Phosphorus Recommendations and Soil pH Amendments

Josh McGillHLB Management, Nutrition, Soil Improvement

By Kelly T. Morgan and Davie Kadyampakeni Most information provided in the 2020 3rd edition of Nutrition of Florida Citrus Trees is still sound for healthy citrus trees under Florida production conditions. Past information on nutrients, application methods, leaf and soil sampling, and irrigation scheduling are also effective for management of huanglongbing (HLB)-affected trees. However, research conducted since HLB was …

Gibberellic Acid Not Recommended in Spring for HLB Trees

Josh McGillHLB Management, Production, Tip of the Week

By Tripti Vashisth Recent research has shown benefits of gibberellic acid (GA) application (monthly from September to January) in improving yield and canopy density of HLB-affected trees. These findings have caught the attention of Florida citrus growers. Many have indicated that they are applying GA in their groves as per the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences …

Nutritional Lessons Learned From the Field and in the Wild

Josh McGillNutrition

By Brad Turner In the 1970s, the majority of my family’s groves in Hillsborough, Polk and Hardee counties remained on a 25-foot by 25-foot setting or wider. Most of these “old school” blocks received several light cultivations in both directions, two fertilizations and two foliar sprays per season. These groves contained some of the most grand and bountiful trees in …

PIECES OF THE PAST: The Gate City of South Florida

Josh McGillPieces of the Past

By Brenda Eubanks Burnette In 1870, Gen. Henry Shelton Sanford purchased 23 square acres of land west of Mellonville, Florida, through the Sanford Grant from Spain. He planned a new city that he called The Gate City of South Florida, which he believed would become the transportation hub for Florida. In 1877, the city of Sanford was incorporated, and Mellonville …

Extension Agents Still Seeing Damage From Freeze

Josh McGillFlorida, freeze, Weather

It often takes time for the damage associated with freeze events to manifest in citrus. That was the case for the late January freeze in Florida. While some growers escaped fairly unscathed, others suffered significant damage. The damage began to show in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s March citrus crop forecast. The agency lowered expected production of Florida oranges this …

How to Reduce Bingo Tree Loss to Stem Dieback

Josh McGillDiseases, Research

By Christopher Vincent, Megan Dewdney and Liliana Cano Bingo mandarin hybrid is a variety with many promising characteristics, but it brings specific challenges to profitable production. One challenge identified early in the push to plant Bingo was stem dieback that led to tree loss. After looking into this problem for the past four years, University of Florida Institute of Food …

legislative

Legislative Session Positive for Florida Ag

Josh McGillAgriculture, Florida, Legislative

The state legislative session was among the topics discussed at the March 21 Florida Agricultural Policy Outlook Conference. The annual event was held at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Mid-Florida Research and Education Center in Apopka. More than 100 people attended the conference, either in-person or virtually. John Walt Boatright, director of national affairs …

movement

Texas Mexfly Quarantine Expanded

Josh McGillPests, Regulation

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS) and the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) expanded the Mexican fruit fly (Mexfly) quarantine in Harlingen, Cameron County, Texas. This expansion follows confirmed detections from Feb. 3 to Feb. 28 of 15 Mexfly adults in citrus at various residential sites. As a result of the detections, the …

Put Predators to Work Against Lebbeck Mealybug

Josh McGillPests, Research, Tip of the Week

By Eric Middleton and Lauren Diepenbrock Lebbeck mealybug is an emerging pest in Florida citrus. Infestations can damage fruit, flowers and branches. The pest can even kill young trees in severe cases. Lebbeck mealybug is often difficult to manage with insecticides alone due to the pest’s tendency to feed in protected spaces and the thick wax that covers adult mealybugs …

ACP and the HLB Pathogen Are Made for Each Other

Josh McGillCitrus, HLB Management, Research

Nabil Killiny, an associate professor of plant pathology for the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, has been studying the relationship between the bacterium that causes HLB (Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus) and its vector the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP). Globally, insect-borne vector pathogens are responsible for more than 700 plant diseases. HLB ranks high among those in terms …

Korea’s

Growers in Northern Regions Whetting Consumer Appetites

Josh McGillCitrus, Production

Citrus production in North Florida, South Georgia and South Alabama continues to expand rapidly. That increased production led to a successful marketing year for producers, says grower Kim Jones, who owns a citrus packing facility in Monticello, Florida, and is part-owner of a similar facility in Tifton, Georgia. “We’re selling every piece of fruit we pulled into both sheds this …

Donaldson Tree Is ‘Beacon of Hope’

Josh McGillFlorida Citrus Commission, HLB Management

A recently discovered HLB-infected tree that is producing high levels of fruit holds hope for Florida’s citrus industry, according to Florida Citrus Commission (FCC) Chairman Steve Johnson. “By now, many of you have heard about the Donaldson tree,” said Johnson. “Recently rediscovered at USDA’s (U.S. Department of Agriculture) Whitmore Farm, this decades-old tree is abundantly producing early-season oranges and despite …

Soil Is Key to Setting Up Trees for Success

Josh McGillAgriculture, Nutrition, Soil Improvement

By Brad Turner As I started my regenerative journey five years ago, it conjured up memories of walking the family groves in the 1970s with my freshly sharpened eye hoe. I would follow the tractor as it pulled the offset chopper, crisscrossing between the widely spaced trees in all directions. The native grasses and broadleaf plants — including legumes like …

Black Core Rot Being Studied

Josh McGillDiseases, International, Research

A new Hort Innovation project aims to shed some light on how black core rot happens in Australian groves so the citrus industry can learn how to better manage the disease. Black core rot caused by the fungus Alternaria spp. can be a problem for some citrus growers in the southern growing areas in Australia. Citrus infected with Alternaria spp. …

Guidance on Chlorpyrifos Recordkeeping

Josh McGillAgriculture, Pesticides, Tip of the Week

By Brett Bultemeier and Lauren Diepenbrock The revocation of chlorpyrifos residues and tolerances that became effective on Feb. 28, 2022, caused some confusion and concern when it was first announced. The legal description provided by the Environmental Protection Agency is challenging to fully understand. Therefore, the Pesticide Information Office from the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences …

Farm Safety and Health Week

Grower Associations Object to H-2A Wage Methodology

Tacy CalliesEconomics, Labor

Florida Citrus Mutual recently published the following statement about comments it submitted regarding the wage rate for temporary foreign H-2A workers: “On January 31, 2022, Florida Citrus Mutual, along with many other agricultural entities nationwide, submitted comments to the United States Department of Labor (USDOL) in reference to the proposed changes to the methodology for the adverse effect wage rate …

Can Zinc and Potassium Curb Fruit Drop?

Tacy CalliesFruit Drop

The Florida citrus industry has been focused on finding solutions to the fruit drop problem that has hit groves hard in recent years. During the 2022 Florida Citrus Show in Fort Pierce, Fernando Alferez, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, assistant professor of citrus horticulture, presented findings from a research trial aimed at reducing fruit drop. The …

Georgia Grower Rapidly Reacts to HLB Find

Josh McGillGeorgia, HLB Management

By Lindy Savelle Earlier this year, a small grove owner in Grady County, Georgia, noticed some odd-looking trees in his grove. The leaves, having an asymmetrical discoloration, appeared to be nutritionally deficient. In an attempt to remedy the problem, the grower reached out to the Grady County Extension office for help. The Extension agent began his quest to figure out …

Harvest+

Brazil’s Orange Crop Holding Steady

Josh McGillBrazil, Forecast, International

While the February Florida orange crop forecast saw a decline, Brazil’s February orange forecast is unchanged from its December forecast. Published on Feb. 10 by Fundecitrus and its cooperators, the third 2021–2022 orange crop forecast update for the São Paulo and West-Southwest Minas Gerais citrus belt remains at 264.14 million boxes. Should this forecast hold true until harvest ends, Brazil’s …