ReMedium TI

Growers Can Stay Productive in the Face of HLB

Daniel CooperHLB Management

Despite declaring there will be no silver bullet for HLB, Ozgur Batuman in a Jan. 21 virtual seminar said growers using integrated pest management (IPM) tools “can stay productive.” However, the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences associate professor also warned that producing citrus juice in Florida “will not be easy or cheap.” Oranges are by far …

ascorbic acid

Amending Oxytetracycline With Ascorbic Acid

Daniel CooperHLB Management, Tip of the Week

By Lauren Fessler Mathews, Ana Redondo and Ozgur Batuman Trunk injections of oxytetracycline (OTC) have been proven to give huanglongbing (HLB)-affected citrus in Florida a boost in productivity and quality. However, previous studies have shown that even just six hours of exposure to heat and humidity in the grove can lead to OTC injections that no longer adequately suppress CLas …

rate

Brazil to Implement National Greening Prevention and Control Program

Daniel CooperBrazil, HLB Management

Brazilian agriculture officials recently visited Fundecitrus to discuss the first steps in implementing the National Greening Prevention and Control Program, which will be implemented by the states. The officials were with the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply (MAPA) and the Agricultural Defense Coordination Office of the State of São Paulo. The ordinance establishing the National Greening Prevention and …

genome-edited

Two Genome-Edited Trees Are Approved

Daniel CooperHLB Management

Two non-transgenic genome-edited orange plants — a Hamlin and a Valencia that may resist HLB — have been federally approved and are ready for Florida growers. Nian Wang, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences eminent scholar endowed chair in biotechnology, reported this news in a June 17 virtual presentation. The plants, which Wang termed “Eds1-edited,” have received …

California

New Sweet Orange Scab Quarantine Established

Daniel CooperCalifornia Corner, Diseases, Regulation

A new quarantine area for sweet orange scab (SOS) was recently established in the Burbank area of California’s Los Angeles County. The U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA/APHIS) in cooperation with the California Department of Food and Agriculture announced the quarantine area. The 91-square-mile quarantine was established because of an SOS detection in a plant …

young trees

Recovering Unprotected HLB-Infected Young Trees

Daniel CooperIPCs, Tip of the Week

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 …

disease

Florida Foliar Disease Outlook for 2025

Daniel CooperDiseases

By Megan Dewdney As I write this article in January 2025, the world is a chilly place, and it is hard to imagine warm and wet weather in Florida. The predicted weather pattern from now until flowering is moving from La Niña toward neutral. This is predicted to bring above-average spring temperatures with reduced rainfall. This is a hopeful sign …

weather

Foliar Disease Watch in Florida

Daniel CooperDiseases, Tip of the Week

By Megan Dewdney Spring is the time to start thinking about foliar disease management in Florida. Depending on the type of citrus being produced and the market destination, different diseases will be important. POSTBLOOM FRUIT DROP The disease that affects all citrus, particularly oranges, is postbloom fruit drop (PFD). This disease is highly dependent on the weather during bloom. Currently, …

OTC

Weathering the HLB Storm

Daniel CooperHLB Management

Specialty crop growers might be aware of the disease sweeping through Florida’s citrus industry. Its impact has been tremendous and has tested the survival of the state’s signature crop. This year will mark the 20th anniversary of the official confirmation of citrus greening disease (also known as huanglongbing or HLB) in Florida. In the past two decades, the state’s output …

diseases

Problematic Diseases Following Hurricanes

Daniel CooperDiseases, hurricane

Hurricanes bring immediate tree damage from high winds and torrential rainfall, but storms also can lay the groundwork for citrus disease problems. Soon after Hurricane Milton passed through citrus-growing regions, the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) hosted a webinar that covered various topics including post-storm disease management. CANKER Megan Dewdney, UF/IFAS associate professor of plant …

Soilcea

Soilcea Modified Sweet Orange Receives Favorable Decision

Daniel CooperBreeding, Regulation

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS) has determined that Soilcea’s modified sweet orange, which reportedly has resistance to HLB, is not a plant pest or a plant that requires regulation under 7 CFR part 340. USDA APHIS regulates the “Movement of Organisms Modified or Produced through Genetic Engineering” as described in 7 CFR …

disease concerns

Disease Concerns for Georgia Growers

Daniel CooperDiseases, Georgia

Not all citrus disease concerns center around huanglongbing (HLB). While HLB disease garners much of the headlines because of its devastation to Florida’s citrus crop, growers in the cold-hardy citrus region should be mindful of other diseases that can devastate a crop if left untreated. Jonathan Oliver, University of Georgia (UGA) assistant professor and small fruits pathologist, highlighted some of …

sweet orange scab

Sweet Orange Scab Requirements Revised

Daniel CooperDiseases, Regulation

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA/APHIS) recently revised sweet orange scab (SOS) requirements. APHIS revised the conditions for the interstate movement of citrus nursery stock (CNS) and updated the inspection requirements for CNS to be eligible for shipment. The federal order also updates the APHIS-Approved Packinghouse Procedures for Elsinoë australis, Causal Agent of Sweet …

applications

Moving Beyond Greening

Daniel CooperCitrus Greening, Economics

By Tom Spreen When citrus greening was first discovered in Florida, it did not have a profound impact on production. The big news at that time was the multiple hurricanes that had crossed Florida in 2004 and 2005. The hurricanes served to spread citrus canker so sufficiently that the state of Florida was forced to abandon its efforts to eradicate …

diseases

Diseases Easier to Prevent Than to Control

Daniel CooperDiseases

Plant pathologist Ozgur Batuman recently warned that two citrus viral diseases not currently in Florida are highly suited to the state’s climate and would likely impact production if found there. They are citrus leprosis and citrus yellow vein clearing virus (CYVCV). Batuman, a University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences associate professor at the Southwest Florida Research and …

hurricane

Have a Hurricane Plan in Place

Daniel Cooperhurricane

Florida citrus growers are all too familiar with the fallout from hurricanes in recent history. In 2017, Hurricane Irma came up the spine of the state causing an estimated $760 million in damage to the citrus industry. Then in 2022, Hurricane Ian took an even more direct path over key citrus-production areas causing another $247 million in losses, according to …

orange production

How Florida Orange Production Plummeted 92% in 20 Years

Daniel CooperFlorida, Production

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service (USDA ERS) recently recounted how natural disasters and diseases have reduced Florida’s orange production by 92% since the 2003–04 season.  USDA ERS noted that Florida’s citrus industry has long been susceptible to freezes, hurricanes and disease. It pointed out that a series of devastating freezes in the 1970s and 1980s caused production …

BRAZILIAN RESEARCH RESULTS IN A UNIQUE PRODUCT FOR HLB MANAGEMENT

Morgan ColeSponsored Content

BRAZILIAN RESEARCH RESULTS IN A UNIQUE PRODUCT FOR HLB MANAGEMENT A groundbreaking study recently conducted by renowned Brazilian agro-science has resulted in a formula for the effective management of citrus greening, a disease that has severely affected citriculture in Brazil and worldwide for a long time. It was in the laboratories of the Citrus Center of the Agronomic Institute of …

Diseases Without Borders: Leprosis and Yellow Vein Clearing Viruses

Josh McGillDiseases

By Ozgur Batuman Plant virus diseases are unusually difficult to manage if introduced into new production sites. Citrus-infecting viruses, particularly those spread by insect vectors, are no exception to this. Florida is regularly challenged by a barrage of invasive pests and pathogen species that could devastate the citrus industry. Viruses causing citrus leprosis and citrus yellow vein clearing diseases are …