huanglongbing (HLB) disease in the state. A major goal of the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences …
Get Florida Freeze Updates With Winter Weather Watch
By Chris Oswalt There was a time back in 1962, on Dec. 12 and 13, when a devastating freeze in Florida decimated a significant portion of the state’s citrus industry. In Polk County, the freeze caused serious damage to 134,000 acres of citrus. In 1963, citrus growers were concerned about receiving timely weather information and frost warning bulletins. Back then, …
Genome Sequencing and Other UF Research
Michael Rogers discusses the importance of the recent sequencing of the trifoliate orange genome by University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) researchers and others. He also tells how growers can learn more about UF/IFAS research funded by the Florida Legislature. Rogers is director of the UF/IFAS Citrus Research and Education Center (CREC) in Lake Alfred and …
The Effect of the Clean Waterways Act on Ag
The Clean Waterways Act (Senate Bill 712) was signed into law on June 30 by Gov. Ron DeSantis. The act discusses several mechanisms and provisions to protect waterways by reducing water pollution. It includes a few changes that directly affect the agriculture industry. The law requires the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) to perform onsite implementation verification …
Black Spot Likely in More Florida Counties
Although citrus black spot has only been detected in commercial groves in five Southwest Florida counties, it is still spreading and likely to be in additional counties, according to plant pathologist Megan Dewdney. The five counties with detections are Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry and Lee. Dewdney is a University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences associate professor at …
Proving COVID-19 Isn’t Foodborne
When the COVID-19 pandemic became news in the United States early this year, some consumers and others wondered if it might be spread by food or food packaging. Food scientist Michelle Danyluk says there is no epidemiological evidence that COVID-19 is spread that way. “But epidemiological evidence isn’t the same as hard science data,” she adds. Consequently, she and other …
Boosting Citrus Tree Immunity to Combat HLB
By Manjul Dutt, Juliana Soares and Jude Grosser Land plants such as citrus are generally anchored to a specific location by their roots. Owing to their immobile nature and constant exposure to pathogenic microbes, plants are very vulnerable. However, you might be surprised by how much plants can protect themselves and survive against multiple adversities encountered during their lifetime. A …
Using CRISPR for HLB Resistance
Use of CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) technology has already produced trees that are highly resistant to citrus canker. In a Citrus Expo virtual presentation, microbiology and cell scientist Nian Wang reported on work that is being done with CRISPR to develop tree resistance to HLB. Wang is a University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences …
Citrus Advisory System Provides PFD Alerts
Beep. Beep. Beep. That’s the sound of an alert telling a citrus grower it’s time to spray fungicide to help prevent fruit from falling off the tree due to postbloom fruit drop (PFD). University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) researchers have developed a Citrus Advisory System (CAS) that sends web-based alerts to growers via mobile devices. …
Herbicides: What to Mix and What Not to Mix
By Ramdas Kanissery Tank-mixing different herbicides with multiple selectivity and modes of action will broaden the range of weeds controlled in a single application. Although it is an effective and popular strategy, when components (herbicide products and spray additives) in the tank mixes are not compatible with each other, the resulting combination can produce unintended and unsuccessful results. THINK BEFORE …
All In For Citrus Podcast, October 2020
An exciting development with genome sequencing, timely research in the face of COVID-19 and an update on sting nematode research headline October’s All In For Citrus podcast. Citrus Research and Education Center Director Michael Rogers details the benefits of recent news about the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) mapping the trifoliate orange genome. He says …
Honey Bee Extension Expert Honored
Jamie Ellis, director of the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Honey Bee Research and Extension Laboratory, will receive the 2020 Excellence in Extension Award from national organizations. The award was announced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Cooperative Extension and the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. The Excellence …