By Tacy Callies Callie Walker comes from a long line of Florida farmers. In 1875, her family set up homestead in Alva. Her father, uncles, grandfather and great-grandfather have been involved in a diversity of agricultural fields including citrus, cattle, sugar cane, vegetables and row crops. “My dad and his three brothers still run the family operation — citrus and …
Citrus Harvester Survey Reveals Changes in Labor Force
University of Florida researcher Gulcan Onel recently provided a first look at data she gathered from surveying 307 Florida citrus harvesters in 2016. She debuted her early research findings at the Florida Agricultural Policy Outlook Conference on February 9 at the Gulf Coast Research and Education Center. While she noted that the data is still being further analyzed, she shared …
UF/IFAS Extension Faculty Win Seed Money Through New Shark Tank-Style Program
By: Samantha Grenrock, grenrosa@ufl.edu Facial recognition software is no longer a thing of the future. But what if similar technologies could one day help farmers identify pests in the field? Steve Futch, multi-county citrus agent with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension (UF/IFAS), thinks it’s possible. And thanks to the new UF/IFAS Extension Entrepreneurship Program, …
Effective and Economical Psyllid Spray Programs
By Phil Stansly Effective control of Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) has been a challenge for many Florida growers these last two years. Possible explanations include warmer, wetter weather in winter, fewer insecticide sprays being applied and a possible increase in insecticide resistance. There is little doubt that weather-induced flush the last two winters has provided extra food and refuge for …
Common Crop Chemical Leaves Bees Susceptible to Deadly Viruses
By Sara LaJeunesse, Penn State University A chemical that is thought to be safe and is, therefore, widely used on crops — such as almonds, wine grapes and tree fruits — to boost the performance of pesticides, makes honey bee larvae significantly more susceptible to a deadly virus, according to researchers at Penn State and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. …
Economic Hurricane Hitting Orange Juice Chain
By Marcos Fava Neves We are normally threatened by natural storms hitting the orange juice chain, some of them hurricanes. Matthew was the last one, but fortunately it remained off the coast of Florida rather than directly hitting the orange-production area. However, the orange juice chain is facing a storm — an economic hurricane that is complicating supply and demand. …
Agricultural Hall of Fame Tickets Now on Sale
Tickets are on sale for the 38th annual Florida Agricultural Hall of Fame banquet on Feb. 14, which will honor four inductees who have made invaluable contributions to Florida agriculture. The banquet, which each year celebrates the accomplishments of industry leaders who have served in research, education and business, is held in the Special Events Center at the Florida State …
Citrus Grower Goes Undercover
Ed Pines’ solution to citrus greening is to grow fruit in a citrus undercover production system. By Catalina Pines “It’s said that necessity is the mother of all invention, and today I toured one way the citrus industry is fighting back against greening,” said Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam on Twitter after touring Precision Citrus on September 23. In …
Ellis, Sparks, Robinson to Join Citrus Hall of Fame
Jim Ellis of Bartow, Mike Sparks of Apollo Beach and the late T. Ralph Robinson will be inducted into the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame on March 10 at Florida Southern College in Lakeland. Ellis has been a grower, packer, industry representative and historian. He currently works for the Division of Fruit and Vegetables in the Florida Department of Agriculture …
15 UF/IFAS Early Career Scientists Awarded $50K Grants
Fifteen early career scientists at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Scientists (UF/IFAS) have been awarded grants to help solve global issues such as thwarting invasive pests, improving crop varieties, battling citrus greening and preserving our environment. Sponsored ContentTake Advantage of Rising Temperatures to Treat for Fire AntsJuly 1, 2025Take the Sting Out of Fire AntsJune 1, …
Sensory and Consumer Studies for Improving Citrus Quality
By Laura Reuss, Fred Gmitter and Yu Wang In Florida, it is necessary to produce large quantities of high-quality citrus fruits in order to keep pace with the projected market growth, as well as to maintain viability of the citrus industry. Successful development of new varieties and pre- and post-harvest practices should be consumer-driven. However, consumer behavior is often affected …
Sneak Peek: November 2016 Citrus Industry Magazine
The November issue of Citrus Industry magazine will be available to readers soon. It features the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s initial citrus crop forecast for the 2016–17 season. The article includes coverage of the grower gathering at the Dark Hammock Legacy Ranch and industry reactions to the 70 million orange boxes figure. Two features in this issue focus on citrus …
Analyzing Volatile Organic Compounds to Detect HLB
Another early detection and screening process for HLB has been developed at the University of California, Davis. Cristina Davis, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, is using volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as indicators of disease in trees. VOCs are odors that are emitted by all living things. These odors can be very meaningful, because they are distinctively different between a …
Letter to the Editor: A Citrus Industry Ombudsperson
By Bill Castle University of Florida professor emeritus During a recent breakfast with an industry friend, I asked: What is your outlook on the future of our industry? His positive reply was direct and immediate. He expanded on that reply by revealing a realistic confidence in the ability of growers to plant and grow young trees as supported by his …
Evaluation of Tree T-PEEs for Freeze Protection in Young Citrus
By Kelly T. Morgan and Stephen J. Futch Water has been used for cold protection in past freezes with mixed success. Low dew point temperatures and high winds can promote evaporative cooling when insufficient amounts of water are used. Various methods have been used to protect young citrus trees from frost and freeze conditions. Among these, the use of covers …
New Knowledge on Citrus Black Spot
By Megan Dewdney, Jeff Rollins, Nan-Yi Wang and Ke Zhang Citrus black spot (CBS) has become established in the groves of Collier and Hendry counties. In other citrus-growing regions of the world where CBS is present, the sexual fruiting bodies of the fungus, known as pseudothecia, form in decomposing leaf litter. Approximately 50 to 180 days following leaf drop, the …
2016 Citrus Expo Gun Safe Winner Announced
Congratulations to Caleb Shelfer, the winner of the John Deere gun safe giveaway at Citrus Expo 2016! Shelfer is with Joshua Citrus Inc. in Arcadia. This popular Citrus Expo tradition is made possible by sponsorship from Everglades Farm Equipment. Stephanie Capon, Miss Florida Citrus, drew the winning card. Gary Cooper, AgNet Media founder and president, announced the lucky name to …
Sneak Peek: August 2016 Citrus Industry
The August issue of Citrus Industry magazine is coming soon! In this edition, growers will have the opportunity to earn one Core CEU by reading an article on pesticide formulations and taking the accompanying test. Other features offer new knowledge on citrus black spot and guidelines on how to evaluate HLB treatments in the grove. In addition, University of Florida …
IndexBox Marketing: Orange Market in Crisis
According to a report by IndexBox Marketing, the orange market is in crisis. One of the main reasons is the citrus greening disease, widespread in the key centers of orange cultivation. This is why a reduction of the global orange market volume is expected once again in 2016. Orange yield reduction affects consumption worldwide. In this case, a distinction should …
World Growth and the Drop in Orange Juice Production
By Marcos Fava Neves Editor’s Note: Welcome to Citrus Industry magazine’s newest column, Global Perspectives, authored by Marcos Fava Neves, an international expert on global agribusiness issues who comes from a family of farmers and is a worldwide defender of agriculture. As a professor of planning and strategy at the School of Business at the University of São Paulo, Neves …




























