positive

Positive Signs Being Seen in Florida Groves

Daniel CooperProduction

In the November Highlands County Citrus Growers Association newsletter, President Riley McKenna and Executive Director Ray Royce reported mostly positive signs they’ve been seeing in groves. MCKENNA “As the month progresses, so have the cooler nighttime temperatures. This cold front marks an important shift moving forward into our early harvest season,” said McKenna. “It brings both anticipation for fruit ripening …

purity level

The Road to HLB Recovery

Daniel CooperHLB Management, OTC Expert

Sponsored Content Question: There has been discussion that HLB recovery will be seen in yield first and quality second. Is that happening? Answer: It is still too early to tell exactly what the numbers will look like for the 2025–26 harvest. However, early harvest reports are coming in, and they seem quite encouraging. There is a report on a grove …

SAR

SAR Sprays Protect Against Psyllids, HLB and Canker

Daniel CooperDiseases, HLB Management

Recent research has shown that systemic acquired resistance (SAR) sprays can protect young citrus tree flushes from Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) feeding, HLB and citrus canker. ACP is the vector that spreads HLB disease from tree to tree. Researchers with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) and Bayer Crop Science report that SAR sprays can …

grove

What’s Working in Griffin’s Grove

Daniel CooperAll In For Citrus Podcast, Production, Rootstocks, Varieties

Not far from the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Citrus Research and Education Center (CREC) in Lake Alfred, Jason Griffin owns and operates a commercial citrus grove. While commercial in nature, the grove also has become a working experiment for the CREC citrus breeders. Griffin has worked closely with UF/IFAS citrus breeder Jude Grosser to …

HLB management

HLB Management Requires an Integrated Approach

Daniel CooperCitrus Expo, HLB Management

At the recent Citrus & Specialty Crop Expo, Ozgur Batuman reminded seminar attendees there is no silver bullet for HLB management. Instead, the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) researcher proposes that growers integrate several tools for the management of HLB. These tools include a variety of ways to control HLB-spreading psyllids; oxytetracycline (OTC) trunk injection; …

crop forecast

First Citrus Crop Forecast of the Season Is Oct. 9

Daniel CooperCrop Forecast

After low yields in recent years due to hurricanes and HLB, Florida citrus growers are eager to see what the crop forecast will look like for the 2025–26 season. There is some optimism that the cumulative effects of oxytetracycline trunk-injection treatments may improve production this season. Growers will learn what the initial 2025–26 forecast is when the U.S. Department of …

policy

How To Determine if the Actual Production History Policy Will Be Beneficial

Daniel CooperInsurance, Tip of the Week

By Ariel Singerman Between the 2021–22 and 2023–24 citrus seasons, Florida orange growers were more likely to receive indemnity payments under the Actual Production History (APH) crop insurance policy compared to the Dollar Amount policy. Moreover, when indemnities were paid, the APH policy provided a higher average payout. This raises the question: Will APH continue to be advantageous for Florida orange …

pre-harvest

Pre-Harvest Clues for Better Citrus

Daniel CooperIndian River, Tip of the Week, Varieties

By Flavia Zambon and Mac Hossain The Millennium Block is located at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Indian River Research and Education Center (IRREC). It is designed to support long-term citrus trials under real-world growing conditions, including HLB pressure, but without oxytetracycline injections. Currently, the block has 19 distinct grapefruit and pummelo scions in …

Survey Shows Oxytetracycline Use and Benefits

Tacy CalliesCitrus Expo, HLB Management, Survey

A 2024 survey showed that most Florida citrus growers used oxytetracycline (OTC) trunk injection on most of their acres, resulting in improved yield and reduced fruit drop. Tara Wade, associate professor at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Southwest Florida Research and Education Center, presented survey results at the recent Citrus & Specialty Crop Expo. OTC …

Sneak Peek: September 2025 Citrus Industry

Daniel CooperSneak Peek

The September issue of Specialty Crop Grower features an article on the Citrus & Specialty Crop Expo’s extensive educational program. Read highlights of what growers learned over the two-day Tampa event and hear more in the August episode of the All In For Citrus podcast. The Citrus Industry section of the magazine begins with an article detailing two big announcements …

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 …

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 …

season

CITRUS NURSERY SOURCE: Gearing Up for a New Season

Daniel CooperCitrus Nursery Source

By Peter Chaires Summer schedules can make it challenging to assemble board meetings and facilitate planning for the fall season. Once the Florida Citrus Industry Annual Conference concludes in June, folks tend to disperse to their favorite islands, fishing holes, mountain hideaways and beaches. Some visit friends and family. Others seek isolation and a psychological recharge. For everything, there is …

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 …

Research Renders Reasons to Replant

Tacy CalliesCitrus, planting, Research

By J. Scott Angle, jangle@ufl.edu, @IFAS_VP Growing up in Polk County, Emily Worbington saw the groves disappearing. She passed more and more rooftops as she drove around Auburndale. In nearby Eagle Lake, Joe Volpe watched trees vanish, too. In fact, he tore out trees himself in his family’s century-old grove. “It broke my heart,” he says. PERSONAL PURSUITSWorbington and Volpe’s …

systems

New HLB Treatment Delivery Systems Under Study

Daniel CooperHLB Management, Research

Texas A&M AgriLife Research is launching a multi-institutional study to develop and evaluate systems that deliver treatments to HLB-affected trees. The principal investigator is Kranthi Mandadi, plant molecular biologist at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Weslaco and professor in the Texas A&M Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology. The three-year, $1.1 million project is supported by the Emergency Citrus Disease Research …

hlb

OTC Impacts on HLB in Trees and Psyllids

Daniel CooperEvents, HLB Management, Research

During the recent Florida Citrus Industry Annual Conference, Kirsten Pelz-Stelinski, director of the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Mid-Florida Research and Education Center, presented evaluations of trunk-injected antimicrobials for HLB management. She said the purpose of these antimicrobial treatments is a short-term or stop-gap approach to keep the current inventory of Florida citrus trees in the …

CRAFT

CRAFT Continues to Push New Plantings and HLB Therapies

Daniel CooperCRAFT, Events

During the recent Florida Citrus Industry Annual Conference, Steven Hall provided an update on the Citrus Research and Field Trial (CRAFT) programs. Hall is executive director of the CRAFT Foundation. CRAFT programs have been very popular among growers to incentivize new plantings and build knowledge about HLB therapies like trunk injection, the use of individual protective covers, plant growth regulators …

july

Sneak Peek: July 2025 Citrus Industry

Daniel CooperSneak Peek

A July Specialty Crop Grower magazine article explores the potential of trunk injection for fresh market citrus. While trunk injection of oxytetracycline has become a common practice in Florida citrus grown for juice, growers of fresh market varieties have expressed interest in this HLB-management tool. Therefore, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) researchers are studying trunk …