A common management tool that Florida citrus growers use to improve the health of trees impacted by citrus greening disease could be a valuable resource for cold-hardy producers — but for a different reason. Mary Sutton, University of Georgia assistant professor and citrus Extension specialist, discussed the tool gibberellic acid (GA) at the recent Southeast Regional Fruit and Vegetable Conference …
Crop Transformation Center Speeding Up the HLB Battle
The urgency to find a solution to huanglongbing (HLB), also known as citrus greening disease, is why citrus is an initial focus of Florida’s Crop Transformation Center (CTC). The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) and the state’s citrus industry established the center three years ago. Through the CTC, faculty at the main UF campus in …
HLB Quarantine Expansions Impact California Commercial Citrus
Agriculture officials have expanded the areas quarantined for citrus greening disease (known as huanglongbing or HLB) in California. The quarantined area in the Corona area of Riverside County was expanded by 37 square miles. The San Juan Capistrano quarantined area of Orange County was expanded by 18 square miles. The actions were taken by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal …
Disease Research Discussed at Brazilian Workshop
Several Fundecitrus researchers recently made presentations at the Brazilian Workshop on Plant Disease Epidemiology, held in Pirenópolis, Goiás. The scientists discussed studies on disease epidemics affecting agricultural crops and management strategies. CITRUS FLOWER ROT FORECASTING Geraldo Silva Junior addressed the citrus flower rot forecasting system — developed in partnership with Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture University of São Paulo(ESALQ/USP) …
Support for Citrus Access to Triazine Herbicides
The Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association (FFVA) recently filed comments with federal agencies supporting continued access to the triazine herbicides simazine and atrazine for citrus and other specialty crops. The comments were submitted to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and Environmental Protection Agency regarding FWS’ draft Biological Opinion (BiOp) for Atrazine and Simazine Herbicides. FFVA submitted the comments …
Quarantine Changes for California and Texas
Federal and state agriculture officials recently made changes to huanglongbing (HLB, also known as citrus greening disease) and Mediterranean fruit fly (Medfly) quarantines in California. They also removed a Mexican fruit fly (Mexfly) quarantine in Texas. The U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) reported these changes. CALIFORNIA HLB On Nov. 25, APHIS and the California …
Why HLB Is So Difficult To Control
Brazil’s Fundecitrus recently published a scientific article explaining why HLB is so difficult to control. “Why is it so difficult to control huanglongbing (HLB)? Point of view” was published by the journal Scientia Agricola (Agricultural Science). It was authored by Fundecitrus researcher Renato Bassanezi and post-doctoral researcher Isabela Vescove Primiano, in collaboration with the late professor Armando Bergamin Filho of …
Brazil’s Orange Crop Forecast Drops Again
Fundecitrus’ Dec. 10 orange crop forecast for the São Paulo and Triângulo/Southwest Minas Gerais Citrus Belt in Brazil is for 294.81 million boxes of oranges. That’s a reduction of 3.9% from the September forecast of 306.74 million boxes and a 6.3% reduction from the initial May forecast of 314.6 million boxes. The two main reasons for the reduction in the …
What We’ve Learned From 20 Years of HLB Research in Florida
By Michael Rogers It has now been two decades since huanglongbing (HLB), or citrus greening, was first detected in Florida. That announcement in August 2005 changed everything for the Florida citrus industry. At the time, Florida citrus was still a global powerhouse. Less than a year earlier, HLB had been confirmed in Brazil, and we were aware of its devastating …
Implementing Insecticide Sprays for Winter Management of Psyllids
By Jawwad A. Qureshi In winter, citrus trees enter a state of quiescence due to lower light and cooler temperatures, which slows their metabolic activity. Therefore, most citrus trees do not produce new shoots during this period. These young shoots are essential for the growth of the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP), Diaphorina citri. The ACP is a small sap-feeding insect …
Trials Show Organic Tool Could Mitigate the Impact of HLB
Mountain Valley MD Holdings Inc. (MVMD) recently reported positive results from ongoing citrus field trials in Brazil for its Agrarius™ signaling technology. Agrarius™ is designed to organically increase crop yields, reduce fertilizer and pesticide usage and enhance plant health. MVMD has been working with a client-directed third-party agricultural partner, FARM ATAC, in Brazil to assess the impact of the application …
California Sweet Orange Scab and HLB Quarantines Expanded
Federal agriculture officials on Nov. 25 announced the expansions of the areas quarantined for sweet orange scab (SOS) and huanglongbing (HLB) diseases in California. The U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) in cooperation with the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) enacted the expansions. SOS The SOS quarantined area has been expanded by 5 …
USDA to Purchase $30 Million of Fresh Citrus
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Nov. 24 announced its intent to purchase up to $30 million in fresh citrus from American farmers. Under Section 32 of the Agriculture Act of 1935, the USDA has the authority to purchase commodities from American farmers and producers and distribute the products to food banks and nutrition assistance programs across the country. “These …
USDA Amends Brix Standards to Align With FDA
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service (USDA AMS) is amending the U.S. Standards for grades of orange juice (OJ) by changing the limits for Grade B Brix allowances in pasteurized OJ (POJ). The change will align with the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Standard of Identity (SOI) for POJ. The Brix allowances under the U.S. OJ standards are …
Record Brazilian Sprouting Increases HLB Risk
The first half of November saw the most sprouting ever observed in Brazilian citrus by the Psyllid Alert, reaching 37.4%. This scenario raises an alarm for citrus growers, since the increase in sprouting is directly linked to the growth of the psyllid population, the insect vector of huanglongbing (HLB) disease. HLB is also known as citrus greening. According to the …
HLB and Medfly Quarantines Expanded
California’s huanglongbing (HLB, also known as citrus greening) quarantine and its Santa Clara Mediterranean fruit fly (Medfly) quarantine were recently expanded. The U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) in cooperation with the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) expanded the quarantines. HLB The HLB-quarantined area in Riverside County was expanded by 3 square miles. …
Florida Farm Bureau Supports Amending OJ Standard
Florida Farm Bureau has submitted comments supporting the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) proposal to amend the standard of identity (SOI) for pasteurized orange juice (POJ) by lowering the minimum soluble solids content from 10.5° to 10° Brix. The FDA proposed an amendment earlier this year in response to a 2021 Florida citrus industry petition. Following are some comments from …
CITRUS NURSERY SOURCE: NVDMC’s Research Initiatives for 2025–26
By Peter Chaires Last month’s Citrus Nursery Source article promised additional details on New Varieties Development & Management Corp.’s (NVDMC) 2025–26 sponsored projects. While there is only space for general summaries, it is important to highlight the areas of focus for each research team, and the emphasis on short-term benefits while continuing to build a foundation for the future. NVDMC …
NuCitrus Shows Strong HLB Tolerance
University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) researchers are putting genes from a non-citrus plant into Hamlin oranges to develop citrus plants that fight huanglongbing (HLB), also known as citrus greening disease. The newly developed plant is called NuCitrus. It’s based on a protein called Arabidopsis NPR1 (AtNPR1). The new citrus shows strong tolerance to HLB, but not …
Irrigation and Nutrient Management for Improved Tree Productivity
By Davie Kadyampakeni, Alisheikh Atta, Jonas Pereira de Souza Junior, Christopher Vincent and Tripti Vashisth Typically, citrus water requirements are low in the winter and spring due to cooler temperatures but peak in summer and early fall due to rising temperatures. Thus, improved irrigation management is critical in these times of the year for improved production. Because most citrus trees …





























