Keep an Eye Out for Postbloom Fruit Drop This Spring

Josh McGillFruit Drop, Tip of the Week, Weather

By Megan M. Dewdney Postbloom fruit drop (PFD) is a flower disease mainly caused by the fungus Colletotrichum acutatum. The fungus is present on citrus trees throughout the year but survives by producing resting structures on leaves and stems. The fungus becomes stimulated to produce spores by substances from the early flowers. These early spores infect the initial flowers and …

citrus canker

Texas Canker Quarantine Expanded Again

Josh McGillCitrus, Diseases, Texas

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) have established five new quarantine areas for citrus canker in Brazoria, Galveston and Harris counties, Texas. They also expanded two existing quarantine areas for citrus canker in Brazoria, Fort Bend and Harris Counties, Texas, to prevent the spread of the disease. …

Survey Assessing Freeze Impact on Florida Ag

Josh McGillAgriculture, Florida, Weather

The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) on Feb. 3 activated the Business Damage Assessment Survey to assess the impact freezing temperatures had on the state’s agriculture businesses. Survey responses will allow the state to gather data and evaluate resources that impacted businesses may need to recover after the freezing weather that occurred the weekend of Jan. 28–30. “The agriculture …

HLB: The Path Forward

Josh McGillHLB Management, Research

Rick Dantzler, chief operating officer of the Citrus Research and Development Foundation (CRDF), gave an update at the recent Florida Citrus Show on the latest efforts to find solutions to the HLB problem. Dantzler acknowledged the frustration growers have expressed in the long battle against the disease and the challenge it has presented to the research community. Because of this, …

Foliar Fungal Disease Round-up for 2022

Josh McGillDiseases, Florida, Fruit Drop

By Megan Dewdney The 2021 foliar fungal season was an easier than average year. The La Niña weather pattern predicted last fall came to pass, and the spring was relatively dry from January to the end of May with some rain in February and April. While citrus trees in Florida were likely drought-stressed, the dry weather slowed the usual decomposition …

Trial Confirms Benefits of IPCs

Josh McGillFlorida, HLB Management, Pests

Individual protective covers (IPCs) on citrus trees have become a more common sight in Florida groves in recent years. The bags that cover young trees exclude the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) from feeding on the plants, thus protecting them from HLB. Some estimates suggest that more than 1 million IPCs are now deployed in the state’s citrus groves. During the …

Florida Orange Ratio and Brix Requirements Reduced

Tacy CalliesFlorida, Regulation

In response to citrus damage from a late January freeze, the Florida Citrus Commission (FCC) on Feb. 3 lowered the minimum ratio requirement for oranges to 8.5:1 with a minimum Brix of 8 for fresh and processed fruit. Florida Citrus Mutual (FCM), the state’s largest citrus grower association, asked for the emergency action on Jan. 31. FCM CEO Mike Sparks …

Emergency Declared for Florida Post-Freeze Harvest

Josh McGillFlorida, Weather

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Feb. 2 issued an executive order declaring a state of emergency in many counties where citrus and other agricultural commodities were affected by a Jan. 28–30 freeze. It specifically gives state officials authority to relax restrictions on commercial vehicles to facilitate an emergency harvest. “The relaxation of the restrictions on commercial vehicles is necessary to …

Keep Leprosis From Re-entering Florida

Josh McGillDiseases, Florida

Citrus leprosis has not been reported in Florida since 1968, but researcher Ozgur Batuman called it “an approaching threat to Florida citrus” in a recent virtual seminar. Batuman, a citrus pathologist at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Southwest Florida Research and Education Center, urged growers to be on the lookout for the disease. According …

Produce Safety Rule

Workshop to Focus on Irrigation and Nutrition

Josh McGillEducation, Irrigation, Nutrition

Citrus growers depend on the latest information about best irrigation and nutrition strategies for growing productive trees. University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) researchers will share recent results regarding optimal crop management at a workshop and field visit opportunity on Feb. 8 at the Citrus Research and Education Center (CREC) in Lake Alfred. Davie Kadyampakeni, assistant …

Achieving Successful Nursery-Grower-Researcher Partnerships

Josh McGillResearch, Rootstocks, Tip of the Week

By Bill Castle, Fred Gmitter and Jude Grosser The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Citrus Research and Education Center (CREC) plant improvement team has long been engaged in field research to evaluate new scions and rootstocks. That effort continues and has involved trials on public and private property. While public sites are valuable, they are …

Increasing Pesticide Effectiveness With Adjuvants

Josh McGillCEU

By Ajia Paolillo Editor’s note: THIS ARTICLE IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE FOR CEU CREDIT. Pesticides are widely used in commercial agriculture to manage insects and other arthropods, diseases and weeds. Each application needs to be as effective as possible in managing the target pest. Many factors, such as environmental conditions, tank-mix incompatibility and solution pH, can cause a pesticide application …

Avoid Phytophthora When Planting

Josh McGillDiseases, Research

Phytophthora infection can lead to severe stunting in newly planted citrus trees, researcher Megan Dewdney told growers and others at a Jan. 19 presentation at the Citrus Research and Education Center in Lake Alfred, Florida. She said stunted trees never thrive or produce adequate fruit. Dewdney is a University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences plant pathologist. She …

European

Tangerine Crop to Climb in Turkey

Ernie NeffInternational

Tangerine production in Turkey is forecast to increase 9% in 2021-22 to 1.75 million metric tons (MMT), the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) reported recently. Production in 2020-21 was 1.6 MMT. High yields per tree and increasing orchard areas and bearing trees are also expected due to favorable weather conditions in the Mediterranean region. However, the yield …

cold hardiness

Frigid Florida Weather Has Growers on Alert

Josh McGillFlorida, Weather

The coldest temperatures in years predicted for Florida this weekend have fruit and vegetable growers worried and preparing to protect their crops. Temperatures in the 20s and 30s are expected deep into the peninsula of Florida. And the freezing weather could persist for up to four hours or more. Gene McAvoy, associate director for stakeholder relations at the University of …

CRDF Funds Fruit Drop Research, Hears Antibiotic Presentations

Josh McGillDiseases, Research

The Citrus Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) governing board on Jan. 25 approved a project aimed at reducing fruit drop by using potassium, zinc, gibberellic acid and the herbicide 2,4-D in different timing scenarios. The funding will allow University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) researcher Fernando Alferez to finish two years of work that CRDF Chief …

European Union to Produce Less Lemons

Josh McGillInternational, lemons

European Union (EU) lemon production is forecast at 1.57 million metric tons (MMT) in 2021–22, a decrease of almost 9% from the previous season, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service reported. The decrease is due to expected crop reductions for the EU’s main lemon producers, Spain and Italy, even though the area planted with lemons continued trending upward …

Meister Media Worldwide Sells Florida Grower Magazine to AgNet Media

Josh McGillFlorida

Meister Media Worldwide and AgNet Media today announced the sale of Florida Grower magazine and its Florida-related assets to AgNet Media, effective March 1, 2022. Through Florida Grower, Meister Media has invested more than 25 years of commitment to Florida’s citrus, vegetable and other specialty crop producers. Initiatives like the Florida GrowerSM Citrus Show, the Florida GrowerSM Citrus Achievement Award …

Growers Discuss Priorities for 2023 Farm Bill

Josh McGillAgriculture, Farm Bill, Legislative

The 2018 Farm Bill is set to expire in 2023, so preparations are underway to craft the behemoth legislation into law sometime next year. However, it is common for negotiations to extend into the following year. Whether the new farm bill is passed in 2023 or 2024, there’s a lot of work ahead. The farm bill was the focus of …