craft

CRAFT Informational Meetings Draw Big Interest

Daniel CooperCRAFT, planting

With a record amount of funding from the Florida Legislature, the Citrus Research and Field Trial (CRAFT) Foundation hosted a road show in early September that included stops in Fort Pierce, Lake Placid and Lake Alfred to provide information about grower programs. All three stops were well attended by growers interested in learning about the latest cycle of funding. With …

fruit quality

Oxytetracycline Aids Fruit Quality for Some Scions

Daniel CooperCitrus Expo, HLB Management

A presenter at the recent Citrus & Specialty Crop Expo said oxytetracycline (OTC) trunk injections improved fruit quality in several citrus scions that were studied. The presenter was John Chater, assistant professor and citrus genetic improvement horticulturist with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Citrus Research and Education Center. Chater opened his presentation with these …

citrus acreage

Florida Citrus Acreage Down but New Plantings Up

Daniel CooperAcreage, Florida

Florida’s annual Commercial Citrus Inventory Preliminary Report, released Aug. 29, shows total citrus acreage is 208,183 acres. This is a 24% decrease from last year. The net loss of 66,522 acres is the second most reported in a Commercial Citrus Inventory in the past 25 years. It trails only the 127,182 acres reported lost in 2006, the year after the …

OTC

Citrus Industry Leader Has High Hopes for OTC

Daniel CooperCitrus Expo, HLB Management

Rick Dantzler, Citrus Research and Development Foundation chief operating officer, provided hope for citrus growers during the recent Citrus & Specialty Crop Expo. He believes citrus greening disease could soon be a thing of the past. But to get growers to that “tree of the future,” they need short-term solutions to overcome the devastating disease. Dantzler continues to tout trunk …

Expo

Expo Delivers Research Updates and Practical Tools for Growers

Daniel CooperCitrus Expo, Tip of the Week

By Michael E. Rogers The 2025 Citrus & Specialty Crop Expo took place Aug. 20–21 at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa. The event brought growers, researchers and industry professionals together for two full days of education and discussion. This year’s program featured what may have been a record number of University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences …

citrus greening

Citrus Greening Quarantine Expanded in California

Daniel CooperCalifornia Corner, Diseases, Regulation

Federal and state agriculture officials have expanded the quarantine for citrus greening in the Perris area of Riverside County in California by 33 square miles. 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 quarantine. The measure parallels the intrastate quarantine that CDFA established …

solutions

New, Faster Solutions Needed for Citrus Survival

Daniel CooperBreeding, Citrus Expo, HLB Management

University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) researchers have made significant progress in finding ways to manage citrus greening disease. But solutions needs to be expedited for the sake of the citrus industry’s future in Florida. Scott Angle, UF/IFAS senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources, emphasized that point during last week’s Citrus & Specialty Crop …

Citrus Sustainability

The Five Rs of Citrus Sustainability

Daniel CooperCitrus Expo, Irrigation, Nutrition

One of the themes that emerged during the citrus seminars at the Citrus & Specialty Crop Expo was that integration of multiple strategies is needed to keep HLB-infected trees productive. Davie Kadyampakeni’s talk detailed the five Rs of sustainable citrus production in the era of HLB. Kadyampakeni is an associate professor at the University of Florida Institute of Food and …

plot

Florida CUPS: From a Small Plot of Potted Plants to 1,500 Acres

Daniel CooperCUPS

When University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Professor Arnold Schumann started a citrus under protective screen (CUPS) plot in Florida in 2014, the grapefruit trees were in above-ground pots. The plot at the Citrus Research and Education Center was on 1.33 acres that included 1 acre of planted citrus. After five years, the grapefruit trees on …

budding

Budding Arrival in Brazil Raises Citrus Greening Concern

Daniel CooperBrazil, Citrus Greening

According to Fundecitrus, the arrival of budding in orange groves marks a critical period for Brazilian citrus growers. The budding process intensifies with the onset of rain, requiring more rigorous control of the psyllid that feeds on buds and transmits the bacteria that causes citrus greening. The budding period, which runs from July to October in Brazil, accounts for between …

gene

Gene-Edited Citrus Comes Closer to Commercial Realization

Daniel CooperBreeding, Research

In 2012, Jennifer Doudna, Emmanuelle Charpentier and their research team published a paper in the journal Science describing the CRISPR-Cas9 system as a precise gene-editing tool. It was considered a major scientific breakthrough with huge possibilities in human medicine and in agriculture. Doudna and Charpentier were awarded the Noble Peace Prize in chemistry in 2020 for their pioneering work with …

sweet spot

CUPS: Sweet Spot, AI Tool and Spraying

Daniel CooperCUPS

Researcher Arnold Schumann recently discussed much about citrus under protective screen (CUPS), including the ‘sweet spot’ size for a structure, an artificial intelligence (AI) tool for gathering information, and pest spraying tips. The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) professor has learned much from a CUPS facility he initiated in 2014 and from commercial CUPS growers. …

delegation

Fundecitrus Hosts California Delegation

Daniel CooperBrazil, California Corner, International

Brazil’s Fundecitrus recently hosted a delegation of approximately 20 agricultural leaders from California. Karen Ross, secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, led the delegation. The group visited Brazil to learn more about Fundecitrus’ research, education, training and sustainability initiatives focused on citrus farming. The Californians participated in technical discussions with researchers and took a tour of Fundecitrus’ …

citrus greening

Preventing Citrus Greening Establishment in Georgia Groves

Daniel CooperCitrus Greening, Diseases, Georgia, HLB Management

Citrus greening disease has yet to find its footing in Georgia. But that doesn’t mean it can’t or won’t eventually. Mary Sutton, University of Georgia assistant professor and citrus Extension specialist, discussed the ramifications of citrus greening during the recent Southeast Citrus Update in Lyons, Georgia. “If we get greening established here, we’ll start seeing lower and lower production on …

Extension agent

Florida Has a New Citrus Extension Agent

Daniel Cooperextension

Edwin Gutierrez is the new University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) citrus Extension agent for Florida’s Manatee, DeSoto and Hardee counties. “The citrus industry in Manatee, Hardee and DeSoto counties faces significant challenges,” said Gutierrez, who was raised in a farming family in Colombia. “Despite these challenges, I remain optimistic about the resilience of local growers …

Performance

CUPS Performance Continues to Shine

Daniel CooperCUPS

Citrus under protective screen (CUPS) performance in Florida got a big thumbs up from researcher Arnold Schumann in a virtual presentation on Aug. 7. Schumann, a University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences professor, reported on findings from his research at the Citrus Research and Education Center (CREC) as well as commercial CUPS in Florida. Schumann’s summary of …

fda

FDA Proposes OJ Brix Reduction

Daniel CooperOrange Juice, Regulation

In response to a 2021 Florida citrus industry petition, the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has proposed reducing the minimum Brix of pasteurized orange juice (OJ) from 10.5% to 10%. Brix is a measurement of sugar content. The FDA established a standard of identity (SOI) for pasteurized OJ in 1963 to protect the interests of consumers and reflect their …

Probable Requirements for Shipping Georgia Citrus to Florida

Tacy CalliesShipping

The Georgia Department of Agriculture (GDA) recently announced probable State of Florida requirements for shipping fresh citrus from Georgia to Florida in the upcoming season. Georgia hopes to again be able to ship fresh fruit to Florida in 2025 to be packed. As in previous years, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services will almost certainly require groves to …

Extensive Educational Opportunities at the Citrus & Specialty Crop Expo

Tacy CalliesAll In For Citrus Podcast, Citrus Expo, Education

The Citrus & Specialty Crop Expo is fast approaching. During the July All In For Citrus podcast, Tripti Vashisth, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) associate professor, discussed the extensive citrus seminar program scheduled for Aug. 20–21 at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa. The citrus sessions will include more than 20 speakers over the course …