Research Update on Individual Protective Covers

Tacy CalliesPests

By Fernando Alferez, Susmita Gaire, Ute Albrecht, Ozgur Batuman, Jawwad Qureshi and Mongi Zekri It has been nearly three years since the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) started its studies on individual protective covers (IPCs). The objective of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of IPCs as a strategy to prevent HLB infection of …

pruning

Pruning Principles for High-Quality Citrus

Tacy CalliesPruning

Planting citrus varieties for fresh market production has increased in popularity. With these potentially high-value crops come concerns about management practices, including pruning. Recently, Fernando Alferez informed growers in a virtual presentation about manual pruning principles. Alferez is a University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences citrus horticulturist at the Southwest Florida Research and Education Center. According to …

PIECES OF THE PAST: Thanksgiving Joys

Tacy CalliesPieces of the Past

By Brenda Eubanks Burnette I just found several old Thanksgiving postcards with citrus themes that are quite beautiful. They are from an era when postage was a penny, and people sent postcards to friends and family on holidays. With everything going on in our world today, the postcards reminded me of the importance in reflecting on what’s good in our …

Cold Acclimation and Freeze Protection for Florida Citrus

Tacy CalliesFreeze Protection

By Chris Oswalt and Davie Kadyampakeni In preparation for winter in Florida, citrus growers must first understand some essential concepts related to protecting citrus from freezing temperatures. Specifically, growers need to know when and how to protect citrus trees from freeze damage. WHEN TO PROTECT When (i.e., at what critical temperature) will damage begin to occur? This temperature is dependent on …

Spotting the Symptoms of Citrus Black Spot

Ernie NeffDiseases

University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Extension recently provided the following information about identification of citrus black spot (CBS): Fruit symptoms can be observed around this time of year with the onset of color break and fruit maturity. Growers and agricultural workers should learn to identify the symptoms of CBS even if they are not located …

Adjuvants Did Not Improve Delivery of Foliar-Applied Oxytetracycline

Tacy CalliesCitrus Expo

In 2016, federal authorities began allowing Florida citrus growers to spray oxytetracycline solutions on their trees to combat citrus greening disease. Since then, researchers have been investigating oxytetracycline delivery methods. In a Citrus Expo presentation, Christopher Vincent, assistant professor of horticultural sciences at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Citrus Research and Education Center, shared …

Harnessing the Power of Soil Microbes

Tacy CalliesSoil Improvement

Although often ignored due to their intangible nature, microorganisms play significant roles in agriculture. The natural microbial processes allow for long-lasting interactions between nutrients, plants and soils. Masanori Fujimoto, assistant professor at the University of Florida, is leading a research and education project titled “Harnessing Microbes for Sustainable Food Production.” The project is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s …

nematodes

Controls for Sting Nematodes

Ernie NeffPests

Larry Duncan provides updates on the damage done by sting nematodes and research into controlling them with nematicides and perennial peanut as a cover crop. Duncan is a University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) nematologist at the Citrus Research and Education Center. Sting nematodes have become a “real issue” for Florida growers in the past five …

hurricane

Bournique Reappointed to Water Board

Ernie NeffWater

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has reappointed Indian River Citrus League (IRCL) Executive Vice President Doug Bournique to a fourth, four-year term on the St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD) Governing Board. Bournique was first appointed to the SJRWMD board in 2008 by then-Gov. Charlie Crist. He was re-appointed by Gov. Rick Scott. Throughout his service on the board, Bournique …

citrus

Get Florida Freeze Updates With Winter Weather Watch

Tacy CalliesTip of the Week, Weather

By Chris Oswalt There was a time back in 1962, on Dec. 12 and 13, when a devastating freeze in Florida decimated a significant portion of the state’s citrus industry. In Polk County, the freeze caused serious damage to 134,000 acres of citrus. In 1963, citrus growers were concerned about receiving timely weather information and frost warning bulletins. Back then, …

Controlling Psyllids: A Threshold Approach

Ernie NeffPsyllids

Citrus growers should consider controlling HLB-spreading Asian citrus psyllids (ACP) only when a prescribed ACP population, or threshold, is reached. Entomologist Lukasz Stelinski suggested this approach in a virtual Citrus Expo presentation. Stelinski is a University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences researcher at the Citrus Research and Education Center in Lake Alfred. A summary slide Stelinski showed …

Global Congress Aims to Increase Citrus Consumption

Tacy CalliesInternational

Citrus suppliers have a unique opportunity to build on the sales momentum generated by the coronavirus pandemic. They should develop joint strategies to increase global consumption based on established health claims, as the avocado sector has done to such powerful effect. That was the take-home message from the inaugural Global Citrus Congress Live on Nov. 5. The virtual event drew …

Genome Sequencing and Other UF Research

Ernie NeffAll In For Citrus Podcast

Michael Rogers discusses the importance of the recent sequencing of the trifoliate orange genome by University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) researchers and others. He also tells how growers can learn more about UF/IFAS research funded by the Florida Legislature. Rogers is director of the UF/IFAS Citrus Research and Education Center (CREC) in Lake Alfred and …

Sudden ACP Increase in California Worrisome

Len WilcoxCalifornia Corner, Psyllids

To the surprise and consternation of growers and officials, 74 Asian citrus psyllids (ACP) have been discovered in Kern County, California, since June. Local and state officials are concerned about the recent uptick in trappings and are working to find how extensively the infestation has spread. The trappings have been equally dispersed in residential and commercial citrus. Staff from the …

Survey on Water and Technology Use

Ernie NeffTechnology, Water

University of Florida (UF) researchers are conducting a survey to study smart agriculture technology acceptance and adoption behavior of Florida specialty crop growers, specifically growers of crops requiring regular irrigation. Adam Watson, an assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, and doctoral candidate Raminder Kaur are requesting the information. The survey requests feedback on growers’ use of …

Citrus Nematode and Resistant Rootstocks

Tacy CalliesPests

University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences professor Larry Duncan discussed the citrus nematode (Tylenchulus semipenetrans) during a recent international webinar on plant parasitic nematodes hosted by ADAMA. T. semipenetrans has a worldwide geographical distribution, making it the most common plant parasitic nematode of citrus. According to Duncan, this pest is regulated by seasonal carbon flux in fibrous …

nutrition

CRDF Addresses Plant Improvement, Budget

Ernie NeffCRDF

Citrus Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) directors recently received an update on planned rootstock field trials and discussed the organization’s budget, CRDF Chief Operating Officer Rick Dantzler reported. ROOTSTOCK TRIALSThe new rootstock trials will be overseen by CRDF’s Select Committee on Plant Improvement, which met on Oct. 22 with citrus grower John Gose as chairman. Dantzler said the field trials …

Emerging Trunk Disorders

Tacy CalliesDiseases

By Evan Johnson and Megan Dewdney The last two years have seen increasing grower questions and reports of citrus trunk disorders in Florida. Sometimes these reports are associated with sudden tree collapse. In many cases, phytophthora foot rot is initially suspected. Typically, the symptoms don’t quite match those of foot rot, and phytophthora cannot be isolated from the lesion. If …

PIECES OF THE PAST: When Canned Grapefruit Came on the Scene

Tacy CalliesPieces of the Past

By Brenda Eubanks Burnette October has always signaled the first crop forecast, heralding the start of a new Florida citrus season. However, picking often begins in September for some eager to be the first out of the blocks. But, in the early days, with so much of the crop being sold fresh, it was imperative not to ruin the rest …

Citrus Advisory System Provides PFD Alerts

Ernie NeffDiseases

Beep. Beep. Beep. That’s the sound of an alert telling a citrus grower it’s time to spray fungicide to help prevent fruit from falling off the tree due to postbloom fruit drop (PFD). University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) researchers have developed a Citrus Advisory System (CAS) that sends web-based alerts to growers via mobile devices. …