By Len Wilcox Continuous research and development of new varieties is an important function of the University of California, Riverside (UCR). Efforts have led to hundreds of profitable varieties now being grown in California. According to a report in California Agriculture, University of California’s (UC) research journal, one of those varieties has been a source of more than $14 million …
UF/IFAS Researchers Awarded $10.5M to Work on HLB Resistance/Tolerance
With citrus greening devastating Florida’s $8.6 billion-a-year citrus industry, three University of Florida scientists will use $10.52 million in federal grants to study ways to help growers cope with the disease, including research on genetic editing that may produce potentially resistant fruit and trees. Since greening — or huanglongbing (HLB) — was first reported in Florida in 2005, Florida’s citrus …
Understanding the Foreign Supplier Verification Programs Rule
By Travis K. Chapin, Keith R. Schneider, Renée Goodrich Schneider and Michelle D. Danyluk On Nov. 27, 2015, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published the Foreign Supplier Verification Programs (FSVP) for Importers of Food for Humans and Animals rule in the Code of Federal Regulations under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). The final rule requires that importers …
Attacking HLB From All Angles
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 …
Specialty Crop Grower Sees Success with Finger Limes
By Len Wilcox When Jim Shanley retired from his highly successful career in commodity trading, he knew what he wanted to do and where he wanted to do it: farm specialty crops in the hills overlooking Morro Bay, California. His choice of crops, however, was not so clear. He started with avocados, but it was a curious little fruit from …
Searching for Citrus Varieties Resistant to HLB
Three old trees at the Lindcove Research and Extension Center (REC) might hold the key to huanglongbing (HLB) resistance, according to an article in the University of California (UC) publication California Agriculture. The Lindcove REC is located on the eastern edge of the San Joaquin Valley near Visalia, California. Several of the citrus varieties tested at Lindcove REC were bred …
Finger Lime Could Be New Crop for Citrus Growers
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 …
A Bitter Analysis of the World’s Orange Juice Market
By Marcos Fava Neves During the last five years, I was involved in a study that examined data in depth about the world’s orange juice (OJ) consumption. This study, led by Markestrat, gathers data from Citrus BR associates, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Tetrapak, Compass, Nielsen, Planet Retail and other recognized international organizations that collect data. The analysis was performed in …
New Knowledge on Citrus Black Spot
By Megan Dewdney, Jeff Rollins, Nan-Yi Wang and Ke Zhang Citrus black spot (CBS) has become established in the groves of Collier and Hendry counties. In other citrus-growing regions of the world where CBS is present, the sexual fruiting bodies of the fungus, known as pseudothecia, form in decomposing leaf litter. Approximately 50 to 180 days following leaf drop, the …
California Citrus Challenges: Water Tops HLB
Asian citrus psyllids are detected sporadically in the San Joaquin Valley — home to most California oranges and mandarins — and are endemic in Southern California lemon country. But as far as anyone knows, the pests that spread HLB in Florida and Texas have not spread the disease into California’s commercial citrus groves. California HLB detections have been limited to 17 …