Stay Current With Research on Rootstocks

Josh McGillRootstocks, Tip of the Week

By Jude Grosser The ultimate solution to the HLB problem is having good rootstocks that can mitigate or eliminate the disease’s impacts in any grafted commercial scion. With this, growers could profitably grow any scion, including grapefruit, Hamlin or even Murcott. Thus, rootstock breeding efforts focus on directly screening new rootstock hybrids for their ability to confer HLB tolerance or …

Florida Citrus Value Drops Steeply

Josh McGillFlorida, Production

The $438 million preliminary on-tree value of the 2021–2022 Florida citrus crop is 29% less than the $613 million revised value for 2020–2021, according to a federal Citrus Summary. The summary reported production, price and value of the 2021–2022 crop. It was released Sept. 7 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. PRODUCTION PLUMMETS Florida’s all citrus …

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California’s Total Reported Citrus Acreage Slightly Up

Josh McGillAcreage, California Corner

California citrus acreage (bearing and nonbearing) planted in grapefruit, lemons, limes, mandarins and pummelos increased in 2022 when compared to 2020. However, the state’s orange acreage declined. That information was in the 2022 California Citrus Acreage Report by the California Department of Food and Agriculture in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). Although orange …

Florida Citrus Acreage Takes a Hit

Josh McGillAcreage, Florida

Total citrus acreage in Florida dropped 8% in the past year, to 375,302 acres, according to the Commercial Citrus Inventory Preliminary Report. The report was released Sept. 7 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. The net loss of 32,046 acres is 19,942 acres more than was lost the previous season. New plantings, at 7,980 acres, are …

Optimizing Gibberellic Acid Applications in Florida Citrus

Josh McGillFruit Drop, HLB Management

Tripti Vashisth, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) associate professor of horticultural sciences, has dedicated several years of research into the use of plant growth regulators like gibberellic acid (GA) to fight fruit drop in citrus. In the August All In For Citrus Podcast, Michael Rogers, director of the UF/IFAS Citrus Research and Education Center, interviewed …

Combined Treatment Reduced Drop and Increased Size

Josh McGillFruit Drop, HLB Management, Production

A combination of gibberellic acid (GA) and 2,4-D reduced preharvest fruit drop by 18% and improved fruit size but produced no statistical effect on yield, researcher Tripti Vashisth reported Aug. 30. The combination “seems promising,” the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) horticulturist stated. The report was based on first year results from a trial of …

Packinghouse Day Featured Updates and Award

Josh McGillAwards, Events, Fresh

Over 60 citrus industry representatives gathered Aug. 25 for the 61st annual Packinghouse Day at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Citrus Research and Education Center in Lake Alfred. They heard updates on H-2A visa options for packinghouse workforce needs, an overview of citrus fruit export requirements and an update on food safety auditing. Faculty …

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All In For Citrus Podcast, August 2022

Josh McGillAll In For Citrus Podcast, Fruit Drop, HLB Management

The August episode of the All In For Citrus podcast takes listeners on a deep dive into the use of plant growth regulators like gibberellic acid (GA) to help fight fruit drop. The episode features an in-depth conversation between Michael Rogers, director of the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Citrus Research and Education Center, and …

Impact of HLB on Fruit Growth and Retention

Josh McGillFruit Drop, HLB Management

By Tripti Vashisth and Mary Sutton Citrus trees affected by huanglongbing (HLB) consistently have small fruit and low fruit numbers at harvest. The low fruit numbers are largely attributed to the increased rates of preharvest fruit drop that accompany HLB. Small fruit is more likely to drop during this preharvest period, suggesting a link between fruit size and retention. To …

Rural and Family

How Alico Had Less Crop Decline Than Average

Josh McGillIndustry News Release, Production

Alico President and CEO John Kiernan recently pointed out that the company had less orange crop decline than Florida as a whole in the 2021–22 citrus season. He noted that while the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that the Florida crop declined 22.7% from the prior season, Alico’s decline was only 12.9%. “The company believes this lower rate of decline …

More Orange and OJ Production in South Africa

Josh McGillInternational, Production

The production of oranges in South Africa is estimated to grow by 6% to 1.6 million metric tons (MMT) in 2021–22, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA/FAS) recently reported. The area planted with oranges is expected to continue its stable growth rate, expanding by 2% to 47,750 hectares in 2021–22. Limpopo province is the leading growing region …

It’s Almost Time to Spray Gibberellic Acid

Josh McGillHLB Management, Tip of the Week

By Tripti Vashisth Gibberellic acid (GA) can benefit citrus trees in many ways. GA can improve vegetative and fruit growth while reducing fruit drop and flowering intensity. Evidence is mounting that repeated application of GA is needed to induce the desired positive effect on fruit growth and tree productivity. In a multiyear field trial on Valencia orange, monthly application of …

Trunk Injection for HLB: Pros and Con

Josh McGillHLB Management, Pesticides, Research

The pros of injecting the antibiotic oxytetracycline (OTC) into citrus tree trunks to combat HLB appear to be numerous, including increased fruit yield, according to scientist Ute Albrecht. On the other hand, the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) researcher only discussed one con, but it was a big one. “Trunk injections cause injury, and long-term …

Progress in Developing Improved Citrus Rootstocks to Mitigate HLB

Josh McGillHLB Management, Research, Rootstocks

By Jude Grosser, Manjul Dutt and Fred Gmitter Exploiting citrus genetic diversity is the key to defeating HLB. Plant species have survived for millennia with evolving, hostile pathogens. This is possible through natural selection within genetically diverse populations. Tolerant or resistant individuals survive and intermate, get through the bottleneck, and the species evolves. Current citriculture is based on extremely limited …

CRDF

Final U.S. Citrus Forecast Has Several Changes

Tacy CalliesCrop Forecast

The final U.S. citrus forecast of the 2021–22 season, released July 12, projected production changes for crops in Florida, California, Texas and Arizona compared to the June forecast. FLORIDAFlorida’s all-orange forecast rose 1%, to 40.95 million boxes, due to a slight increase in non-Valencia orange production and a 1% increase in expected Valencia orange production. The Florida grapefruit production forecast …

Evaluation of Citrus × Microcitrus Hybrid Scions

Josh McGillResearch, Varieties

By Ute Albrecht, Anas Fadli and Chandrika Ramadugu Most commercially available citrus scion cultivars are highly attractive to the Asian citrus psyllid and susceptible to HLB. There are some citrus species, however, that are HLB tolerant or resistant. This may be because they are less attractive to the psyllids and/or because they restrict pathogen proliferation and therefore HLB disease development. …

Protecting Citrus Trees From Heat Stress

Josh McGillTip of the Week, Weather

By Anirban Guha Heat stress could take a toll on citrus tree health and fruit yield. In Florida, the hot season lasts more than four months. Long, hot, oppressive summer days can heat up leaves and fruit and make the trees extra thirsty. Also, high soil evaporation, irregular rainfall and poor soil water-holding capacity can often lead to summer drought …

Juice for Florida’s Future

Josh McGillOrange Juice, Research, Varieties

By Jude Grosser and Fred Gmitter New sweet oranges and sweet orange-like hybrids could offer improved juice quality for growers. It’s no secret that the recent season in Florida was a disaster, with record low production and terrible fruit quality due to HLB. Juice Brix and soluble solids were so low that harvest was delayed in many groves, resulting in …