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Below you'll see everything we could locate for your search of “Florida”
By Taylor O’Bannon, Michelle Danyluk and Matt Krug If you visited any public building or restroom during the COVID-19 pandemic, you may have noticed an increased focus on handwashing and hygiene principles reflected in an abundance of signage on doors and in hallways. While it is great that public awareness has increased in the last 18 months, these have always …
More than 50 citrus growers and researchers attended a field day Oct. 14 in Fort Pierce to view 154 new citrus scion-rootstock combinations. Some of the combinations will result in trees that tolerate HLB. The Millennium Block Drive-Thru Field Day occurred at the University of Florida (UF) Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Indian River Research and Education Center (IRREC). …
By Tripti Vashisth and Christopher Vincent This article summarizes current knowledge about HLB-associated preharvest fruit drop. Unfortunately, exactly how HLB induces preharvest fruit drop is still unknown. Nonetheless, this article links what we do know about HLB-associated fruit drop to fruit drop in HLB-free trees and how strategies, such as managing tree water status and use of gibberellic acid, can …
By Ajia Paolillo If you use herbicides containing paraquat dichloride in your citrus groves, you must be aware of the use certification requirements for this product. In 2016, certifications and training for using this herbicide were put into place following the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) risk mitigation requirements. Any person that uses paraquat must meet these requirements. The first requirement …
By J. Scott Angle The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) is the world’s best university-based citrus science organization. We’re the largest, and we’re more than a century old. So, we’re constantly bringing in new talent. Extension Highlands County citrus agent Lourdes Pérez Cordero started on Sept. 7. She met with Highlands County Citrus Growers Association …
Florida citrus grower Kyle Story of The Story Companies thought the initial Florida orange crop forecast for the 2021-22 season was “realistic.” But the 47-million-box forecast struck fellow grower Paul Meador as low. Meador is president of Everglades Harvesting and Hauling and serves on the Florida Citrus Commission. The crop forecast, well below last season’s 52.8 million boxes of Florida …
Natalie’s Orchid Island Juice Company founder and CEO Marygrace Sexton has been included in Inc. Magazine’s 2021 Female Founders 100. Inc. editors and writers reviewed thousands of applications to identify the 100 female founders who continued to triumph in a year filled with many challenges. “The 100 women highlighted on this list are inspiring, creative, tenacious and trailblazing role models …
Nominations for the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame class of 2022 are due by Nov. 1, 2021, just four days before the class of 2021 is inducted. Eligible nominees are industry leaders who made significant contributions to the Florida citrus industry as pioneers or in the areas of harvesting, packing, processing, marketing, science or education. Nominations received after Nov. 1 …
In 2020-21, 57% of U.S. citrus was used for processing, and most of the processed fruit was oranges, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service reported in September. Florida produced 81% of all U.S. oranges for processing, while California and Texas produced the remainder. Florida and Texas had smaller orange crops for the processed market in 2020-21 compared with …
Members of the Florida citrus industry gathered for lunch on Oct. 12 at Putnam Ranch in Zolfo Springs to hear the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) initial 2021-22 citrus crop forecast. While many growers expected the Florida figures to be similar to the 2020-21 season, some thought the numbers would be even lower. On the other hand, a few growers …
By Ajia Paolillo Although October is toward the end of hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30, it can still be a very active month for storms. These storms can range from tropical depressions to hurricanes. Major concerns for citrus growers during a storm include personnel safety, damage to trees, fruit loss and damage to equipment and …
Rooting issues in citrus containers were a major problem this year for growers in Georgia. Kim Jones, who farms citrus in Georgia and Florida, implores producers to inspect their trees extensively before planting them. He said there were various reports of j-rooting and circle-rooting in container plants. Trees with these problems are more vulnerable to high-stress environmental conditions if left …
By Fernando Alferez, Fred Gmitter and Jude Grosser Citrus trees bloom profusely. It is estimated that a healthy adult tree can produce more than 200,000 flowers every year. This figure is much higher than the number of fruits the tree can maintain and develop. Normally, only 1% to 5% of flowers set fruit that develops, matures and can ultimately be …
A Florida citrus grower and a Florida citrus researcher were quoted extensively in a recent Australia Broadcasting Corporation TV show about HLB. Grower Kyle Story and University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences plant pathologist Megan Dewdney appeared in an approximately 12-minute segment of the show Landline. The segment’s focus was Australia’s effort to keep HLB out of …
The federal Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) program summarized its efforts to protect the U.S. citrus industry from pests and diseases in a recent report about its fiscal year (FY) 2020 activities. PPQ is part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. A summary of its citrus efforts follows. PPQ works with citrus growers to …
Citrus under protective screen (CUPS) systems in Florida provide trees significant protection from the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) and the HLB it spreads. Several other pests are also significantly reduced in CUPS, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) researchers reported. For instance, citrus leafminer (CLM) populations were reduced by more than 80%. Large predators such as …
Consumers are continuing to seek out foods and beverages that provide immune support during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Jackie Hopkins with Edible told the Florida Citrus Commission (FCC) at its Sept. 22 meeting. That search for immunity is a benefit to the orange juice (OJ) industry, since numerous reports indicate consumers link OJ to immunity. Edible is a marketing agency …
The title of Megan Dewdney’s Citrus Expo presentation was, “Shorten the skirts? Whether skirting improves citrus black spot fungicidal management.” The answer was “no,” based on trials she conducted to make that determination. But while skirting doesn’t appear to improve citrus black spot (CBS) fungicide programs, she pointed out that “there are other good disease management reasons to skirt.” Dewdney …
What motivates food and beverage consumers was the focus of two market research experts presenting virtually at the recent International Citrus & Beverage Conference (ICBC). The ICBC was hosted by the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. One motivator is the desire to be stronger physically and emotionally, said Ed Koza, a senior marketing director with fragrance …
The citrus disease HLB, also known as citrus greening, has a formidable enemy in a fungal pathogen, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) researchers reported. The fungus is Cordyceps javanica, strain Apopka, discovered by research scientist Lance Osborne in the mid-1980s. The fungus was isolated from dead insects on plants in a greenhouse at the UF/IFAS …
