Updates on the so-called greasy green disorder and the Cold Hardy Citrus Association were presented at the virtual Packinghouse Day on Aug. 26. GREASY GREENThe greasy green disorder affecting fruit primarily in Florida’s Indian River region has “been getting worse the past two seasons,” researcher Mark Ritenour reported. Ritenour is a University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural …
Steps for Reducing Fruit Drop
Editor’s Note: Tripti Vashisth with share new information on the use of gibberellic acid treatments to improve health and yield of HLB-diseased trees in a virtual seminar on Sept. 21. Register here. Researcher Tripti Vashisth told the recent Citrus Expo audience how fruit drop might be reduced through the use of nutrition and irrigation strategies, gibberellic acid and increased fruit …
Landscape Fabric Blocks Diaprepes Larvae
Fabric mulch landscape covers, typically used to block weeds in nurseries, can aid in diaprepes root weevil control, Larry Duncan reported at the recent Citrus Expo. “Some of these products, not all of them, are extremely effective at blocking the diaprepes weevil larvae from getting into the soil” after falling from a citrus tree, Duncan said. Duncan is a University …
Hurricane Preparation and Recovery: Key Points
Multi-county citrus Extension agent Ajia Paolillo recently suggested ways to prepare for and recover from a hurricane. Hurricane season began June 1 and ends Nov. 30. Paolillo said hurricane activity is usually most prevalent from August to October. She cited an August update from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration predicting 15 to 21 tropical storms this summer, with 7 …
Incentive for Early-Orange Plantings
Growers who participate in the upcoming Cycle III of the Citrus Research and Field Trial (CRAFT) program will be offered an additional $1,000-per-acre incentive to plant early-season oranges. Tamara Wood, CRAFT executive director and program manager, announced the incentive during an Aug. 31 CRAFT Cycle III workshop. CRAFT pays Florida growers to plant trees on which they will conduct commercial …
Sneak Peek: September 2021 Citrus Industry
The September issue of Citrus Industry magazine largely focuses on two topics: nutrient management research and highlights from the return of the in-person Citrus Expo. NUTRITION RESEARCHSeveral features authored by University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences authors share the latest strategies for improving nutrition of citrus trees. Yiannis Ampatzidis and Ute Albrecht discuss the newest technologies that …
Mutual Petitions FDA Regarding OJ Brix
Florida Citrus Mutual (FCM) is making efforts to protect growers in the event Florida oranges don’t meet the minimum Brix requirement for not-from-concentrate (NFC) orange juice (OJ). FCM recently sent a formal request to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeking enforcement discretion to protect growers from the likely contingency that Florida’s 2021-22 orange crop may not meet FDA’s …
How to Work With UF/IFAS for a Rootstock Trial
By Bill Castle The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Citrus Research and Education Center (CREC) plant improvement team has long been engaged in field research to evaluate new scions and rootstocks. That effort continues and has involved trials on public and private property. While public sites are valuable, they are limited in number. Thus, most …
Making Sense of Biologicals: A Key Tool Against Citrus Canker
Disease management ranks high on the list of every Florida citrus grower’s agenda. Tools are available for producers to combat citrus diseases like greasy spot, melanose, scab, foot rot and citrus canker. But growers can never have enough tools, especially when disease resistance is a real possibility in the future. STOCKING THE TOOLBOX“To grow citrus trees and produce quality fruit …
Will Georgia Fruit Have a Home?
Citrus acreage in Georgia continues to increase. While it didn’t double like it did in 2020, it still increased by 50%, says Jake Price, University of Georgia Lowndes County Extension coordinator. During a citrus growers’ summer update meeting on Aug. 25 in Lowndes County, Price said that Georgia’s citrus acreage has ballooned to 2,700 acres in 46 counties. The state …
Missed Expo? You Can Catch Up!
If you missed Citrus Expo Aug. 18-19 and the great production information available at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) booth, you can now access it online. Posters and videos that were available at the booth are now on the UF/IFAS Citrus Research website. Click on “Presentations,” then “Citrus Expo Presentations,” then “2021 Citrus Expo.” …
Canker Eradication Efforts Underway in Texas
The Asiatic A strain of citrus canker was recently found in the Upper Gulf Coast area of Texas, posing a significant threat to the state’s commercial citrus production. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Texas Department of Agriculture and the Texas A&M University-Kingsville Citrus Center are collaborating on surveys to detect the disease. They are also removing and properly …
IPCs Help With Diaprepes and Nematodes
Florida citrus growers have known for several years that individual protective covers (IPCs) do a good job of excluding HLB-spreading Asian citrus psyllids from young trees. “But those protective covers also protect from things like Diaprepes abbreviatus,” researcher Larry Duncan told the recent Citrus Expo audience. Duncan is a nematologist at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural …
Australian Tree Map Tool Honored
The Australian Tree Crop Map Dashboard won first place at the 2021 Esri User Conference. The conference is the world’s largest event dedicated to geographic information system technology. The tool is freely available and interactively summarizes the extent of avocado, citrus, macadamia and mango orchards, banana plantations and olive groves. It helps those industries make informed and timely decisions for biosecurity …
Navel Oranges: Current Status and Future in Florida
By Pete Spyke and Bill Castle Navel oranges are fairly tolerant of HLB, are popular and easy to sell, and offer a stable source of income that is only marginally related to worldwide supply and demand. Nevertheless, the Florida navel orange industry has experienced some tough times recently. Growers are questioning whether it is possible to grow navel oranges profitably …
Where to Find Information About Citrus Research
By Ruth Borger Sometimes when it comes to information shared by University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) faculty, Florida citrus growers may suffer from information overload. There is a lot of good, solid, useful information that growers can use immediately to improve their operations. But how do you sift through it all, and where do you …
Dantzler Still Optimistic Regarding HLB
Citrus Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) Chief Operating Officer Rick Dantzler told a Citrus Expo crowd why he remains optimistic regarding HLB, even in the face of negative industry trends. Dantzler, who started at CRDF on the first day of Citrus Expo three years ago, declared, “I am more optimistic than ever. It is taking longer than I thought, but …
All In For Citrus Podcast, August 2021
This month’s All In For Citrus Podcast gives growers valuable advice for dealing with hurricanes and tropical storms. The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) team describes how to prepare for and recover from these weather events, as well as the impacts they can have on Florida’s economy. Before getting to the information about storms, the …
Yield Predictions Improved by AI
University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) researchers are using artificial intelligence (AI) to help citrus growers better forecast their seasonal yield. A preliminary study showed that the AI technology predicts yields with 98% accuracy. That’s way better than the 75% to 85% accuracy growers get when they count trees manually, said Yiannis Ampatzidis, UF/IFAS associate professor …
Behind Florida’s Production Decline
In addition to recently projecting that Florida orange and red grapefruit production will likely decline for the foreseeable future, economist Tom Spreen provided some of the reasons. OLDER, LESS PRODUCTIVE TREESSpreen, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences professor emeritus, cited an older tree inventory and declining fruit per tree as contributors to projected yield declines. He said …