By Amit Levy, Ozgur Batuman, Peggy Sieburth and Lauren Diepenbrock Citrus leprosis is an exotic viral disease not currently present in Florida. This disease is of interest since it was reported in citrus in Florida and Brazil in the early 1900s, where it caused great crop and tree losses, but it was eliminated from Florida in the early 1960s. Currently, …
Planning for Foliar Disease Management in 2020
By Megan Dewdney and Evan Johnson In 2019, the trend of fewer problems with foliar fungal diseases for Florida citrus continued, which was good news for the industry. Despite the El Niño conditions during the spring, little postbloom fruit drop (PFD) was observed because the temperatures were low (< 75 F) when it rained during bloom. The southern parts of …
Trained Dogs Are the Most Efficient Way to Hunt Citrus Industry’s Biggest Threat
(USDA/ARS) — Dogs specially trained by Agriculture Research Service (ARS) scientists have proven to be the most efficient way to detect huanglongbing— also known as citrus greening — according to a paper just published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Currently, the only solid hope of curtailing the spread of citrus greening is to eliminate trees with the …
Sneak Peek: February 2020 Citrus Industry Magazine
The February issue of Citrus Industry magazine lets growers know what diseases to be on the lookout for this season and how best to spot them in the grove. University of Florida (UF) researchers Megan Dewdney and Evan Johnson give citrus growers tips on planning for disease management in 2020 in their article. Citrus canker, greasy spot, melanose, black spot …
PIECES OF THE PAST: Twenty-Twenty Vision
By Brenda Eubanks Burnette Here we are in 2020. It’s hard to believe that time is flying by so fast. I’m now in the older generation! This makes me want to preserve as many memories as possible before they’re lost and forgotten. Approximately 30 people showed up at a recent Florida Citrus Hall of Fame Oral History Luncheon at the …
Citrus Pest Management: More Than Just Psyllids
By Lauren Diepenbrock Non-psyllid, soft-bodied insects are common in Florida citrus. Their ability to cause damage varies by pest, pest population size, tree age and tree variety. Soft-bodied insects include scales, mealybugs, whiteflies and aphids, all of which are small and can be hard to detect until the telltale sign of sooty mold development appears on their excrement (honeydew) or …
Citrus Greening Bacterium Is Now Available in Culture — So What’s Next?
By Nabil Killiny A dynamic research collaboration between several labs at Washington State University (Gang, Beyenal and Omsland labs), University of Arizona (Brown lab) and University of Florida (Killiny lab) recently reported an important step in the long-sought culture of the bacterium [Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas)] associated with huanglongbing (HLB). The work, published in the journal Biofilm, describes a new …
PIECES OF THE PAST: From Yearling to Centenarian
By Brenda Eubanks Burnette When Citrus Industry magazine was launched 100 years ago, the founders had many fears as to whether the focus on a single crop was too narrow to be successful. It would be something I clearly remember the Frisbie family discussing with staff at different times over the years. However, at the close of the publication’s first …
Niche Market and Dooryard Citrus for the HLB World
By Jude Grosser, Manjul Dutt and Fred Gmitter The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) citrus improvement team at the Citrus Research and Education Center (CREC) has developed a broad citrus germplasm base. This provides opportunities to generate diverse, interesting and possibly lucrative selections with niche market and dooryard potential. Several such selections are showing reasonable …
Florida Citrus Hall of Fame Inductees Chosen for 2020
(FCHOF) — The Selection Committee for the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame has announced three distinguished leaders who will be inducted into the hall of fame during the 57th Citrus Celebration Luncheon. Frank E. Gardner (deceased), formerly of Orlando; John M. Kennedy, Sr. (deceased), formerly of Umatilla; and Karick Price, Sr. (deceased), formerly of Orlando, will be honored at the …
New ‘Identification of Weeds in Florida Citrus’ Guide Available Now
(UF/IFAS) — The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Extension bookstore has released an updated version of “Identification of Weeds in Florida Citrus,” a pocket-sized quick reference guide to weeds commonly observed throughout the state that may be frequently found in citrus groves. “The comprehensiveness of this guide makes it useful not only for growers in …
PIECES OF THE PAST: Nathan Mayo — A Precocious Agriculture Commissioner
By Brenda Eubanks Burnette Florida’s agriculture commissioners have always been extremely important to the state’s citrus industry. One of the first Citrus Industry magazine articles I was able to find on a past Florida commissioner of agriculture was about the appointment of Nathan Mayo. It appeared in the November 1923 issue of the magazine. I thought it was extremely interesting …
A Closer Look at CUPS-Grown Grapefruit
By Arnold Schumann, Ariel Singerman and Yu Wang Grapefruit production in Florida has been drastically reduced by huanglongbing (HLB) disease, from 40.9 million boxes in 2003–04 to 4.5 million boxes in 2018–19, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Grapefruit varieties are particularly vulnerable to HLB due to cumulative losses from stunted tree growth, low fruit yield, high-percentage fruit drop, …
Reps. Yoho, Soto Call on USDA to Stabilize Florida Orange Juice Market
Reps. Ted. S Yoho (FL-03) and Darren Soto (FL-09) led a bipartisan letter to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue requesting the U.S. Department of Agriculture increase funding for orange juice purchases in Florida to $90 million, doubling the initial allocation from this past summer. After Hurricane Irma, Florida orange production dropped precipitously from 68.7 million boxes in 2017 to 45 million boxes …
Viruses in the Gut of Asian Citrus Psyllid: Friends or Foes?
By Ozgur Batuman and Amit Levy Management options for huanglongbing (HLB) are limited and rely heavily on insecticides for controlling Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) populations, even when integrated with other cultural control methods. Chemical strategies are expensive and, if not rotated, can contribute to the development of chemical resistance among ACP populations. In some cases, long-term chemical applications may have …
Growers Prepare for Winter Weather With UF/IFAS Extension
(UF/IFAS) — University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Extension will educate growers on how to protect their crops and prepare for cold weather at the upcoming Winter Weather School. This year, the event will address winter crop protection for citrus, blueberries and ornamental plants; all of which need cold protection during severe weather. “While we have …
Reintroducing White Grapefruit to the U.S. Market
(IMG) — IMG Citrus, a family-owned, vertically integrated citrus grower, packer and shipper in Vero Beach, Florida, is reintroducing white grapefruit to the U.S. market. Most white grapefruit is exported directly from the United States to its primary market in Japan, where it maintains consistently high popularity. However, IMG Citrus will be expanding its white grapefruit consumer base to the …
PIECES OF THE PAST: Young Tree Care of Yesterday
By Brenda Eubanks Burnette In 1921, citrus pomologist D.W. Hadsell wrote a Citrus Industry article titled “The Care of Young Citrus Trees.” Following is information from his article on how things were done “back in the day.” According to Hadsell, “successful tree planting requires special attention to at least four essentials.” He lists the necessary steps as follows: Keep the …
Sneak Peek: November 2019 Citrus Industry Magazine
Asian citrus psyllids (ACP) are here to stay, and growers need multiple management methods for dealing with the deadly HLB disease this pest transmits to trees. The November issue of Citrus Industry magazine offers growers psyllid strategies they can use now as well as details on research investigating a biological way to knock down ACP. Several fresh citrus growers in …
IMG Citrus Celebrates 40 Years in Business
IMG Citrus, a family-owned, vertically integrated citrus grower, packer and shipper in Vero Beach, Florida, is celebrating 40 years in business. The business began in 1979 when Michel Sallin, IMG Citrus president, traveled to Florida seeking investment opportunities in agriculture. Sallin and his wife Veronique’s first investment, 72 acres of Hamlin orange groves in Manatee County, would become the beginning …