The total Brazilian orange crop for marketing year 2022–23 is forecast at 405 million boxes (MB), a reduction of 10 MB compared to the previous season. The commercial area in the state of São Paulo and the western part of Minas Gerais should account for 305 MB, a drop of 3% from the prior year. Production from other states is …
Guide Prepares California Growers for HLB Detection
California’s Citrus Pest and Disease Prevention Program (CPDPP) has developed a guide, Response for a Confirmed Huanglongbing Positive Detection in a Commercial Grove, to prepare growers for a finding of the disease. The guide is intended to educate growers about the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s (CDFA) huanglongbing action plan. The devastating citrus disease spread by the Asian citrus …
CUPS Weather Hurricane Ian Well
In the search for ways to survive citrus greening, some growers have chosen the citrus under protective screen (CUPS) system as their solution. While CUPS can be costly to construct, it has proven to effectively prevent the deadly disease. But some have asked if the structures would hold up in extreme weather and adequately protect the trees. Hurricane Ian helped …
Researchers Study Relative of HLB Pathogen
Sometimes the most niche plant pathogen packs the greatest punch. Such is the case for the Florida citrus industry, which has seen a 70% decline in its orange production since the introduction of HLB in 2005. HLB is also known as citrus greening disease. The bacteria Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus cause this disease, which spreads via a flying insect. When the …
Research to Help Organic Growers Fight HLB
A grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (OREI) is intended to advance research to help organic citrus producers fight HLB. The grant awards $2.03 million to a team of scientists from the University of Florida, Texas A&M University and The Organic Center. The Organic Center is a non-profit organization convening evidence-based science on the …
Growers and Researcher Discuss Millennium Block Trials
Two citrus growers recently explained the benefits to be gained from research at the Indian River Research and Education Center’s (IRREC) Millennium Block in Fort Pierce, and a scientist discussed a grapefruit study there. The IRREC is a University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) facility. The 20-acre block was planted in 2019 to help growers find …
Getting Antibiotics Where They Need To Go
Purdue University’s Kurt Ristroph has received a $1 million federal grant to develop nanocarriers as an antibiotic delivery system to help plants fend off citrus greening disease, also known as HLB. The grant is part of the 21.7 million recently awarded for HLB research from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. “The mixing technology we’re …
Changing Psyllids to Make Them Incapable of Spreading HLB
By Kirsten S. Pelz-Stelinski and Lukasz L. Stelinski Managing Asian citrus psyllids (ACP) remains a consideration for growers because psyllids transmit the citrus greening disease pathogen, Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas), to newly planted trees. There are several tools that can reduce psyllid populations or mitigate the symptoms of HLB and improve the health of infected trees. However, additional methods that …
HLB Tolerance Data Expected in Early 2023
Conclusive data on trials in the Millennium Block, expected in early 2023, may reveal which of more than 5,500 trees can tolerate HLB, researchers say. The Millennium Block is at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Indian River Research and Education Center (IRREC) in Fort Pierce. IRREC Director Ronald Cave said the 20-acre grove, established …
Support for HLB Product Label Requests
Florida Citrus Mutual (FCM) has been working with product registrants to gather industry support for two 24(c) label requests being presented to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS). REMEDIUM TIThe first request, from TJ BioTech, is related to the use of ReMedium TI via injection in citrus trees suffering from citrus greening. Research has proven oxytetracycline injection …
Pest Incidence and Management in CUPS
By Jawwad A. Qureshi and Salman Al-Shami The citrus under protective screen (CUPS, Figure 1) system is designed so citrus can grow inside screened enclosures to protect it from huanglongbing (HLB) and the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP, Diaphorina citri). ACP is the primary vector of the pathogen responsible for causing HLB, known as citrus greening disease. This vector-pathogen combination is …
Psyllid Management Alert for Brazil
The onset of rains in several regions of Brazil’s citrus belt has made it necessary for growers to pay added attention to citrus greening, Fundecitrus reported. The association of citrus growers and juice manufacturers from the state of São Paulo said the extra attention is needed due to the increase in greening-spreading psyllid populations in this period. Fundectirus reported that …
Liberibacter Relative Mutating Rapidly
A bacterial species closely related to citrus greening disease is rapidly evolving its ability to infect insect hosts and possibly plants. The newly identified species belongs to Liberibacter, a family of bacteria known to infect several economically important crops. There are nine known Liberibacter species, including three that are associated with citrus greening. Citrus greening, also known as huanglongbing or …
A Two-Pronged Approach to Suppress Psyllids
By Bryony C. Bonning and Lukasz L. Stelinski Asian citrus psyllids (ACP) transfer the pathogen that causes citrus greening from plant to plant as they feed. After confirmation of citrus greening in Florida in 2005, growers intensified their use of insecticides against ACP to try to stop disease spread. However, this method alone has yielded variable success and increased costs. …
Focused on Finding Solutions
By Michael Rogers As we approach a new citrus-growing season, the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) researchers and Extension agents working throughout the state renew their focus on finding solutions that growers can use in the short term to sustain their operations. While we value our longer-term research projects, efforts that provide tangible applications that …
Managing Macronutrients and Micronutrients
By Davie Kadyampakeni Nutrients are needed for optimal citrus tree growth, fruit yields and juice quality. Any nutrient deficiencies could result in low yields and decreased revenue. Make sure citrus trees receive adequate macronutrients and micronutrients at all times. Macronutrients are those nutrients needed in large quantities to influence yield, growth and fruit quality. Macronutrients are further divided into two …
California HLB Quarantine Areas Expanded
Federal and state officials in late June expanded the areas quarantined for huanglongbing (HLB, also known as citrus greening), caused by Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus, in California. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) took the action in cooperation with the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA). APHIS added portions of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside …
Nursery Owner Wins Judgment Over Destroyed Trees
The owner of a commercial nursery has won a $1.2 million judgment against the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) for the destruction of citrus trees in the 2000s, AP News reported. A jury in Orlando determined the state agency had destroyed more than 160,000 citrus plants in an effort to stop citrus greening, AP reported. The jury …
Are Finger Limes the ‘Next Big Thing?’
Will Florida finger limes be the “next big thing,” or will they show mediocre or poor performance in the commercial market? That’s a question two University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) researchers hope to answer. Trent Blare and Fredy Ballen, both with the Tropical Research and Education Center in Homestead, discussed their work in a virtual …
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• …





























