By Jamie D. Burrow and Tripti Vashisth With the increased cost and limited availability of fertilizer, purchasing decisions are more important now than ever. Collecting the right leaves for sampling is the first step to making fertilizer decisions. Leaf samples should consist of 100 leaves that are 4- to 6-month-old spring flush leaves taken from nonfruiting branches. WHY LEAVES FROM …
Preliminary Department of Citrus Budget Approved
The Florida Citrus Commission on June 15 approved a preliminary 2022–23 operating budget for the Florida Department of Citrus of $29.9 million. The preliminary budget includes $19.125 million in general revenue funding from the state of Florida for marketing, research and administration. The majority of the budget will fund domestic marketing programs aimed at driving sales of Florida orange juice (OJ). …
Florida Citrus Industry Conference Draws Record Crowd
Citrus growers and industry stakeholders gathered in Bonita Springs last week for the Florida Citrus Industry Annual Conference. After being sidelined the previous two years due to COVID-19, the conference drew a record crowd of more than 500 registered attendees. The event, hosted by Florida Citrus Mutual, was packed with educational programming and meetings for various industry groups. The Citrus …
Experimenting With Cover Crops: Results From Three Years of Trials
By Sarah Strauss, Antonio Castellano-Hinojosa, Davie Kadyampakeni, Ramdas Kanissery and Tara Wade Cover crops, which are planted specifically for soil enhancement and not for sale or harvest, can improve soil conditions and production for a variety of crops. However, there have not been many studies documenting changes to soil conditions and production when using cover crops in citrus. The University …
Citrus Industry Priorities Highlighted at GCGA Annual Meeting
Citrus industry growers and allied members of the Gulf Citrus Growers Association (GCGA) gathered in Fort Myers last week for the association’s annual meeting. Matt Joyner, executive vice president/CEO of Florida Citrus Mutual, recapped Florida’s 2022 legislative session and touched on some other priorities during his address to the group. Joyner said the legislative session was a strong one for …
Orange Juice Sales ‘Remain Strong’
Florida Citrus Commission (FCC) Chairman Steve Johnson discussed strong orange juice sales in an email this month to members of the Florida citrus industry: “As prices continue to rise across the board for goods and services, many shoppers may find themselves buying not what they want but what they need. The key for us is making sure OJ remains on …
Southern Hemisphere Citrus Production to Rise
Citrus production in the Southern Hemisphere this year is expected to increase 4.85% compared to 2021, to 24.8 million tons, according to a preliminary forecast by the World Citrus Organisation (WCO). The forecast is based on information provided by industry associations in Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Peru, South Africa and Uruguay. A total of 13.2 million tons of citrus …
Does Compost Improve Young Tree Growth?
By Ute Albrecht, Gabriel Pugina, Antonio Castellano-Hinojosa and Sarah Strauss Root health is important for tree growth and directly affects a tree’s ability to cope with adverse biotic and abiotic stresses. Most citrus production in Florida occurs on natural infertile sands with very little organic matter and a low cation exchange capacity (CEC), resulting in minimal amounts of soluble nutrients …
Florida Citrus June Forecast Mixed
By Ernie Neff The June 10 federal citrus crop forecast increased the expected Florida Valencia orange crop by 2% but dropped the state’s grapefruit and tangerines/tangelos production expectations. The forecast was issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). The projected Valencia crop rose 500,000 boxes from the May forecast, to 22.5 million boxes. NASS declared …
Tips to Keep Citrus Fruit on Trees
By Frank Giles During the May All In For Citrus podcast, Michael Rogers, director of the Citrus Research and Education Center, discussed research on how applications of gibberellic acid (GA) can improve tree health and reduce fruit drop. The research is being conducted by Tripti Vashisth, an associate professor of horticultural sciences with the University of Florida Institute of Food …
Hurricane Threat Has Increased
Colorado State University (CSU) hurricane researchers on June 2 increased the number of named storms and hurricanes they expect for the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season from their initial outlook in April. The CSU Tropical Meteorology Project team is predicting 20 named storms in 2022. Of those, researchers expect 10 to become hurricanes and five to reach major hurricane strength (Saffir/Simpson …
An Update on Oak Mulch to Increase Soil Health
By Lukas M. Hallman, John M. Santiago and Lorenzo Rossi At first glance, one may not see how oak trees relate to citrus production. But in the early 2010s, growers and scientists reported seeing little to no HLB symptoms on citrus growing underneath the dripline of oak trees compared to citrus trees nearby but not directly under oak trees. These …
NOAA Predicts Above-Average Hurricane Season
Forecasters at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center, a division of the National Weather Service, are predicting above-average hurricane activity this year. The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30. This year could be the seventh consecutive above-average hurricane season. NOAA predicts a 65% chance of an above-normal Atlantic hurricane season, a 25% …
Impact of Herbicides on Fruit Drop
Growers know the negative impacts of any kind stress on trees infected by HLB. That raised a question: Can injury from herbicides make fruit drop worse? Ramdas Kanissery, an assistant professor of weed science with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS), conducted a research project to help answer that question. Kanissery discusses the research in …
Australia Evaluating Dwarfing Rootstocks
Tahir Khurshid of Australia’s New South Wales Department of Primary Industries (NSW DPI) is leading a project evaluating several overseas rootstocks budded to a range of mandarin and sweet orange varieties. One of the components is evaluating the rootstocks for their dwarfing effect, which will potentially produce small trees for high-density planting systems for the citrus industry. Size-controlling rootstocks have …
Brix Is a Key Issue for Florida Citrus Mutual
Florida Citrus Mutual President Glenn Beck and Executive Vice President/CEO Matt Joyner recently met with members of Florida’s congressional delegation and others in Washington to highlight issues important to Florida citrus. The need for federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) action on lowering the Brix level was one focus of the meetings. Beck and Joyner met with U.S. Sen. Marco …
International Partnership Strengthens HLB Research
Brazil’s Fundecitrus reported that the exchange of international researchers and technicians working on the PRE-HLB (Preventing HLB Epidemics for Ensuring Citrus Survival in Europe) project strengthens research on the disease. In recent months, Fundecitrus received a researcher from the University of Amsterdam (Netherlands) and sent a researcher to the University of Valencia (Spain). Counting on the expertise of more than …
Lebbeck Mealybug on the Move in Florida Groves
In the May episode of the All In For Citrus podcast, Lauren Diepenbrock, an entomologist with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS), discusses her research on the lebbeck mealybug. The pest was first identified in Florida in the Boynton Beach area in 2009 in a natural habit. “It was not until 2019 that we found …
Brazil’s First Orange Forecast for 2022–2023
The 2022–2023 initial orange crop forecast for Brazil’s São Paulo and West-Southwest Minas Gerais citrus belt is 316.95 million boxes. The forecast was published on May 26 by Fundecitrus and its cooperators. The projected volume is 20.53% higher than the previous crop, which totaled 262.97 million boxes. The orange production forecast includes:• 59.48 million boxes of Hamlin, Westin and Rubi• …
Important Clarifications on the Florida Citrus Research Order Referendum
As the voting period for the Florida Citrus Research Order winds down, it is important that growers have a clear understanding what the vote is for and the role the Citrus Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) plays in the process. Rick Dantzler, chief operating officer of CRDF, says this clarification is important to be sure growers have the correct information, …





























