By Evan Johnson The Florida citrus spring leaf flush is hardening off, which means the first root flush of the year is beginning. With the spring root flush comes thoughts of phytophthora foot rot. Spring roots are at particular risk in groves that had high phytophthora pressure last fall because many of the resting spores will start activating with the …
Florida Citrus Growers’ Institute Returns
The annual Florida Citrus Growers’ Institute, hosted by University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Extension, will be held on April 6. The event will be delivered via a Zoom webinar from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. “We hope to reach a broad audience despite the limits imposed on us because of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Chris …
What to Do About Citrus Black Spot
By Megan Dewdney Citrus black spot is one of the newer diseases to worry Florida citrus growers. The fungal disease was first detected in Southwest Florida in 2010. The vast majority of finds have been in the southwestern citrus-producing counties of Collier, Hardee, Lee, Charlotte and Glades, but the disease has slowly moved northward. Black spot is still considered a …
All In For Citrus Podcast, March 2021
March’s All In For Citrus podcast brings news of in-person events, details on controlling the vector of HLB disease, as well as potential changes to nutrient and water management recommendations. Citrus Research and Education Center Director Michael Rogers begins the episode discussing several upcoming events for growers. On April 6, the Florida Citrus Growers’ Institute will return as a virtual …
Biological Controls for Lebbeck Mealybug
Lebbeck mealybug (Nipaecoccus viridis) was first identified in Florida citrus in 2019 in Highlands County. It has now been documented in commercial citrus groves in 11 counties and in dooryard citrus plantings in two counties. While lebbeck mealybug can feed on most of the above-ground parts of a citrus tree, it is most damaging in the canopy, where it feeds …
Scout for Scale and Mealybug Crawlers
By Lauren Diepenbrock While scale and mealybug pests commonly found in citrus have historically been controlled by predators and parasites, management advice for this group of insects is often requested. There are likely several underlying factors to these insects becoming more frequently encountered. This includes changes in insecticide management practices, changes in nutritional management, and increased scouting due to the …
UF/IFAS Citrus Position; Upcoming Grower Meetings
Michael Rogers with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) discussed plans to hire a new citrus horticulturist, as well as grower meetings set for March. Rogers is director of the UF/IFAS Citrus Research and Education Center (CREC) in Lake Alfred. The horticulturist to be hired will work with UF/IFAS plant breeders on the field development …
Minimize Blemishes on Tangerines and Grapefruit
Megan Dewdney Since tangerines and grapefruit they are eaten fresh, a blemish-free peel is highly desired. Two diseases that frequently mar the peels of tangerines, and occasionally grapefruit, are Alternaria brown spot (ABS) and citrus scab. Both diseases cause symptoms on leaves and fruit. ALTERNARIA BROWN SPOTThe early foliar symptoms of ABS are small yellow flecks that quickly become larger …
Thrips Management Tips
As Florida growers prepare for the spring bloom, it is time to think about a pest that thrives on citrus flowers: thrips. Most notably, flower thrips are known to cause damage to developing flowers in sweet orange. Feeding damage can range from negligible to causing abortion of the flower or developing fruitlet. This pest is particularly challenging because it migrates …
Foliar Disease Management in 2021
By Megan Dewdney There were many challenges in 2020, but fortunately the Florida season for foliar citrus diseases was relatively normal. Little to no postbloom fruit drop (PFD) was reported during the 2020 bloom because of a sudden dry spell as the flowers opened. As spring 2021 approaches, the forecast is for a La Niña weather pattern with slightly warmer …
Time to Cut the Dead Wood
By Megan Dewdney, Tripti Vashisth and Lauren Diepenbrock Dead wood has long been challenging for fresh citrus fruit production. Spores in twigs can form which cause blemishing diseases that downgrade fruit for lower profits. More recently, it has come to light that there are horticultural and entomological reasons to remove this wood as well. Many growers are familiar with melanose, …
Plan Your Insect Management for 2021
By L.M. Diepenbrock Insect and mite management is a year-round challenge in Florida citrus. With the warm climate, pests are at the ready as soon as plant resources are available to them. With knowledge of insect and mite biology in relation to tree phenology, plans can be developed to protect fruit and maintain productive citrus trees. Populations of many of …
New Year’s Resolutions for 2021
By Ruth Borger It is time for a new year, and many of us cannot see 2020 end fast enough. It is almost time for 2021, and there is a lot to be hopeful for. New vaccines to fight the coronavirus hold great potential for beating the pandemic. U.S. citrus sales so far this season continue to show strong performance. …
Update on CRISPR Research for Citrus Improvement
By Nian Wang, Fred Gmitter and Manjul Dutt Nearly all commercially important citrus types — oranges, grapefruits etc. — have originated by mutations that have accumulated over several hundreds to thousands of years, from what once was an original, individual sweet orange tree and a single grapefruit tree. The many different cultivars that we know today are descended from those …
High-Tech Scouting in Citrus Production
By Yiannis Ampatzidis and Tara Wade Traditional sensing technologies in citrus production for pest and disease detection and field phenotyping rely on manual sampling, which is time consuming and labor intensive. Since availability of personnel trained for field scouting is a major problem, small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) equipped with various sensors and artificial intelligence (AI) can simplify the surveying …
Recommendations for Managing Fruit Drop
This fall, many Florida citrus growers are experiencing heavy fruit drop, some even up to 50 percent. Tripti Vashisth, assistant professor of horticulture at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Citrus Research and Education Center, recently spoke on this topic. She discussed fruit drop during the first presentation of the new UF/IFAS OJ Break meeting …
Growers’ Input on Pests Needed
Entomologist Lauren Diepenbrock is seeking Florida citrus growers’ help in determining information gaps and future directions for her research on pests. To get that help, she’s asking growers to participate in a survey, which is available here. Diepenbrock, a University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences researcher, would like to have growers take the survey by March 31, …
Flower Bud Advisories Have Resumed
The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) has resumed providing growers with regular flower bud advisories now that the critical time for citrus grove management has begun this season. Tripti Vashisth, UF/IFAS assistant professor, restarted the advisories Nov. 23 and will continue providing them every other week through the spring. The advisories provide critical information about …
UF/IFAS Collaborates on HLB Research
Several University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) faculty are collaborating with other universities and organizations on research, especially for HLB. Michael Rogers, director of the UF/IFAS Citrus Research and Education Center (CREC), summarizes the work they are doing on a variety of grant-funded projects. Rogers starts with a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)-funded project led by …
Five Years of Fresh Fruit Production in CUPS
By Arnold Schumann, Laura Waldo, Napoleon Mariner and Timothy Ebert According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Florida grapefruit production for the 2019–20 season was only 12 percent of the production recorded in 2003–04, prior to the arrival of huanglongbing (HLB) disease in the state. A major goal of the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences …





























