Diversification is key to production remaining sustainable in the cold-hardy citrus region. It is message that industry leaders preach to producers who are looking to grow the citrus industry in North Florida, Georgia and Alabama. John Chater, assistant professor at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Citrus Research and Education Center, talked about the importance …
Oriental Fruit Fly Quarantine Expanded in California
The Oriental fruit fly (OFFor Bactrocera dorsalis) quarantine in San Bernardino and Riverside counties in California was expanded in October and November by federal and state agriculture authorities. The actions were taken on Oct. 12, Nov. 3, Nov. 9 and Nov. 17 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the California Department of …
Vincent Awarded Fellowship in Environmental Protection and Stewardship
University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) researcher Christopher Vincent was awarded an Early-Career Research Fellowship in the Environmental Protection and Stewardship track from the Gulf Research Program (GRP) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. Vincent is an associate professor of citrus tree ecophysiology in the Horticultural Sciences Department at the Citrus Research and …
Fundecitrus Repudiates Articles About Citrus Greening
Fundecitrus says it repudiates recent articles that claim productivity in Brazil’s São Paulo and Minas Gerais citrus belt will be reduced by 60% in the next five years due to citrus greening disease. Fundecitrus says Chilean and Spanish news portals published such reports on Nov. 14. According to Fundecitrus, this information is not valid, nor was it ever provided by …
Blood Oranges May Be Option for Cold-Hardy Region
Blood oranges could provide citrus growers with another variety to grow in the cold-hardy citrus region. But further research is needed to verify its effectiveness in the Southeast, says Ali Sarkhosh, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) associate professor. “We harvested those fruit in Quincy at the North Florida Research and Education Center. We still don’t …
Climate Change Impacts Mediterranean Citrus
Turkey’s citrus industry has already experienced effects from climate change, Okan Ozkaya, professor at Cukurova University, reported in a recent World Citrus Organisation (WCO) presentation. His presentation was titled Impact of Climate Change in the Citrus Sector in Turkey and the Broader Eastern Mediterranean Area. “Climate change has been a scenario for many years, but we started to see the …
Congressmen Urge USDA to Buy California Navels
Four California congressmen recently asked U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack to have the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) buy $100 million worth of California navels. The orange purchase would help alleviate the impacts of storms. The letter from Congressmen Jim Costa, David Valadao, Doug LaMalfa and Josh Harder follows: We write in support of the Section 32 request submitted …
Brazilians Discuss How to Avoid Florida’s Fate With Greening
Brazil’s government, institutions and citrus growers need to join efforts to overcome greening “so that Brazil does not go through the same situation as Florida,” a São Paulo agriculture official declared Nov. 7. Orlando Melo de Castro, undersecretary of agriculture, made those remarks to about 500 people at an international citrus symposium in Araraquara, São Paulo. “To this end, we …
All In For Citrus Podcast, November 2023
Michael Rogers, the director of the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Citrus Research and Education Center, and some of his colleagues recently attended the Asian Citrus Congress in India. During the November All In For Citrus podcast, Rogers discusses what was learned and observed on the trip. While many of India’s citrus groves are small-scale …
Economist Provides Brazilian Citrus Update
Agriculture is the driving force in the Brazilian economy, and Brazil is a leading food supplier to the global market, economist Marisa Zansler told the Florida Citrus Commission (FCC) at its last meeting. Zansler is director of economic and market research at the Florida Department of Citrus (FDOC). She visited Brazil in August and provided the FCC with an update …
New Knowledge on Lebbeck Mealybug Can Aid Control
Lebbeck mealybug populations are not tied to flush production, entomologist Lauren Diepenbrock reported recently. The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) assistant professor also noted: Diepenbrock sampled lebbeck mealybug populations in commercial citrus groves in Central Florida. Analysis of the seasonal trapping data provided easily observable trends. Based on these trends, she offers the following initial …
Measuring California’s Citrus Environmental Benefits and Impacts
Major retailers have been asking questions about the citrus industry’s sustainability efforts. In response, a California citrus industry life cycle analysis project will quantify the net environmental benefits and impacts of citrus production in a typical year. The information will be gathered from a survey developed by researchers at the University of California, Davis (UC Davis), with support from the …
Millennium Block Drive-Thru Highlights
Florida citrus growers and researchers arrived from Davie, Bartow, Lakeland, Plant City, Fellsmere and Gainesville to view more than 5,500 trees of several new citrus varieties. Some of the trees are showing initial tolerance to citrus greening. The occasion was the Millennium Block Drive-Thru at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Indian River Research and …
Follow Flower Bud Induction Advisories
By Tripti Vashisth Florida flower bud induction advisories for the upcoming season start on Nov. 15. These advisories will be published biweekly until March 30, 2024. The goals of flower bud advisories are to inform growers about the status of the tree in respect to floral bud induction and to predict bloom. This is critical information since the horticultural practices …
Season’s Expectations for Cold-Hardy Citrus
High quality and low quantity are in store for this year’s cold-hardy citrus crop in eastern Alabama, southern Georgia and the Florida Panhandle. Too many natural disasters negated the volume of this year’s crop load, according to Lindy Savelle, president of the Georgia Citrus Association and member of the Georgia Citrus Commission. “We had a freeze, and then we had …
More Details on the Plant Transformation Center
The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) provided more information about a planned Plant Transformation Center. Foremost among goals for the center is finding citrus varieties that can tolerate or resist HLB disease. UF/IFAS will utilize $2 million from an initiative by UF President Ben Sasse to create the Plant Transformation Center. The center’s objectives include: …
MRL Compliance Crucial for Citrus Exporters
Maximum residue limits (MRLs) are a constant concern for growers. MRL issues can create a variety of obstacles depending on which market citrus exports are destined for. While the industry generally complies well with MRLs, caution is crucial as they can be a significant hurdle. Jim Cranney, president of the California Citrus Quality Council, said certain markets can be more …
Insights on India’s Citrus Industry
Fundecitrus researcher Franklin Behlau lectured about canker and HLB and participated in other ways at the recent Asian Citrus Congress in Nagpur, India. His lecture addressed the advancement of HLB (also known as greening) in the Brazilian citrus belt and the work carried out by Fundecitrus in combating HLB and canker. Behlau also moderated a technical session and participated in …
UGA to Hire Citrus Researchers Next Year
Georgia citrus growers will soon have research support from the University of Georgia (UGA), says Lindy Savelle, president of the Georgia Citrus Association and member of the Georgia Citrus Commission. She confirmed the news at the recent Cold Hardy Citrus Field Day at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) North Florida Research and Education Center …
California Fruit Fly Quarantines Expanded
Federal and California agriculture officials have expanded the Tau fruit fly quarantine in Los Angeles County and the Oriental fruit fly (OFF) quarantine in San Bernadino and Riverside counties. The actions were taken by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA). TAU FRUIT FLYThe agencies expanded …





























