Florida citrus growers and researchers arrived from Davie, Bartow, Lakeland, Plant City, Fellsmere and Gainesville to view more than 5,500 trees of several new citrus varieties. Some of the trees are showing initial tolerance to citrus greening. The occasion was the Millennium Block Drive-Thru at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Indian River Research and …
Follow Flower Bud Induction Advisories
By Tripti Vashisth Florida flower bud induction advisories for the upcoming season start on Nov. 15. These advisories will be published biweekly until March 30, 2024. The goals of flower bud advisories are to inform growers about the status of the tree in respect to floral bud induction and to predict bloom. This is critical information since the horticultural practices …
Season’s Expectations for Cold-Hardy Citrus
High quality and low quantity are in store for this year’s cold-hardy citrus crop in eastern Alabama, southern Georgia and the Florida Panhandle. Too many natural disasters negated the volume of this year’s crop load, according to Lindy Savelle, president of the Georgia Citrus Association and member of the Georgia Citrus Commission. “We had a freeze, and then we had …
Cold Protection Resources for Citrus Growers
Citrus growers in Florida’s Panhandle will have a greatly reduced citrus harvest this year because of a hard freeze in December 2022, the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) reported. To help growers reduce damage in future freezes, UF/IFAS has tools that aid with citrus cold protection. Water is the most common form of cold protection …
IPCs Prove to Be Game-Changer in Citrus Production
By Amir Rezazadeh Citrus trees face many threats that can impact fruit development and overall tree health. Pests, including aphids, mites and other insects, can damage fruit and transmit diseases. Extreme weather events, such as hailstorms or heavy rains, can cause physical harm, leading to blemishes and reduced market value. In addition, citrus growers have faced persistent challenges because of …
Trekking Toward HLB-Resistant Trees
By Michael Rogers Much has been discussed recently about the promise and potential of utilizing CRISPR technology to create HLB-resistant trees for Florida’s citrus growers. The primary objective in citrus gene editing is to develop new varieties that are resistant to HLB disease while remaining non-transgenic. To achieve this goal, researchers make alterations to or eliminate specific genes within the …
More Details on the Plant Transformation Center
The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) provided more information about a planned Plant Transformation Center. Foremost among goals for the center is finding citrus varieties that can tolerate or resist HLB disease. UF/IFAS will utilize $2 million from an initiative by UF President Ben Sasse to create the Plant Transformation Center. The center’s objectives include: …
Strong Support for Plant Transformation Center
The Florida Citrus Commission (FCC) approved almost $1.05 million to support a University of Florida Plant Transformation Center that will develop methodologies and technologies to improve HLB resistance and tolerance in citrus. The approval followed an overview of the center presented by Scott Angle, University of Florida (UF) senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources, who oversees the UF …
Uncovering the Cause of Greasy-Green on Grapefruit
By Megan Dewdney, Mark A. Ritenour and Liliana M. Cano In the last few years, 89% of Florida grapefruit growers have struggled with a disorder that they refer to as greasy-green, leading to losses between $20,000 to $1.7 million per year. The disorder causes the fruit to have large, diffuse green patches on the rind after degreening, making it no …
UGA to Hire Citrus Researchers Next Year
Georgia citrus growers will soon have research support from the University of Georgia (UGA), says Lindy Savelle, president of the Georgia Citrus Association and member of the Georgia Citrus Commission. She confirmed the news at the recent Cold Hardy Citrus Field Day at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) North Florida Research and Education Center …
All In With Trunk Injection
Some Florida citrus growers decided to start slowly with trunk injection of oxytetracycline (OTC), treating only a small portion of their acreage. Others took a wait-and-see approach, hoping to learn from their peers’ experiences. But Wheeler Farms went all in, treating 100% of their trees with trunk injection. “What we were doing was not working, so we needed to try …
FFVA Endorses Glyphosate Renewal in Europe
Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association (FFVA) recently submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service endorsing the European Union’s (EU) 10-year registration renewal efforts for glyphosate. In the letter, FFVA stressed that glyphosate herbicide has been used safely and successfully in Europe for more than 40 years. It noted that leading health regulators, including in Europe, the …
Conclusions on Asian Citrus Psyllid Control
HLB, spread by the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP), has been the scariest and most destructive disease that Florida citrus growers have ever faced. So, it was fitting that entomologist Jawwad Qureshi made a virtual presentation about ACP/HLB on Halloween, often considered the scariest day of the year. Qureshi, a University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences associate professor, …
Field Day Showcases Efforts to Breed HLB-Tolerant Oranges
By Maegan Beatty On Oct. 27, Jose Chaparro hosted a citrus breeding research update at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Teaching Orchard in Gainesville. The event included a variety display and field tour. Chaparro, a UF/IFAS associate professor of horticultural sciences, focused on how he and his team are taking on the significant task …
How to Properly Transport and Store Pesticides
By Lourdes C. Pérez Cordero Editor’s note: This article grants one continuing education unit (CEU) in the Core category toward the renewal of a Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services restricted-use pesticide license when the accompanying test is submitted and approved. Pesticides can often pose a threat to the health and safety of people, wildlife and the environment if …
Cold-Hardy Citrus Growers Gather for Field Day
Production in the cold-hardy citrus region was under the spotlight during a recent field day in Quincy, Florida. Growers and industry leaders visited the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) North Florida Research and Education Center (NFREC) to learn about various facets of citrus production. Topics like controlled-release fertilizers, crop diversification and implementation of artificial intelligence …
Brassinosteroids Can Improve Juice Quality and Fruit Yield
By Fernando Alferez and Divya Aryal There are some indications that brassinosteroids (Brs) may advance commercial internal maturity by almost one month in Valencia sweet orange, depending on the time of application. However, the best time of application in this variety and other sweet orange varieties like Hamlin still needs to be determined, so that this treatment can become economically …
Transgenic Citrus Studies Progressing
The search for solutions to HLB has gone on for nearly two decades. Growers and researchers have learned ways to improve nutrition programs to keep trees alive and productive, but nowhere near at the level of the days before the disease. One area of research that could yield a tree resistant to HLB is genetic engineering. There are no transgenic …
Fine-Tuning Trunk Injection
Growers have concluded their first round of injecting their citrus trees with oxytetracycline (OTC) and now are anxiously awaiting the results. So far, trees seem to be responding with larger leaves and fruit, but fruit retention will tell the story if the treatment is moving the needle against HLB. For many years, there was a perception among growers that if …
Millennium Block Varieties Tour
Citrus growers are invited to tour the 20-acre Millennium Block at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Indian River Research and Education Center (IRREC) in Fort Pierce on Nov. 7. The tour will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. New varieties in the grove are in their fourth year of growth. Researchers are …