With the 2022–23 season harvest virtually completed for all varieties, the June citrus forecast for Florida had several slight changes. The Florida orange and grapefruit forecasts each climbed 1% from May, while the tangerines/tangelos forecast dropped 2%. Forecasts from the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service (USDA NASS) were unchanged for Arizona, California and Texas. FLORIDA ORANGESFlorida’s all-orange …
Know Your Purpose for Pruning
“Don’t prune if you do not know why you are pruning,” University of California Cooperative Extension’s Craig Kallsen cautioned in a June 6 webinar about pruning navel oranges. “It’s a lot of work and thus expensive.” “Generally, pruning of any kind reduces total fruit yield,” the citrus and pistachio farm advisor for Kern County stated. “The goal of pruning is …
South Africa Citrus Estimate Higher Than Last Year
The latest estimate for the South Africa citrus crop in 2023 is 165.6 million cartons. This is 800,000 more cartons than last year, The Vanguard International Group recently reported. Vanguard stated that two commodities — lemons and mandarins — have emerged over the past few years. Lemons have witnessed a significant surge in plantings. There are approximately 8,000 hectares of …
Three New Citrus Varieties Released in Brazil
Three new citrus varieties were recently released in Brazil. They are the orange Navelina XR, the early sweet orange BRS IAC FCC Alvorada and the Tahiti lemon Ponta Firme. All are the result of a research partnership among Embrapa, the Coopercitrus Credicitrus Foundation and the Sylvio Moreira Citriculture Center, linked to the Agronomic Institute. NAVELINA XRDeveloped for fresh consumption, Navelina …
Sustaining Citrus With Soil Improvement
By Frank Giles HLB has taken a toll on growers both large and small over the years. That’s been the case with third-generation grower Chuck Bellamy, who grows citrus near Inverness, Florida. His grandparents planted the first trees on the property in 1930. A few of those trees are still alive in the grove nearly 100 years later. Bellamy says …
Sting Nematode Problematic for Young Trees
The sting nematode is the most serious nematode problem in young citrus groves, nematologist Larry Duncan reported at the Florida Citrus Growers’ Institute in April. According to Duncan, long before HLB, the sting nematode was widely encountered in groves on Florida’s Central Ridge and in Polk County. The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences professor said tree …
Brite Leaf Citrus Nursery Awarded
The 2023 winners of Florida’s Agricultural-Environmental Leadership Award are Brite Leaf Citrus Nursery, Rocking K Cattle and Island Grove Wine Company. The winners were announced May 30 by Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson. Agricultural-Environmental Leadership Awards have been presented annually since 1994 and spotlight environmentally innovative growers and ranchers who share a commitment to protecting and preserving Florida’s resources …
Millennium Block and MAC Project Updates
Hurricanes Ian and Nicole in 2022 caused early fruit drop in the Indian River area, where two studies of 39,000 trees that might tolerate HLB are being conducted. Researchers now expect significant data from the studies will come after the 2023, 2024 and 2025 season harvests, but they have already gained some insights from the projects. The first experimental grove, …
Valencia on US-942 Rootstock Is Favored Florida Tree
For at least the last four years, the Valencia SPB-1-14-19 orange has been the most-produced citrus variety in Florida, and US-942 has been the favored rootstock. So, it makes sense that the Valencia SPB-1-14-19 on US-942 rootstock has been the most-produced tree combination for four years running. That information was provided at April’s Florida Citrus Growers’ Institute in Avon Park …
HLB in Florida Is a Warning to California
The damage that HLB has inflicted on Florida citrus groves and production over the past 18 years should serve as a warning for California producers, California’s Citrus Pest & Disease Prevention Program (CPDPP) stated recently. CPDPP noted that with HLB detected in thousands of California residential trees, it’s important for commercial growers to take steps to prevent the disease. According …
Repurposing Tools to Tackle HLB
By J. Scott Angle, jangle@ufl.edu, @IFAS_VP The hurricane-battered harvest numbers don’t show it, but we’re in a much better place in developing scientific solutions for managing HLB than we were a year ago. That’s because our scientists have discovered that tools invented to solve other problems can help address your one big problem. GIBBERELLIC ACIDFor example, gibberellic acid (GA) has …
May CRDF Meeting Focuses on Money Matters
The Citrus Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) board of directors attended to budgetary matters during its May meeting, as the end of the fiscal year nears. “We decided to transfer our remaining uncommitted funds from what we had budgeted for new research to the Citrus Research and Field Trial program to help growers treat mature trees with new therapies,” said …
Sneak Peek: June 2023 Citrus Industry
During a historically low period of Florida citrus production, Inverness grower Chuck Bellamy has found a way to keep fruit on his trees. In the June cover story of Citrus Industry magazine, he tells what regenerative practices have reduced fruit drop in his grove. Not only is he keeping more oranges; he has lowered his production costs in the process. …
Silicon Could Benefit Florida Citrus
There has been much focus on the benefits of applications of plant growth regulators like gibberellic acid and 2,4-D, and more recently oxytetracycline hydrochloride to improve the health of citrus trees infected with HLB. Silicon also has been highlighted for its potential benefits to citrus. Mohammad Adnan Shahid, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) assistant professor, …
Funding for Florida Department of Citrus Research
The Florida Citrus Commission (FCC) on May 17 received a summary of the latest state funding earmarked for scientific research that will be administered by the Florida Department of Citrus (FDOC). FDOC Director of Scientific Research Rosa Walsh provided the summary. She noted that the funding established by the Florida Legislature needs to be approved by Gov. Ron DeSantis. State …
Native Lime Might Keep HLB Out of Australia
A comprehensive map of the genome of an Australian native lime species that is resistant to HLB could be the key to preventing the disease from entering Australia. Researchers from The University of Queensland (UQ) in Australia have sequenced the genome of the Australian round lime, also known as the Gympie lime. They are now looking at five other native …
The Florida Citrus Industry After the 2022 Hurricanes
By Tom Spreen To proclaim that 2022 was a difficult year for the Florida citrus industry would be an understatement. In late January, a short freeze hit much of the commercial citrus-producing area with long-term implications. While its effect on the 2021–22 crop was small, it came as the 2022–23 bloom was about to begin after a warm December. It …
U.S. Citrus Demand Exceeds Supply
While the U.S. domestic supply of citrus has declined tremendously, imports have increased substantially. That, says American Farm Bureau Federation economist Daniel Munch, is a telltale sign that consumer demand for citrus in the United States is now greater than domestic production capacity. “In other words, we’ve become partially reliant on other nations for citrus products,” Munch writes in U.S. …
Funding for Existing and Transitioning Organic Producers
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced additional steps being taken to strengthen the market for domestically grown organic goods, and to support producers seeking organic certification. These funding opportunities are part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Organic Transition Initiative. The initiative is a suite of offerings to help existing organic producers and those transitioning to organic production and processing. …
Fertilizer Institute Pushes Policy Priorities
The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) recently released its 2023–2024 Public Policy Priorities for working with the Biden administration, regulatory agencies and Congress. TFI’s priorities are broken down into seven key areas: “Fertilizer is a globally traded commodity and heavily influenced by geopolitical events,” said TFI President and Chief Executive Officer Corey Rosenbusch. “Over the past two years, we have seen major …



























