graft

Some Scions Incompatible With US-1283 Rootstock

Daniel CooperIndustry News Release, Rootstocks

By Kim D. Bowman and Ute Albrecht The US-1283 rootstock was released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 2014, based on field performance with Hamlin 1-4-1 sweet orange in trials at two different locations in Florida severely affected by huanglongbing disease. One of these trials was in St. Lucie County and of 14 years duration, while the second …

Citrus Leprosis Poses a Threat to Florida

Tacy CalliesDiseases

By Amit Levy, Ozgur Batuman, Peggy Sieburth and Lauren Diepenbrock Citrus leprosis is an exotic viral disease not currently present in Florida. This disease is of interest since it was reported in citrus in Florida and Brazil in the early 1900s, where it caused great crop and tree losses, but it was eliminated from Florida in the early 1960s. Currently, …

Georgia Citrus Association to Host Annual Conference

Tacy CalliesGeorgia

By Clint Thompson Georgia growers interested in adding citrus to their farming operation are invited to the fourth annual Georgia Citrus Association Conference on Monday, Feb. 24, at the University of Georgia (UGA) Tifton Campus Conference Center. Scientists from UGA and the University of Florida, as well as producers who are already growing citrus trees, will be in attendance to …

CUPS: Managing Small Fruit Size

Ernie NeffCUPS

Fresh fruit has generally grown well in a citrus under protective screen (CUPS) facility at the Citrus Research and Education Center, but there has been an issue with small fruit size. Laura Waldo, a senior biological scientist who works with lead CUPS researcher Arnold Schumann, discusses the problem and likely solutions.  Waldo says causes of the smaller fruit size have …

New Varieties and Juice Blends Discussed

Ernie NeffVarieties

Growers recently sampled and graded new fruit varieties, as well as some juice blends, at University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) fruit display events. UF/IFAS plant breeder Jude Grosser commented on the fruit varieties and juice following a sampling event at the Citrus Research and Education Center. “It’s kind of neat because when we first started …

Niche Market and Dooryard Citrus for the HLB World

Tacy CalliesVarieties

By Jude Grosser, Manjul Dutt and Fred Gmitter The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) citrus improvement team at the Citrus Research and Education Center (CREC) has developed a broad citrus germplasm base. This provides opportunities to generate diverse, interesting and possibly lucrative selections with niche market and dooryard potential. Several such selections are showing reasonable …

Fresh Fruit Is ‘All About the Box’

Ernie NeffFresh

Polk County grower Ed Dickinson has good things to say about some orange-mandarin juice and fresh mandarins he sampled at the Citrus Research and Education Center (CREC) in November. Dickinson was one of dozens who tried new University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) samples. He and others who scored the juice and fruit will help researchers …

CUPS Featured at Field Day

Ernie NeffCUPS

Growers already producing fresh citrus under protective screen (CUPS) were among approximately 30 attendees at a CUPS field day Dec. 12 at the Citrus Research and Education Center in Lake Alfred, Florida. Lead CUPS scientist Arnold Schumann with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences and other researchers described activities in the screened-in facility. Attendees saw much …

Sneak Peek: December 2019 Citrus Industry Magazine

Tacy CalliesSneak Peek

As the year races to a finish, growers will want to make sure they are up to date on the “food-safety marathon” described in the December issue of Citrus Industry magazine. The University of Florida’s (UF) Travis Chapin, Matt Krug and Michelle Danyluk discuss what growers need to know about the implementation of the Produce Safety Rule. Topics addressed include …

georgia citrus

Georgia Introduces New Satsuma Brand

Daniel CooperCitrus, Georgia, Industry News Release

(GDA) — Just in time for the holidays, shoppers can now add the Georgia citrus brand, Besties™ to their grocery lists. This month more than 1 million pounds of Georgia Grown satsuma mandarin oranges are going to market in major retailers, including Publix, Kroger, Walmart and Whole Foods. “Georgia has a great history of branding agricultural commodities into household names,” …

citrus

Sample the Latest Citrus From UF/IFAS

Daniel CooperIndustry News Release

(UF/IFAS) — As citrus growers, packers, processors, gift-fruit shippers and others taste, feel and smell the latest varieties from the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS), they hope their taste buds explode with flavor and that a fresh aroma fills the room at the Citrus Research and Education Center (CREC). These participants will get two more …

citrus

All In For Citrus Podcast, October 2019

Taylor HillmanAll In For Citrus Podcast

October’s All In For Citrus podcast includes something new — a California guest! First, events providing growers with starter nutrition sampling kits went so well this month that an extra event has been added for next month, reports Citrus Research and Education Center (CREC) Director Michael Rogers. Another well-attended event that he discusses was the CREC Plant Improvement Team’s first …

Putting Fresh Fruit to the Test

Tacy CalliesFresh, fruit

Quality and shelf life were evaluated for new fresh mandarin and sweet orange selections. By Mark A. Ritenour, Cuifeng Hu, Yu Wang and Fernando Alferez New fresh citrus fruit selections continue to be developed and released by the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In addition, promising new varieties are …

grapefruit

Grapefruit and Marathon Discussed

Ernie NeffAll In For Citrus Podcast, Grapefruit

University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) plant breeder Fred Gmitter discusses efforts to create a replacement for grapefruit. He also talks about the recently released mandarin variety, Marathon. Gmitter points out that grapefruit is “one of the most sensitive of all the citrus varieties” to HLB dusease and has “taken the greatest hit” in terms of …

Sneak Peek: October 2019 Citrus Industry Magazine

Tacy CalliesCitrus, Sneak Peek

The October issue of Citrus Industry magazine features two tools growers can use against Asian citrus psyllids (ACP). There’s still no silver bullet for HLB, the disease ACP carries to citrus trees. However, particle films and individual protective covers (IPCs) are showing positive results in slowing down ACP and HLB disease infection. University of Florida (UF) citrus physiologist Christopher Vincent …

june

All In For Citrus Podcast, September 2019

Taylor HillmanAll In For Citrus Podcast

September’s All In for Citrus Podcast includes some exciting updates from University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) researchers. First, Michael Rogers, director of the UF/IFAS Citrus Research and Education Center (CREC), discusses several topics. Included are the new Florida Citrus Production Guide, tree planting decisions, fruit displays and the planned hiring of a new horticulturist at …

Sugar Belle® Shows Potential in Orange Juice Processing

Tacy CalliesResearch

By Yu Wang, Charles Sims, Zhifeng Gao, Lisa House, Frederick Gmitter and Jude Grosser The citrus industry has faced significant declines in both production and consumption during the huanglongbing (HLB) era. For example, Florida orange production has dropped about 70 percent over the last two decades. In the absence of effective interventions, the spread of HLB will continue to reduce the …

citrus crop forecast

USDA Citrus Fruits 2019 Summary

Daniel CooperIndustry News Release, Production

Florida’s 2018–2019 orange production is up 59 percent from the previous season. Citrus utilized production for the 2018–19 season totaled 7.94 million tons, up 31 percent from the 2017–18 season. California accounted for 51 percent of total U.S. citrus production; Florida totaled 44 percent, and Texas and Arizona produced the remaining 5 percent. Florida’s orange production, at 71.8 million boxes, …

mandarin

Fast Track Has Winners and Losers

Ernie NeffVarieties

At a recent meeting to discuss the release of the Marathon mandarin in the Fast Track citrus evaluation program, the program manager said Fast Track selections have had varying fortunes. “The purpose of this program is to take things that look promising and then get them out into the hands of nurseries and growers as fast as possible,” says Peter …