lennon

Surviving to Fight Another Day

Daniel CooperFlorida, HLB Management

Bill Lennon is working with researchers to learn more about survivor trees that are standing up to HLB. Bill Lennon is a fifth-generation citrus grower who can recall the industry’s glory days when Central Florida had hundreds of thousands of citrus acres before the 1980s freezes pushed production southward in the state. But he’s remained dedicated to the area, managing …

Florida Southern College

Florida Southern College Has New Major

Daniel CooperEducation, Florida

Florida Southern College (FSC) in Lakeland will offer a new horticulture, land and resource management major in August for incoming students and current students who want to add a major or switch majors. It consists of 28 credit hours (without general education courses). Sixteen of those hours come from horticulture science, and the rest are business oriented with a focus …

production

Turkish Tangerine Production to Soar

Daniel CooperCrop Forecast, International

Tangerine production in 2023–24 in Türkiye (previously known as Turkey) is forecast to increase 55% to 2.88 million metric tons (MMT), according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA FAS). The huge increase is due to favorable spring rains and temperature conditions during blossoming in March 2023. The yield in Türkiye’s Aegean region is expected to increase …

texas

New and Expanded Canker Quarantines in Texas

Daniel CooperDiseases, Regulation, Texas

Federal and Texas agriculture officials announced they are establishing four new quarantine areas for citrus canker in Brazoria and Harris counties, Texas. They are also expanding three existing quarantine areas for citrus canker in Brazoria, Fort Bend, Galveston and Harris counties. The U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS) and the Texas Department of Agriculture …

fertilization

PIECES OF THE PAST: Reflections on Fertilization

Daniel CooperNutrition, Pieces of the Past

By Brenda Eubanks Burnette In his book, “The Cultivation of Citrus Fruits,” first published in 1926 by The MacMillan Company, H. Harold Hume covers a variety of topics, including the use of fertilizers and the different needs of young trees versus bearing trees. Following are insightful excerpts: “Young adult trees differ in their fertilizer requirements. Young trees use their food …

long

Long-Term U.S. Production Projections

Daniel CooperCrop Forecast

Total U.S. citrus production levels are projected to continue their long-term decline before stabilizing through 2033, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Office of the Chief Economist recently reported. The trend is attributed to declining orange and grapefruit production alongside increasing production of lemons and tangerines. In the report, USDA Agricultural Projections to 2033, total U.S. citrus production is projected …

clean

Establishing Clean Breaks and Verification in Packinghouses

Daniel CooperFood Safety, Packing, Tip of the Week

By Clara Diekman, Taylor O’Bannon and Michelle Danyluk Many citrus packers already rely on product lot codes to aid in the traceability of their product in the case of a contamination event. These product lots can be determined in a variety of ways, including the date of harvest, field, harvest crew, etc. Regardless of the method used to assign lot …

HLB-affected trees

PGRs for HLB-Affected Trees: An Update

Daniel CooperHLB Management, PGRs

Using the plant growth regulators (PGRs) cytokinin in spring, gibberellic acid (GA) in summer and 2,4-D in late fall can be helpful for HLB-affected trees, horticulturist Tripti Vashisth reported. Her PGR update came during a Feb. 21 OJ Break. Multi-county citrus Extension agent Chris Oswalt hosted the event at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Citrus …

lemon/lime

World Lemon/Lime Production

Daniel CooperCrop Forecast, International, lemons, Limes

Global lemon/lime production in 2023–24 is forecast up 225,000 tons from the prior year to 10 million tons, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA FAS) reported. Higher production in the European Union, South Africa and Turkey more than offsets lower production in Mexico and the United States. Here are the regional lemon/lime forecasts for 2023–24: Turkey production …

vote

Georgia Growers to Vote on Marketing Order to Fund Research

Daniel CooperGeorgia, Research

Georgia’s citrus industry started with the help of University of Georgia (UGA) Extension. Research assistance from UGA could help the industry flourish. Georgia citrus growers will have an opportunity to vote on a marketing order that will help fund potential research, explains Ken Corbett, chairman of the Georgia Agricultural Commodity Commission for Citrus Fruits and a producer at Corbett Brothers …

Pheromone

Pheromone-Based Psyllid Control Not Viable

Daniel CooperBrazil, Psyllids, Research

Studies with psyllid pheromones show that the insect’s behavior is altered when it is infected by the HLB-causing bacterium Candidatus Liberibacter (CLas). This makes it difficult to produce a commercial psyllid-control product based on the insect pheromone, Brazil’s Fundecitrus has concluded. “The sexual pheromone is an attractant produced by the female of the species, which promotes behavioral changes in male …

therapies

Nutrition Remains a Critical Element as New Therapies Roll Out

Daniel CooperNutrition

Growers have largely adopted new trunk-injection therapies to fight the effects of HLB in citrus groves. In addition, plant growth regulators have helped improve tree health and fruit retention. One University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) scientist reminds growers to maintain their fertilizer programs as the new therapies are deployed.  Davie Kadyampakeni, UF/IFAS associate professor of …

chlorpyrifos

Update on Chlorpyrifos Use

Daniel CooperPesticides, Regulation, Tip of the Week

By Brett Bultemeier, Mike Aerts and Lauren Diepenbrock On Dec. 28, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit revoked a previous decision related to chlorpyrifos tolerances for food. Chlorpyrifos is a broad-spectrum insecticide used in a variety of crops, including citrus. The original decision revoked all food tolerances, whereas this new ruling essentially reinstates them. This means …

study

Study Analyzes the Economics of Cover Crops

Daniel CooperCover Crops, Economics, Research

In the face of HLB in Florida, a recent study delved into the economic viability of incorporating cover crops in citrus groves to enhance soil health and overall tree well-being. Shourish Chakravarty and Tara Wade wrote an article, Cost Analysis of Using Cover Crops in Citrus Production, about the study. Both authors are with the University of Florida Institute of …

Oriental fruit fly

Oriental Fruit Fly Quarantine Conditions Modified

Daniel CooperCalifornia Corner, Pests, Regulation

Conditions for the movement of fresh citrus fruit from the Redlands Oriental fruit fly (OFF) quarantine area of San Bernardino and Riverside counties in California have been temporarily modified for the duration of the 2024 harvest season. The U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS) announced the modification on Feb. 5. Due to the imminent …

South African

South African Orange and OJ Production

Daniel CooperCrop Forecast, International

South African orange and orange juice (OJ) production are both forecast to decline slightly in 2023–24 compared to the prior season, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA FAS). FRESH ORANGES Orange production in South Africa is forecast at 1.62 million metric tons (MMT). That’s a decrease of 1% from the prior season based on a …

oxytetracycline

Tips for Trunk Injection of Oxytetracycline

Daniel CooperHLB Management, Tip of the Week

By Ute Albrecht and Ozgur Batuman Follow these important tips for proper trunk injection of oxytetracycline as a citrus therapeutic. APPLICATION TIMING INJECTION TECHNIQUE ADDITIONAL ADVICE Ute Albrecht (ualbrecht@ufl.edu) and Ozgur Batuman (obatuman@ufl.edu) are associate professors at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Southwest Florida Research and Education Center in Immokalee. Sponsored Content5 Facts About Fire …

alico

Alico Reports Results for Early and Mid-Season Oranges

Daniel Cooperfinancial, Production

Alico, Inc.’s Citrus Division reported it had “significantly lower than anticipated” early and mid-season orange production for the fiscal quarter that ended Dec. 31, 2023. It blamed the reduction on the ongoing effects of 2022’s Hurricane Ian. Although the early and mid-season crops were lower than anticipated, Alico still harvested more boxes, produced more pound solids and received higher prices …

fruit fly

Identifying California’s Numerous Fruit Flies

Daniel CooperCalifornia Corner, Pests

Sandipa Gautam, University of California area citrus integrated pest management advisor, recently wrote that California is experiencing an unusually high number of invasive fruit flies in the 2023–24 season. She noted that several areas in California are now under fruit fly quarantines. Excerpts from her article follow: Several species of invasive fruit flies that belong to the family Tephritidae are …

pollinator

Grant to Enhance Pollinator Habitat in Groves

Daniel CooperCalifornia Corner, soil

The California Farm Bureau and its partners have received $5 million from the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) to implement climate-smart farming practices in citrus groves in 11 counties. The project, part of CDFA’s Healthy Soils Block Grant Pilot Program, will focus on hedgerow planting, carbon sequestration and soil management practices. All of those practices create a safe …