As a member of a grower panel at the recent Florida Citrus Show in Fort Pierce, nurseryman Nate Jameson shared his thoughts on coping with HLB, choosing trees for replanting and more. The owner of Brite Leaf Citrus Nursery summarizes his presentation, starting with questions growers have for nurserymen. “I think the number-one question that we get is, ‘What tree …
Citrus Replanting and Fresh Fruit Taste Concern Grower
Lake Wales fresh citrus grower Marshall Hartley tells why many growers hesitate to move forward with citrus replanting. He also discusses declining fresh fruit taste. “I don’t think that we’ve got the perfect tree yet, and everybody’s kind of wondering, where am I going to spend my last dollar?” Hartley says. “Do I need to not plant a tree for …
From Planning to Planting: Establishing New Groves in the Presence of HLB
By Ute Albrecht Despite the constant threat of huanglongbing (HLB), most growers remain optimistic and are replanting citrus trees to maintain production levels necessary for sustaining the industry. The tax incentive bill under the Emergency Citrus Disease Response Act introduced in December 2015, if implemented, will help growers get back expenses associated with replanting of diseased trees immediately, instead of …
Citrus Replanting Incentives in Face of HLB
More than 50 attended a November 1 workshop in Lakeland to learn about incentives to induce citrus tree replanting. Replanting is needed to replace trees lost to HLB and other problems. Kayla Nickerson of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) talks about a relatively new incentive – her agency’s Citrus Grove Renovation/Re-establishment Support Program. Nickerson says, “We’re …
Planting New Groves in the Face of HLB
Planting new groves in the face of HLB has become a daunting task for Florida growers. At the recent Citrus Expo, University of Florida researcher Ute Albrecht offered suggestions for those taking on the challenge. “Among the important things to consider when planting new groves are the site preparation, the planting of the trees, weed management, irrigation and nutrition, and …
Senator Rubio: ‘If We Don’t Have Replanting, We’re Going to Lose the Industry’
On July 21, 2016, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) visited the Lakeland area to tour a citrus grove affected by citrus greening. Sen. Rubio was joined by Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam. They visited Gapway Groves in Auburndale to meet growers and industry leaders to discuss the grave problem facing Florida’s citrus industry. Rubio and U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) …
Florida Citrus Show: A Day of Education and Enjoyment
The Florida Citrus Show marked another successful event in March in Fort Pierce. The show provided attendees with a fun, informative day to learn about citrus and specialty crops while engaging with exhibitors during the tailgate-style trade show. CRAFT UPDATE Citrus Research and Field Trial (CRAFT) programs have been very popular with growers and have incentivized new citrus plantings across …
CITRUS NURSERY SOURCE: Thought About Brixy?
By Peter Chaires Nurseries and growers are continuously searching for suitable substitutes for Hamlin sweet orange to supply the early/mid-season orange juice market. Besides traditional sweet oranges, many new hybrids are in various stages of development. Some of these are likely to rise to the level of commercial viability in the orange-like category. Growers wanting to trial an orange-like hybrid …
Growers Putting CRISPR Trees Into the Ground
More than 300,000 CRISPR-edited citrus trees are being planted this year that have shown great potential against citrus greening disease in test groves. CRISPR, which stands for clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats, is a gene-editing technology to help citrus growers produce a crop amid the disease. The Florida citrus industry is eager to see how these trees will respond …
Complex Responses to IPCs in Mandarin Trees
Recent research showed that individual protective covers (IPCs) proved highly effective in reducing Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) populations and thereby preventing HLB infection in three mandarin cultivars. However, overall tree response varied. The research was published in the Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science. The authors are Saoussen Ben-Abdallah, Susmita Gaire, Ute Albrecht, Ozgur Batuman, Jawwad Qureshi and …
Sneak Peek: April 2026 Citrus Industry
The Citrus Industry section of the April 2026 issue of Specialty Crop Grower highlights ongoing efforts to strengthen Florida’s citrus sector amid challenges. Articles this month showcase education, nutrient management and variety development. A recap of the Florida Citrus Show details a successful March event in Fort Pierce that combined education with a lively tailgate-style trade show. Growers Daniel Hunt, …
Postfreeze Citrus Recovery Strategies
By Muhammad A. Shahid, KeAndre Leaks, Davie Kadyampakeni and Carlos Aucique-Perez Postfreeze citrus tree management requires patience and careful observation rather than immediate intervention. Damage to the vascular system (cambium, xylem and phloem) may take months to fully appear. Trees can initially flush in spring but later decline if internal tissues are too compromised. A reliable assessment of survival should …
Summary of 2025 Florida Citrus Land Transactions
According to Saunders Land’s annual Lay of the Land Market Report, there were 79 Florida citrus land transactions in 2025 totaling 20,352 acres. Pricing ranged from $3,936 to $56,003 per acre. The average price per acre was $13,788. Sales ranged in size from 9.81 acres to 4,633.47 acres. Notable large transactions included a 4,633.47-acre sale in Charlotte County for $41.9 …
Florida Citrus Commission Acts on Industry Requests
The Florida Citrus Commission (FCC) on March 18 responded affirmatively to citrus industry requests for increased marketing allocations for domestic fresh citrus and for limited promotions in some export markets. The FCC is the governing board for the Florida Department of Citrus (FDOC). DOMESTIC FRESH CITRUS The FDOC reported that a request from Florida Citrus Mutual for allocating more of …
Stay Ahead of the Spring Weed Flush
By Ramdas Kanissery Spring is here and so are the weeds in citrus groves. Warmer temperatures and increasing soil moisture create ideal conditions for weeds. Growers often notice a rapid spring flush of weeds emerging in the tree rows and in the row middles during this time (Figure 1). If not managed early, these weeds can compete with citrus trees …
Cover Crops, Ecological Mowing Benefit Citrus
Brazil’s Fundecitrus reported on the benefits to citrus from the use of perennial cover crops such as Urochloa ruziziensis combined with the adoption of ecological mowing. This technology has been gaining space in groves by redistributing the phytomass of cover crops from the interrows to the planting rows, forming a protective mulching layer over the soil. Benefits of the management …
South African Grapefruit, Mandarin and Lemon Forecasts
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA FAS) recently issued its 2025–26 forecasts for South African grapefruit, tangerines/mandarins and lemons. GRAPEFRUIT South African grapefruit production is forecast to increase by 1% to 430,000 metric tons (MT). The area planted with grapefruit is 8,150 hectares. This production area declined from 2020–21 to 2022–23 and appears to have stabilized since …
Australian Citrus Continues to Climb
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA FAS) has forecast year-over-year production increases for Australian oranges, orange juice and mandarins in 2025–26. ORANGES Orange production in Australia is projected to reach 590,000 metric tons (MT) in 2025–26, up from 580,000 MT the prior year. Of the total forecast, 365,000 MT is expected to come from navel varieties and …
Sweet Orange Scab Quarantines Expand in California
Agriculture officials have expanded the areas quarantined for sweet orange scab (SOS) in the Los Angeles and Villa Park areas of Los Angeles and Orange counties 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) expanded the quarantine. SOS is a disease caused by …
Costa Rican Orange Production Forecast
After an 11% fall in Costa Rican orange production in 2024–25, production is forecast to increase 10% in 2025–26 to 220,000 metric tons (MT). This projection is from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA FAS). PRODUCERS AND PROCESSORS Two companies, TicoFrut and Del Oro, control most of the production and practically all processing of oranges in Costa …





























