Lucerne (also known as alfalfa) interplanting improved citrus gall wasp (CGW) control in Australia’s New South Wales (NSW). The interplanting is practiced by some citrus growers in NSW to suppress weeds, reduce soil compaction and improve soil fertility. Jianhua Mo of the NSW Department of Primary Industries addressed the matter; a summary of Mo’s comments follows. One possible explanation is …
Sneak Peek: August 2021 Citrus Industry
August brings the biggest issue of Citrus Industry magazine of the year! That’s due to the annual Citrus, Vegetable and Specialty Crop Expo on Aug. 18-19 in North Fort Myers, Florida. The August issue serves as the show guide to the event and includes the seminar schedule, an exhibitor directory and everything attendees need to make the most of the …
PIECES OF THE PAST: The ‘Plymouth Rock’ of Citrus
I recently acquired a visitor’s guide for Plymouth Citrus Products Cooperative. The guide invited visitors to tour the cooperative’s facilities located in where else but Plymouth, Florida, which is between Orlando and Leesburg. According to the guide, the cooperative provided “quality canned and frozen citrus products, citrus pulp and molasses.” Visitors were encouraged to take a guided tour that showcased …
Maximizing Rootstock Seed Production
By Fernando Alferez, Deived Uilian de Carvalho, Daniel Boakye, Tim Gast and Manjul Dutt Endemic HLB in Florida has provoked increased pressure to replant and reset infected groves. This has resulted in concern from citrus growers and nursery operators about seed availability for the most popular rootstocks in the state. In the past, all rootstock fruit (both early and late …
Improved Orange Cultivars
Improved sweet orange cultivars for processing and fresh fruit were the topic of a virtual presentation July 14 by plant breeder Jude Grosser. Grosser works at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Citrus Research and Education Center in Lake Alfred. HAMLIN SOMACLONE N13-32This new and distinct early-season clone of Hamlin has improved juice color and …
All In For Citrus Podcast, July 2021
A pest problem in citrus under protective screen (CUPS), heat stress guidance, and Citrus Expo news headline the July episode of the All In For Citrus podcast. Citrus Research and Education Center Director Michael Rogers begins the episode with an overview of the seminars at this year’s Citrus Expo. He said his University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural …
South Africa Shipping More Citrus
Summer Citrus from South Africa (SCSA) recently reported a 7% increase in shipment volume compared to the 2020 season. “Easy peelers are on-par with year-to-date estimates while navel oranges are slightly ahead,” SCSA stated in a media release. “Overall, quality and sizing are aligning well with the expectations of the U.S. market.” Boats from South Africa are scheduled to arrive …
Soft Citrus Climbs in South Africa
Production of tangerines/mandarins in South Africa is expected to continue its aggressive growth and is estimated to increase by 8% to 500,000 metric tons in 2020-21. Tangerines/mandarins are referred to as soft citrus. High levels of new plantings in recent years contributed to the production increase, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service reported in June. The area planted …
Time for Brown Rot Management
By Evan Johnson The Florida summer rainy season is in full swing, and there have been one or two root flushes by now. This is a good environment for increases in soil Phytophthora propagule counts. High counts have been seen this year, especially in Southwest Florida. While much of the focus may be on root rot, it is important to …
Indian River Millennium Block Shows Rootstock Effects
By Rhuanito S. Ferrarezi, J. Martin Zapien-Macias, Mac Hossain, Tom James, Ronald D. Cave, Peter Spyke, William S. Castle, Jude W. Grosser, Fred Gmitter and Ed Stover In the last decade, huanglongbing (HLB) has reduced production of Florida grapefruit by 75%, mandarin by 78% and sweet orange by 52%. This decrease is significant for the Indian River District, which produces …
California to Launch CRaFT Project
The Citrus Research Board (CRB) has been awarded $3,438,059 in funding from the Huanglongbing Multi-Agency Coordination Group (HLB MAC) to support its California-focused Citrus Research and Field Trials (CRaFT). The overarching goal of the CRaFT project is to demonstrate additional mitigations to improve psyllid control within commercial groves across the various citrus-growing regions in California. This information will inform areawide …
Fresh Citrus Variety Options for Florida
University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) plant breeder Fred Gmitter discussed potential fresh fruit variety options for Florida growers in a July 14 virtual presentation. Gmitter focused on releases made by breeders at UF/IFAS’ Citrus Research and Education Center in Lake Alfred. SUGAR BELLEGmitter said the Sugar Belle mandarin hybrid has high tolerance for HLB. This …
CRAFT May Encourage Early-Mid Orange Plantings
Officials with the Citrus Research and Field Trial (CRAFT) program are considering giving future participating growers an incentive to plant more early- and mid-season oranges. The topic was discussed by CRAFT’s board of directors after board member Phillip Rucks pointed out there’s a trend for nurseries to propagate far more late-season oranges than early- and mid-season oranges. Tables that the …
What To Do About Algal Spot
By Megan Dewdney I did not need to visit my field trial to know that algal spot was in bloom on citrus in the last month. I have received many phone calls about it recently as growers notice the bright orange doughnuts on their tree limbs. For those unfamiliar with algal spot, it is a disease that occurs mostly on …
Supreme Court Rules on Ag Property Right
The U.S. Supreme Court in June ruled that a nearly 50-year-old California regulation requiring agricultural businesses to allow union organizers to enter their property for a minimum number of hours and days each year is an unconstitutional taking without compensation. A California nursery and a shipping company had challenged the regulation as essentially creating an easement across their private property …
Change in Grove Practices Leads to Award
Brad Turner has worked in Florida citrus more than 40 years as a grower, production manager, caretaker and nursery owner. For most of that time, he focused on using synthetic fertilizers, fungicides, insecticides and herbicides as the necessary inputs for citrus management. But a change in the way he thought citrus should be grown led to him being named a …
Argentina Citrus Production Estimates
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA/FAS) in June reported changes in its 2020-21 estimates for citrus production in Argentina. The fresh lemon production estimate was increased 12% to 1.15 million metric tons. The fresh orange estimate was revised down by 30,000 metric tons, to 670,000 metric tons. The tangerine production estimate was unchanged at 360,000 metric tons. …
Improving Plant Improvement
Many in the Florida citrus industry have long believed that development of trees that are resistant to or tolerant of HLB is the key to coping with the devastating disease. In Florida, most of the work on developing such trees is conducted by researchers at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) and the U.S. Department …
CRAFT Leadership to Change
There will soon be leadership changes at the Citrus Research and Field Trials (CRAFT) Foundation. Tamara Wood will succeed Kristen Carlson as executive director and program manager; she was previously assistant program manager. Tom Mitchell will succeed Glenn Beck as president. Wood will manage day-to-day operations. There are no plans to hire a new assistant program manager, but the board …
PIECES OF THE PAST: Orange Guards
By Brenda Eubanks Burnette We received a request for information several months ago from researcher/historian Jono Miller regarding an old production practice of leaving cabbage palms in citrus groves as “orange guards.” The trees helped protect groves from freezing due to the creation of a canopy to keep the heat from the land rising during cold weather. In his new …