By Tripti Vashisth, Wesley Webb and Taylor Livingston As trees become symptomatic for HLB, leaves experience an imbalance of plant hormones. This hormonal imbalance exacerbates HLB symptoms and can lead to more stem dieback, poor vegetative growth and fruit drop. This ultimately leads to reduced bearing wood, resulting in yield losses and tree decline. Thus, the use of growth-promoting hormones …
Peace River Growers See Hopeful Signs in Groves
The Peace River Valley Citrus Growers Association hosted a grower forum in September to discuss how trees are looking after the first application of oxytetracycline (OTC) has been injected. The event had a good turnout, and growers were mostly optimistic about what they are seeing in groves. Nearly all in attendance have treated at least some portion of their acreage …
Season’s First Update to Brazil’s Orange Forecast
The first update of the 2023–24 orange crop forecast for the São Paulo and West-Southwest Minas Gerais citrus belt confirmed the initial May forecast of 309.34 million boxes. Fundecitrus announced the update on Sept. 11. The forecast for Hamlin, Westin and Rubi varieties was increased 3.5% to 58.09 million boxes. Other early-season varieties climbed 1.6% to 18.51 million boxes. The …
HLB Treatment Approved in Florida
Invaio Sciences in late August announced that its Trecise technology to deliver ArborBiotic for the suppression of HLB in oranges received approval from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The approval came under section 24(c) of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act. Invaio stated that the product’s closed-system design does not require drilling. Unlike conventional injection treatments, …
Early Reports: Citrus Fared Well in Idalia
The cold-hardy citrus region endured another test of Mother Nature on Wednesday with Hurricane Idalia moving through the Southeast. One industry expert is optimistic that the area’s trees survived this latest challenge. “I am happy to report that citrus in Georgia appears to have fared very well,” said grower Lindy Savelle, president of the Georgia Citrus Association and member of the …
The Status of Citrus Canker in Georgia
Citrus canker was found for the first time in Georgia this past season. Unfortunately, it may be here to stay. Jonathan Oliver, University of Georgia (UGA) assistant professor and small fruits pathologist, talked about the disease during a citrus meeting in Valdosta, Georgia, on Aug. 9. He emphasized that Georgia producers may have to learn to live with the disease …
Less Global Orange Production
Global orange production for 2022-23 is estimated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA FAS) at 47.8 million metric tons (MMT), 5% less than the prior year. Lower production in the European Union, Turkey and the United States is only partially offset by a larger crop in Egypt. U.S. production is estimated to drop by over a …
The Benefits of Growing Citrus on UV-Metalized Reflective Mulch
By Jawwad Qureshi, Lauren Diepenbrock and Davie Kadyampakeni Protecting citrus trees from the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) is critical to reducing the spread and severity of huanglongbing (HLB) or citrus greening disease. ACP, the vector of the pathogen responsible for causing HLB in citrus, needs young shoots to develop and reproduce. The frequent availability of viable shoots in young trees …
Alert Issued for Leprosis in Brazil
Brazil’s Fundecitrus is alerting citrus growers to take extra measures against leprosis during the current critical period for disease occurrence, May to September. At this time, fruit are in development, and the lack of rain favors outbreaks of the leprosis-transmitting mite. Leprosis is an important disease of Brazilian citrus that in recent years has caused significant damage to orange groves. …
Alico Discusses Trunk Injection and Next Season
Alico, Inc. began treating citrus trees in January 2023 with an oxytetracycline (OTC) product via trunk injection as a citrus greening therapy. “Through June 30, 2023, we have treated over 35% of our trees with OTC, which is expected to mitigate some of the impacts of citrus greening and is expected to decrease the rate of fruit drop, as well …
Alico Citrus Production Halved
Florida citrus grower and landholder Alico, Inc. on Aug. 3 announced financial results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2023 and the nine months ended June 30, 2023. For the nine months, Alico harvested approximately 2.7 million boxes of citrus, a decrease of approximately 51% from the same period in the prior fiscal year. After the completion of the …
How to Access CRAFT Grower Data
The Citrus Research and Field Trial Foundation, Inc. (CRAFT) has a website with a public dashboard that houses the data that participating growers have submitted. A recent University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Extension newsletter included an article describing how to access the data from the CRAFT grower field trials. The article, summarized here, was written …
Improve Irrigation Scheduling for Better Tree Response
By Davie Kadyampakeni Citrus trees require water to be able to carry out the natural processes of growth, making food, and developing fruit and juice. To get the water from the soil, the fibrous roots do the extraneous work of absorbing the water and carrying it via the transpiration stream to the leaves. The water in the soil is made …
Recovery Will Require a Multipronged Management Program
By Michael Rogers The 2022–23 Florida harvest season is now behind us. Yield losses magnified by the weather events this past season position the next couple of years as “make or break” for many growers. The lingering effects of hurricane Ian will impact next season’s crop as trees continue to recover and balance out canopy regrowth with fruit production. Despite …
Citrus Grower Forum Focused on New Peptide Product
The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Citrus Research and Education Center hosted a grower forum in mid-June. An educational program during the event provided growers with information on a new HLB therapy working its way through regulatory approvals. The peptide-based product will go by the name Aura Citrus and will be marketed by Nutrien once it …
Build Resilience in HLB-Affected Hamlin Trees
By Taylor Livingston and Tripti Vashisth Fighting HLB alongside weather disasters like freezes and hurricanes is leaving growers with little options for sustaining yields. The Hamlin sweet orange variety is known for higher susceptibility to HLB symptoms which cause rapid tree decline, including increased pre-harvest fruit drop and canopy loss. Production strategies that target fruit drop and canopy health improvement …
Safeguarding Citrus From Heat Stress
By Amir Rezazadeh Rising temperatures and climate change challenges of recent years have brought a significant threat to citrus trees. Heat stress, caused by prolonged exposure to high temperatures, poses a severe risk to citrus trees. Excessive soil evaporation, inconsistent rainfall and poor soil water-holding capacity can make trees even more sensitive to heat. High temperatures result in shortened internodes, …
Sustaining Citrus With Soil Improvement
By Frank Giles HLB has taken a toll on growers both large and small over the years. That’s been the case with third-generation grower Chuck Bellamy, who grows citrus near Inverness, Florida. His grandparents planted the first trees on the property in 1930. A few of those trees are still alive in the grove nearly 100 years later. Bellamy says …
Millennium Block and MAC Project Updates
Hurricanes Ian and Nicole in 2022 caused early fruit drop in the Indian River area, where two studies of 39,000 trees that might tolerate HLB are being conducted. Researchers now expect significant data from the studies will come after the 2023, 2024 and 2025 season harvests, but they have already gained some insights from the projects. The first experimental grove, …
Antibiotics, HLB and Psyllids
Entomologist Kirsten Pelz-Stelinski recently shared findings from trials on the use of foliar-applied and trunk-injected antibiotics for controlling HLB and the Asian citrus psyllids (ACP) that spread the disease. Pelz-Stelinski is associate center director at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Citrus Research and Education Center (CREC) in Lake Alfred. In a May 17 presentation …