European Union (EU) orange juice (OJ) production is forecast at 89,228 metric tons in 2020-21, a rise of almost 25% compared to the prior year. The EU forecast for OJ production was reported in June by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service. The forecast is in line with the expected growth in the volume of European oranges destined …
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 …
Fruit Drop Is Biggest Grower Concern
Fruit drop “is probably the No. 1 concern” of the citrus growers he knows, says Ray Royce, executive director of Highlands County Citrus Growers Association (HCCGA). “Fruit drop and profitability are going hand in hand,” he adds. “There’s a tremendous struggle now to be profitable, given the relatively low harvest numbers,” Royce says. “I think growers believe that if they …
How OJ Sales Boomed in the Pandemic
The boom in OJ (orange juice) sales during the COVID-19 pandemic was highlighted during Marisa Zansler’s report to the Florida Citrus Commission in May. Zansler is the Florida Department of Citrus’ (FDOC) director of economic and market research. Prior to the pandemic, orange juice sales had decreased annually by an average of 5.5.% each year, Zansler reported. She noted …
Fundecitrus to Evaluate Peptide
Invaio Sciences, Inc. recently announced an agreement with Brazil’s Fundecitrus to evaluate the use of a natural peptide to control HLB in Brazil. The agreement will leverage Fundecitrus’ expertise in citrus grove and pest management to evaluate application details of the novel peptide maSAMP in locally relevant conditions. The peptide was developed by Hailing Jin of the University of California Riverside. …
Florida Grower Advises California on HLB
Pete Spyke, a Florida gift fruit citrus grower and shipper, recently offered some advice to California citrus growers for dealing with HLB. In a letter to California’s Citrus Pest & Disease Prevention Program, Spyke suggested that growers continue to detect and remove HLB-infected trees. Spyke’s letter follows: Dear California Citrus Growers, Based on my observations and discussions with growers and …
Canker Treatment Uses Less Water and Copper
An important bacterial disease that affects citrus trees and causes lesions, citrus canker has been effectively controlled by spraying copper. However, standard management techniques involve spraying excessive amounts of copper and water without consideration for the size of the trees. “This technique resulted in a waste of resources as well as higher costs, detrimental environmental impact and risk for development …
Sneak Peek: March 2021 Citrus Industry
As growers strive for sustainability in the HLB era, biological controls are playing an increasingly important role in citrus production. The March issue of Citrus Industry magazine features some of the latest biological control research. An article by University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) entomologist Jawwad Qureshi looks at three types of biological control agents used …
Global OJ Production to Exceed Consumption
Global orange juice (OJ) production for 2020-21 is forecast 17 percent higher to 1.8 million tons. Production in Brazil and Mexico more than offsets the drop in the United States. However, global production continues its general long-term decline, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service. Similarly, consumption is projected to continue its long-term decline, although exports are …
Stem Pitting Disease Caused by Citrus Tristeza Virus
By Amit Levy, Peggy Sieburth and Ozgur Batuman When we hear or read about citrus tristeza virus (CTV), we usually think about the decline of sweet orange or grapefruit trees on sour orange rootstocks. However, there are other diseases caused by different isolates of the virus. One of these diseases is stem pitting, mostly caused by the VT isolate of …
European Lemon Production Trending Upward
European Union (EU) lemon production in 2020-21 is forecast to increase by almost 11 percent from last season, to 1.64 million metric tons (MMT), according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS). EU planted area for the citrus variety continues trending upward at around 78,000 hectares. Spain is the union’s largest lemon producer with a forecast of …
Orange Production to See Global Increase
Global orange production for 2020–21 is forecast to rise 3.6 million metric tons from the previous year to 49.4 million metric tons. Favorable weather leading to larger crops in Brazil and Mexico will offset declines in Turkey and the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service. Consequently, consumption, processing fruit and fresh exports are also …
Production of OJ to Climb in Europe
European Union (EU) orange juice (OJ) production is forecast to climb almost 8 percent in 2020-21 compared to the previous year, to 87,987 metric tons, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) reported. The forecast is in line with the expected growth in the volume of European oranges destined for processing this season, especially from Spain and Italy. …
China Orange and OJ Forecasts
Orange production in China is forecast to grow to 7.5 million metric tons (MMT) in 2020–21, up from 7.4 MMT in 2019–20, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) reported. The increase will be driven mainly by new trees planted a few years ago in Jiangxi and other provinces. Those trees have started to produce more fruit. FAS …
Four to Join Citrus Hall of Fame
The Florida Citrus Hall of Fame will induct four new members in 2021. They are John L. Jackson of Sorrento, Florida; the late Lew J. Prosser of Plant City, Florida; Adam H. Putnam of Memphis, Tennessee; and Steven D. “Steve” Sorrells of Arcadia, Florida. They will be inducted during a luncheon tentatively scheduled for Nov. 5 at Florida Southern College …
Cutrale Wins Quality Award
Cutrale has been named a 2020 Supplier Award winner by ADM. An international agribusiness group, Cutrale is involved in orange growing and processing, orange juice manufacturing and distribution with operations in Brazil, Japan, the Netherlands, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the United States. ADM is an agricultural origination and processing company that connects crops to markets on six continents. During …
Orange Juice Import Impacts
Economist Tom Spreen discussed the impact of imports in the United States orange juice (OJ) market at the Sept. 16 Florida Citrus Commission meeting. Spreen is retired from the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. Spreen’s analysis began with increased imports in 2017 after Hurricane Irma struck Florida. Largely as a result of the storm, nearly 24 …
Growers Sustain Losses
Not many watching a recent virtual Citrus Expo presentation were surprised by Ariel Singerman’s declaration that “taking into account total cost, on average, growers sustained a loss” in the 2019-20 Florida citrus season. Singerman, a University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences economist, pegged the average per-acre losses at $1,606 for early-midseason oranges and $1,254 for Valencias. Singerman …
World Orange Production to Fall
Global orange production for 2019-20 is estimated to fall 7.8 million metric tons (MMT) from the previous year to 46.1 MMT, according to a July report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service. Consumption is forecast to be flat, though not down. Global trade is expected to be lower with an anticipated drop in exports from Brazil and …
Steger Forecast for Florida Oranges
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 …





























