The Florida Citrus Show brought together growers and industry for a fun day of camaraderie and education. The event took place March 13 at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Indian River Research and Education Center and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Horticultural Research Laboratory in Fort Pierce. The April issue …
Separating HLB-Affected and Healthy Fruit
Scientists with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service (USDA/ARS) recently wrote about efforts to identify HLB-affected versus healthy citrus fruit. UF/IFAS scientists are Mark Ritenour, Ketan Shende and Thomas Burks. Michelle Heck is with the USDA/ARS. A slightly edited version of their article follows: Most citrus …
Digging Into Methods to Boost Citrus Soil Health
By Sarah Strauss, Emma Dawson, Gabriel Pugina, Ute Albrecht, Jonas Pereira de Souza Junior and Davie Kadyampakeni While soil health has always been considered critical for Florida citrus production, it has increased in importance with the endemic presence of citrus greening (HLB). Soil health is similar to the concepts of soil quality or soil fertility but with an additional focus …
Recovering Unprotected HLB-Infected Young Trees
By Fernando Alferez and Saoussen Ben Abdallah Individual protective covers (IPCs) are now being increasingly adopted in Florida to protect newly planted citrus trees from psyllid colonization. The risk of new citrus plantings becoming infected with HLB is especially high, as young trees flush more frequently and attract more psyllids. However, the adoption of IPCs does not occur in all …
PIECES OF THE PAST: Polk County Roots Run Deep
By Brenda Eubanks Burnette I was honored this year to be part of the Vero Heritage Center and Indian River Citrus Museum’s “Deeply Rooted” event, which was the kick-off for Indian River County’s Centennial Celebration. It made me think of this year’s Florida Citrus Hall of Fame inductees. They all have something in common with deep roots — Polk County! …
Forecast for Chinese Mandarin and Grapefruit Crops
A U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA FAS) report forecasts Chinese mandarin and grapefruit production will both increase slightly in 2024–25. TANGERINES/MANDARINS China’s production of tangerines and mandarins is forecast at 27 million metric tons (MMT), up from 26.9 MMT the prior year. Increasing production in multiple cities is expected to outpace the negative effects of citrus greening …
Mexico’s Citrus Crops to Increase
Mexico’s production of lemons/limes and grapefruit are forecast in a U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA/FAS) report to increase in 2024–25 compared to the prior year. LEMONS/LIMES The lemon/lime production forecast for 2024–25 is 3.5 million metric tons (MMT), an 8% increase from the previous year. The forecast for lemon/lime planted area in 2024–25 is 223,500 hectares, up …
CITRUS NURSERY SOURCE: Programs Benefit Nurseries
By Peter Chaires The 2024–25 citrus season is another challenging one for Florida’s valued citrus nurseries. Uncertainty has been the consummate challenge for nurseries trying to anticipate grower needs. One large nursery grower recently interviewed believes that door-yard propagations are now nearing commercial propagations. Who would have ever thought we would see this happen? However, after a dismal 2022–23 propagation …
Forecast Favorable for Moroccan Citrus
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA/FAS) has projected increased production of Moroccan oranges, orange juice (OJ) and lemons/limes in 2024–25 compared to the prior season. ORANGES For 2024–25, orange production in Morocco is expected to increase by 17%, reaching 960,000 metric tons (MT). Area planted is projected at 58,300 hectares, up from 58,200 hectares in 2023–24. USDA/FAS …
Mathematical Modeling Is Preparing Europe for HLB
A tool predicting how to protect European citrus from HLB shows how mathematical modeling can help prepare for future plant disease invasions. Europe is currently unaffected by HLB. However, there are increased concerns of an infestation since psyllids that spread HLB have been found in key citrus-producing countries, including Portugal and Spain. In response to the HLB threat, a new …
Highlands Citrus Banquet Highlights Trunk-Injection Research
The Highlands County Citrus Growers Association hosted its annual banquet on March 6 in Sebring. The event drew a good crowd to catch up on the association’s activities. Two of the featured speakers during the event discussed alternative trunk-injection therapies to the current standard of oxytetracycline (OTC). Tanishka Aglave, a sophomore at Strawberry Crest High School, received the H. Robert …
10-Year Forecast for U.S. Citrus Production
Total U.S. citrus production levels are projected to continue their long-term decline over the next several years before stabilizing through 2034, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). It attributed that expected trend to declining orange and grapefruit production alongside increasing production of lemons and tangerines. The projections for all U.S. commodities are in USDA Agricultural Projections to 2034, …
Citrus Forecast Has Slight Changes
The March citrus forecast from the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service (USDA/NASS) calls for slight increases in Florida’s orange and grapefruit crops compared to the prior season. Florida’s lemon and tangerine/mandarin forecasts were unchanged from February’s forecast. FLORIDA ORANGES The Florida all-orange forecast rose 1%, or 100,000 boxes, from the February forecast to 11.6 million boxes. The …
European Union Citrus Forecasts Issued
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA/FAS) recently provided a 2024–25 forecast for European Union (EU) citrus crops. TANGERINE/MANDARIN EU tangerine and mandarin production in 2024–25 is estimated at 2.8 million metric tons (MMT), down from the 2.9 MMT bumper crop in the previous season. Production is projected to be down in Spain, the EU’s largest mandarin and …
Global Grapefruit and Mandarin Crops to Drop
A report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA FAS) projects world grapefruit and tangerine/mandarin crops will decline in 2024–25 from the previous season. GRAPEFRUIT Global grapefruit production for 2024–25 is forecast down slightly to 6.9 million tons as decreases in Türkiye and the United States more than offset higher production in China. Exports and fruit for …
All In For Citrus Podcast, February 2025
In the February episode of the All In For Citrus podcast, Michael Rogers provides an update on activities at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Citrus Research and Education Center in Lake Alfred. He said the beginning of the year is the time when current and future projects are evaluated. “The months of February and …
Israeli Citrus Crops to Rebound
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA/FAS) has forecast all varieties of Israeli citrus to rise in 2024–25 compared to the prior year. The 2023–24 marketing year saw lower production largely as a result of the war with Hamas. PRODUCTION PROJECTIONS Production by varieties in 2024–25 are projected at: GROWING REGIONS Israeli citrus production is located throughout the …
New Citrus BMP Manual Near Adoption
In the past year, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) undertook a significant effort to update all the state’s agricultural best management practices (BMPs) manuals. Many of these manuals had not been updated for over a decade. FDACS updated the manuals to: For the citrus BMP manual, the notice of change was published in the Florida Administrative …
Mechanical Harvesting Highlighted at Demo Citrus
A citrus mechanical harvesting demonstration and a discussion of Brazilian citrus farming were among presentations at Demo Citrus 2025, held in Seville, Spain in late January. Harvest+ demonstrated a robot harvesting oranges. Harvest+ is a consortium of Fundecitrus, Move Agro and the Andalusian Institute for Research and Training in Agriculture, Fisheries, Food and Organic Production in partnership with Pek Automotive. …
Global Lemon/Lime Production to Decline
Global production of lemons and limes in 2024–25 is forecast to be down 651,000 tons, to 10.2 million tons, by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA/FAS). The decline is due to a drop in production in the European Union (EU) and Türkiye as a result of unfavorable weather and yields. Exports are forecast to rise with high …





























