Best Practices Developed by Grower-Led, Science-Supported Task Force To provide California citrus growers with a strong toolbox of science-supported strategies and tactics to protect their orchards from huanglongbing (HLB), the Citrus Pest & Disease Prevention Committee endorsed a set of best practices for growers to voluntarily employ in response to HLB in California. The recommendations — which were developed based …
Precision Agriculture Technologies in Citrus
By Yiannis Ampatzidis Citrus growers face issues from an increasing number of pests and diseases. Rapid and accurate tools for early pest and disease detection are needed to improve precision and timely management. Almost all agrochemicals (e.g., pesticides) applied in specialty crop production are made uniformly with conventional spraying equipment, despite the fact that pathogen distribution is typically patchy. Uniform …
Psyllid Control and Endemic HLB
In the early days of HLB in Florida, virtually all researchers and growers agreed that nothing was more important than controlling HLB-spreading Asian citrus psyllids. But once HLB had spread to every grove (become endemic), many growers began questioning whether continued psyllid control was necessary. University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) entomologist Lukasz Stelinski tackled that …
An Important Reminder on Citrus Tristeza Virus
By Amit Levy and Ozgur Batuman Citrus tristeza virus (CTV) is an important citrus pathogen that, in the past, had a dramatic effect on the citrus industry and caused the loss of almost 100 million trees worldwide. These trees were propagated on sour orange rootstock. The disease created a need for tristeza-tolerant rootstocks to sustain the citrus industry, because only …
Psyllid Management for HLB
University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) entomologist Lauren Diepenbrock reports on Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) management studies being conducted around the world. Her report covers presentations made at the International Citrus Research Conference on HLB in March. She summarized the international scientists’ observations at the Florida Citrus Growers’ Institute in Avon Park last month. She shares …
Artificial Intelligence Could Help Citrus Growers Detect Psyllids
Precision agriculture engineer Yiannis Ampatzidis sees a day when citrus farmers use artificial intelligence (AI) to detect the pin-sized insects that can infect the fruit’s trees with the deadly greening disease. That day could come in the near future, because Ampatzidis and his research team are starting to perfect a system to detect the potentially deadly Asian citrus psyllid. Citrus …
California Citrus Pest & Disease Prevention Program Report Released
The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) released the 2018 annual report from the Citrus Pest & Disease Prevention Program (CPDPP). According to the report, California citrus is a $3.3 billion industry, providing 21,600 jobs and covering 268,500 acres. HLB (huanglongbing, also known as citrus greening disease) is the leading threat in citrus today. In 2018, HLB was found …
Grove Border Control for Psyllids
Controlling HLB-spreading Asian citrus psyllids along grove borders can be part of a cost-efficient psyllid control program, says University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences entomologist Lukasz Stelinski. “Psyllids are found in borders in much greater frequencies than any other place within the grove,” Stelinski says. “This is a place that they congregate … Anything that helps protect …
Using Organic Insecticides for Psyllid Control
Organic insecticides rotated with either spray oil or insecticidal soap provided good Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) suppression in long-term studies in Florida, entomologist Jawwad Qureshi reported recently. Qureshi is a University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences researcher at the Southwest Florida Research and Education Center in Immokalee. Suppression of ACP is important because the pest spreads citrus …
Citrus Grower Sees Success with Cover Crops
By Juanita Popenoe and Lauren Diepenbrock Ed James has citrus in his veins. He has been working and thriving in the citrus business since he was a teenager — from hoeing orange trees to owning a caretaking business that serviced thousands of acres. That is, until about eight years ago. In 2010, James looked around his personal 45-acre citrus grove …
$3.5 Million Donation to Aid California Citrus Collection
The University of California, Riverside (UCR) has received a $3.5 million donation from Givaudan to support UCR’s Citrus Variety Collection. The gift will help build a screened structure to protect the collection from the impending threat of citrus greening disease, also known as huanglongbing (HLB). The 2.8-acre protective screened structure will house new trees and back-up collections of the UCR …
Study Zeroes in on Organic Ways to Beat Citrus Greening
Results show promise for organic groves, but more research is needed. Since it was first discovered in the United States in 2005, the bacterial disease known as citrus greening, or Huanglongbing, has devastated millions of acres of citrus crops throughout this country and abroad, ravaging citrus groves in Asia, Africa and South America. Citrus greening has impacted conventional and organic …
Recent Pest Concerns in Florida Citrus
By Lauren Diepenbrock While Asian citrus psyllids (ACP) are an ongoing concern in Florida citrus due to their role in spreading the bacterium associated with citrus greening, they are not the only pest of concern to growers. Citrus leafminer (CLM) and root weevils are two pests that have been raising concerns and adding to the challenge of managing productive citrus …
Sneak Peek: January 2019 Citrus Industry Magazine
It’s no secret that the most damaging pest in Florida citrus is the Asian citrus psyllid. But there are other bugs growers need to watch out for, too. The January issue of Citrus Industry magazine takes a look at current pests of concern and offers management methods. An article on HLB reduction strategies focuses on tools growers can use to …
California Citrus Conference Calls Attention to Key Industry Issues
By Len Wilcox The Citrus Research Board’s (CRB) annual California Citrus Conference took place in October in Visalia. This year’s event included a celebration of the organization’s 50th anniversary. The CRB is an important resource to California’s citrus industry. It awards more than $7 million each year to researchers throughout the state. Since 2008, CRB has focused much of its …
Kaolin Clay May Be Viable Option to Protect Citrus Trees from ACP
Florida citrus growers have begun taking notice of kaolin clay, a powdery white compound, because it can cause Asian citrus psyllids (ACP) to “not take notice” of their groves. Long used to protect other fruit and vegetable crops, kaolin can also conceal citrus trees from hungry psyllids by confusing their visual sensory system, said Michael Rogers, director of the Citrus …
Research Update: Citrus Under Protective Screen
By Arnold Schumann, Timothy Ebert, Laura Waldo, Danny Holmes, Napoleon Mariner, Gary Test, Chris Oswalt, Rhuanito Ferrarezi and Ricardo Lesmes Two studies with citrus under protective screen (CUPS) were established at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Citrus Research and Education Center (CREC) and Indian River Research and Education Center (IRREC) in 2013–14. The goal …
New UF/IFAS Entomologist: From a Kid’s ‘Lab’ to Helping Citrus Growers
As a girl in her garage in Palm Bay, Florida, Lauren Diepenbrock, already a budding scientist, peered through the lens of her microscope and marveled at the magnification. “As a kid, I played in the woods and brought back all sorts of ‘finds,’ including a snake skeleton, none of which my mom allowed in the house,” said Diepenbrock, an assistant …
Citrus Tree Covers Keep Deadly Psyllids Away
University of Florida (UF) scientists are finding that by covering new citrus trees with mesh, they can keep disease-carrying insects from harming the plants. That could be a big step toward stemming the deadly citrus greening disease, UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) researchers say. Asian citrus psyllids can infect the citrus trees with greening, also known as …
CUPS Protects Citrus from HLB and Storms
A system designed to protect citrus trees from the deadly greening disease withstood the ravaging winds of Hurricane Irma last year, University of Florida scientists say. With reinforcements installed after the storm, they’ll likely withstand even more dangerous storms. Using citrus under protective screening (CUPS), growers can keep the Asian citrus psyllids away from their trees, said Arnold Schumann, a …




























