court

Citrus Legal Fight Dismissed After Payment

Tacy CalliesIndustry News Release

After the Legislature provided money and a check was sent, the Florida Supreme Court dismissed a nearly two-decade legal battle over the state cutting down Lee County homeowners’ healthy citrus trees. Lawmakers this year approved spending more than $19 million to pay a judgment in the class-action lawsuit, which stemmed from trees being cut down amid efforts to stop the …

New Targets Found for HLB Treatments

Len WilcoxCalifornia Corner, Research

Thanks to recent advances in metabolic modeling, scientists are closer to gaining the upper hand on citrus greening (also known as huanglongbing or HLB), a disease that has wiped out citrus orchards across the globe. New models of the bacterium linked to the disease reveal control methods that were previously unavailable. Metabolic models of organisms are like road maps of …

California Citrus Movement Rules Amended

Len WilcoxCalifornia Corner, Regulation

The Citrus Pest & Disease Prevention Program, an agency of the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), has revised the rules governing shipment of citrus within the state. The rules are in place to protect commercial citrus groves from the threat of huanglongbing (HLB) disease. Effective July 31, 2020, bulk citrus fruit may be shipped directly to a packinghouse …

Made in the Shade

Tacy CalliesCitrus, Production

Feral citrus growing in natural hammocks reveals insights about production and HLB. By Christopher Vincent and Anirban Guha Would you rather go outside in August and stand for a few hours in the sun or in the shade? It turns out citrus prefers the shade, too. In the past two years, we have been researching the health of citrus growing …

California Ag Responds to COVID-19 Pressure

Len WilcoxCalifornia Corner, COVID-19

Now a COVID-19 hot spot, California agriculture has been working to protect its labor force from the pandemic. However, COVID-19 exposures have occurred and illness reports are on the rise. “Rising rates in the Central Valley are concerning. California is making $52M available to increase testing, contact tracing and quarantine efforts, and sending strike teams to four counties with increased …

psyllids

IPM Approaches to Reduce Psyllid Populations

Tacy CalliesCitrus, Psyllids

Lukasz Stelinski recently shared integrated pest management strategies for reducing Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) populations to optimize tree health and yield. The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences professor of entomology and nematology presented the information during the 2020 virtual Florida Citrus Industry Annual Conference. Even with approximately 100 percent of Florida citrus trees infected with huanglongbing …

Dietary Guidelines Report Is Positive for Fruit Juice

Ernie NeffOrange Juice

According to the Florida Department of Citrus (FDOC), the conclusions and statements presented in a federal report related to 100 percent fruit juice are positive. The first print of the federal Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) report was released on July 15. This report will be used to develop the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) later this year. These …

Steger Forecast for Florida Oranges

Ernie NeffForecast

Elizabeth Steger, president of Citrus Consulting International, has forecast Florida’s 2020-21 orange crop at 62 million boxes. That is 8.35 percent fewer oranges than the 67.65 million boxes the state produced last season. [See the final 2019-20 season forecast by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) here.] Steger has been forecasting the size of Florida’s orange crop prior to the …

First CLas-Positive ACP Found in California Grove

Len WilcoxCalifornia Corner, Industry News Release, Psyllids

An Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) sample has been confirmed positive for Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas), the bacteria that causes huanglongbing (HLB). The sample was collected from a commercial citrus grove in the Woodcrest area of Riverside County. Confirmed by Citrus Research Board’s Jerry Dimitman Laboratory, this single adult psyllid is the first CLas-positive ACP found in a commercial citrus grove …

nutrition

Citrus Expo to Cover Wide Range of Production Topics

Tacy CalliesCitrus Expo

The Citrus Expo team and the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) have joined forces to offer educational sessions in a virtual format for this year’s Citrus Expo. On Aug. 19–20, the 2020 seminar program will debut online at CitrusExpo.net at 9:30 a.m. Attendees will be able to watch videos of research presentations. With safety as …

The Future Faces of Florida Citrus

Tacy CalliesScholarship

Meet the four students who received the FMC Citrus Ag Production Scholarships. By Tacy Callies The FMC Citrus Ag Production Scholarships (CAPS) program, a partnership between AgNet Media and FMC, was created to support Florida citrus production and encourage interested youth to pursue careers in citrus. Two University of Florida students and two Florida Southern College students each were awarded …

Collecting Unsolicited Seeds

Ernie NeffInternational

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services recently issued warnings about unsolicited packages of seed received through the mail. See a previous article about the warnings. APHIS is collecting as many seed packages as possible to determine whether they present a threat to U.S. agriculture or …

climate

Kaolin Particle Films for Citrus Under HLB Pressure

Tacy CalliesHLB Management

Managing the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) that spreads citrus greening disease (HLB) has become a crucial task at the forefront of much research. One management option that has proven to reduce ACP populations while increasing tree growth and yield is particle film. During the 2020 virtual Florida Citrus Industry Annual Conference, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences …

OJ May Help Lower Blood Pressure

Ernie NeffOrange Juice, Research

A growing body of scientific research shows that 100 percent orange juice (OJ), and its vitamins and minerals, may play a beneficial role in helping to lower blood pressure and other risk factors for heart disease. Recently, a randomized control study performed by researchers at Eurecat, Centre Tecnològic de Catalunya, in Reus, Spain concluded that 100 percent OJ and 100 percent OJ fortified …

Report Suspicious Seeds From China

Ernie NeffInternational

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) is warning Floridians about unsolicited packages of seeds received through the mail. The seed packets may arrive unexpectedly in packages bearing Chinese characters, may bear the name China Post, and may be labeled as jewelry. They have been reported in multiple states. As of July 28, FDACS has received at least 631 reports from …

acp

California Budget Includes HLB Funding

Len WilcoxCalifornia Corner

Funding for Asian citrus psyllid (ACP)/huanglongbing (HLB) programs and the Citrus Pest & Disease Prevention Division (CPDPD), an agency of the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), were included in the 2020-2021 California budget. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the budget on June 29. The CPDPD, known also as the Citrus Division, utilizes state, federal and grower-generated funds to prevent …

Growing Finger Limes in Florida: Lessons Learned So Far

Tacy CalliesLimes

By Manjul Dutt and Jude Grosser Finger lime, a distant relative of sweet orange and grapefruit, is a relatively new crop species for Florida. It is an Australian native species that has been gaining in popularity and importance in the last few years because of its unique fruit characteristics and disease tolerance, which sets it apart from conventional sweet orange …

hlb

Oak Leaf Extracts Display Curative Effects Against HLB

Tacy CalliesHLB Management

As demand increases for a cure to huanglongbing (HLB), experts are studying the most effective ways to control the damaging citrus disease. A research project funded by the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) is focusing on the effects of oak leaf extracts on CLas-infected citrus trees. CLas (Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus) is the bacteria the causes …

citrus

New Resource to Help Fight Citrus Greening

Tacy CalliesCitrus Greening

If information is power, Florida citrus growers have a new asset in their fight against citrus greening disease. The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) statewide citrus program launched a major revision of a website, providing instant access to a portfolio of information valuable to growers. The http://citrusresearch.ifas.ufl.edu/ website is now easier to navigate and includes …

Rootstock and Scion Affect Orange Juice Flavor

Tacy CalliesRootstocks, Scions

By Yu Wang, Fred Gmitter and Jude Grosser A major concern for the citrus industry is a significant decline in production due to huanglongbing (HLB). In addition to the production shortfalls are losses due to fruit rejection by packinghouses and juice processing plants as a result of inadequate size and low sugar content. Bitterness and metallic off flavors in the …