Fundecitrus has launched Evaluate Psyllid, a tool that will help citrus growers choose insecticides to manage the pest that spreads citrus greening disease. Evaluate Psyllid will make available the results of insecticide efficacy experiments on field psyllid populations in different regions of Brazil’s citrus belt. The insecticide efficacy data will be constantly updated as experiments are carried out. It will …
World Lemon/Lime Production
Global lemon/lime production in 2023–24 is forecast up 225,000 tons from the prior year to 10 million tons, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA FAS) reported. Higher production in the European Union, South Africa and Turkey more than offsets lower production in Mexico and the United States. Here are the regional lemon/lime forecasts for 2023–24: Turkey production …
Nutrition Remains a Critical Element as New Therapies Roll Out
Growers have largely adopted new trunk-injection therapies to fight the effects of HLB in citrus groves. In addition, plant growth regulators have helped improve tree health and fruit retention. One University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) scientist reminds growers to maintain their fertilizer programs as the new therapies are deployed. Davie Kadyampakeni, UF/IFAS associate professor of …
Scouting Tools and Tactics
By Matt Smith Editor’s note: This article grants one continuing education unit (CEU) in the Core category toward the renewal of a Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services restricted-use pesticide license when the accompanying test is submitted and approved. This article is an updated version of a previous article, “Scouting: The Tip of the IPM Spear,” published in the …
Brazil’s Orange Crop and Juice Production
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA FAS), Brazilian orange and orange juice production are both forecast to decline in 2023–24 compared to the prior year. ORANGE CROP The total Brazilian 2023–24 orange crop is forecast at 408 million 40.8-kilogram boxes, equivalent to 16.5 million metric tons (MMT). This is a decrease of 1.03% from the …
Louisiana HLB Quarantine Area Expanded
Federal agriculture officials, in cooperation with Louisiana agriculture officials, have established a federal quarantine area for huanglongbing (HLB; citrus greening), caused by Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus, in all of Saint Charles Parish in Louisiana. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS) took the action in cooperation with the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry (LDAF). …
Costa Rica Orange Production to Decline
Production of oranges in Costa Rica in 2023–24 is expected to decline 15% from the prior year to 250,000 metric tons (MT), the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA FAS) reported. The decline is a result of unfavorable weather conditions in Northern Costa Rica associated with an El Niño weather system. Two companies, TicoFrut and Del Oro, control …
Brazil’s Orange Forecast Declines
The updated forecast for the 2023–24 orange crop in Brazil’s citrus belt is 307.22 million boxes of 40.8 kilograms each. That’s a reduction of 2.12 million boxes, or 0.7%, from the September forecast of 309.34 million boxes. The update was issued Dec. 11 by Fundecitrus in cooperation with its partners. The forecast, by varieties, is: IMPACTS ON FRUIT SIZE In …
Enhancing Smart Irrigation With Centralized Data
By Sandra M. Guzmán Efficient irrigation management is crucial in optimizing tree growth and promoting sustainable management practices in modern agriculture. This article introduces IrrigMonitor, an Internet of Things data visualization platform developed at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Indian River Research and Education Center (IRREC) Smart Irrigation and Hydrology Lab. IrrigMonitor is a …
Combination of Essential Oils and Kaolin to Control Psyllids
By Xavier Martini and Romain Exilien Despite intensive control efforts, the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP), the vector of Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus, the bacteria causing citrus greening, remains the most devastating pest of citrus. The ACP typically relies on tactile, visual and odor cues to detect its host. By combining an irritant, a visual masking and a true repellent, University of Florida …
Millennium Block Drive-Thru Highlights
Florida citrus growers and researchers arrived from Davie, Bartow, Lakeland, Plant City, Fellsmere and Gainesville to view more than 5,500 trees of several new citrus varieties. Some of the trees are showing initial tolerance to citrus greening. The occasion was the Millennium Block Drive-Thru at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Indian River Research and …
Millennium Block Varieties Tour
Citrus growers are invited to tour the 20-acre Millennium Block at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Indian River Research and Education Center (IRREC) in Fort Pierce on Nov. 7. The tour will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. New varieties in the grove are in their fourth year of growth. Researchers are …
$5 Million Awarded to UF/IFAS for HLB Research
The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) has been awarded five federal grants totaling more than $5 million to control HLB. The grants are from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). HLB is caused by the bacterium Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas). The Asian citrus psyllid can transmit CLas into a …
How Much Yield Is Needed to Offset the Cost of Injecting Trees With Oxytetracycline?
By Ariel Singerman Citrus growers in Florida are now allowed to inject their trees with oxytetracycline (OTC) to try to control Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus and/or suppress citrus greening. The use of OTC is expected to improve the trees’ health and, in turn, increase yield. In this article, cost estimates are used to address the question of what yield response is …
Universities Receive 11 Federal Grants for HLB Research
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA NIFA) has invested more than $25 million in 11 projects as part of the Emergency Citrus Disease Research & Extension program. This program brings the nation’s top scientists together with citrus industry representatives to find scientifically sound solutions that combat and prevent citrus greening (HLB) at the farm level. Some of this …
Research Update on Oxytetracycline Injection for HLB Management
By Ute Albrecht The German scientist Paul Ehrlich pioneered the research for “magic bullets” — chemicals that could kill a microorganism but did not harm the patient. He also coined the term “chemotherapy” and paved the way for developing synthetic drugs. The first synthetic antibiotic (the first sulfa-type antibiotic) to successfully treat human bacterial diseases without major side effects was …
First HLB Detection in Ventura County
The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) has declared a quarantine in Ventura County following the detection of the citrus disease huanglongbing (HLB), or citrus greening, in two citrus trees on one residential property in the city of Santa Paula. These detections are the first HLB-positive trees in Ventura County. CDFA is working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture …
Wang Appointed to Graves Eminent Scholar Chair
Citrus researcher Nian Wang has been appointed to the Graves Eminent Scholar Chair in Biotechnology at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS). Wang is a professor of microbiology and cell science at the Citrus Research and Education Center (CREC). He was appointed to the chair because of his work to develop a tree resistant to …
Replacing Psyllid Host Plants
The secretary of agriculture and supply of the state of São Paulo, Brazil, in partnership with Fundecitrus, has launched a campaign to replace plants that are hosts for the HLB-spreading psyllid. HLB disease is also known as citrus greening. The campaign, called Plant This Idea, aims to replace citrus and myrtle plants with fruitful and ornamental plants in rural backyards …
Student’s Thiamethoxam Research Honored
Work on HLB carried out at Fundecitrus by student Leandro Jun Soki Shibutani was honored at the recent Brazilian Congress of Phytopathology. The first part of Shibutani’s dissertation on the theme “Frequency of spraying thiamethoxam and transmission of Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus in orange trees under constant arrival of infective psyllids” took second place in the Best Master’s Works category. It …





























