By Clint Thompson How citrus canker arrived in Alabama is still in question. What is certain is it is an issue the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries is determined to contain before it becomes a major problem, says Kassie Conner, director of the Auburn University Plant Diagnostic Lab during a recent webinar on the Alabama Extension Commercial Horticulture Facebook …
On the Rise: Georgia Citrus Acreage Continues to Increase
Citrus acreage in Georgia continues to increase. While it didn’t double like it did in 2020, it still increased by 50%, says Jake Price, University of Georgia Lowndes County Extension coordinator. During a citrus growers’ summer update meeting on Aug. 25 in Lowndes County, Price said that Georgia’s citrus acreage has ballooned to 2,700 acres in 46 counties. The state …
Optimistic Outlook: Dantzler Still Confident Regarding HLB Disease
Citrus Industry Citrus Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) Chief Operating Officer Rick Dantzler told a Citrus Expo crowd why he remains optimistic regarding HLB, amid negative industry trends. Dantzler declared, “I am more optimistic than ever. It is taking longer than I thought, but we are going to eradicate HLB or make it functionally irrelevant. That’s why I took this …
Citrus Imports: USDA Revises Conditions of Fruit Coming from Australia
Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) recently expanded the production areas in Australia authorized to import fresh citrus fruit into the United States and revised the conditions under which citrus from Australia may be imported. APHIS authorized three additional areas of Australia to export citrus to the continental United States: the …
Expo’s Return Much Needed for Industry
By Clint Thompson This week’s return of the Citrus, Vegetable and Specialty Crop Expo is much needed for exhibitors like Eric Johnson. The retail market manager with FMC has attended Citrus Expos for more than 20 years. But last year was different. The show held virtually, amid the coronavirus pandemic, was not the same as the previous years when in-person …
Citrus Producer’s Young Trees Look ‘Outstanding’
In the face of production declines, pest issues and other challenges, multi-county Florida citrus grower David Wheeler of Wheeler Farms found something positive to report. “One bright spot is the health of our young trees,” he said. “They look outstanding and have been on a good program with a rotation of insecticides.” Wheeler Farms’ more mature citrus trees aren’t doing …
Career of Excellence: UF Professor Honored
LAKE ALFRED, Fla. — Fred G. Gmitter, Jr., a professor of horticulture and citrus breeder at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Citrus Research and Education Center, is a 2021 Fellow by the American Society for Horticultural Science. More than 500 members have been recognized with this honor since the first Fellows were elected in 1965. …
Sour Future: Florida Citrus Production Faces Further Decline
Source: Citrus Industry Florida orange and red grapefruit production, already at historically low levels, will likely decline for years, according to a leading citrus economist. Tom Spreen, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences professor emeritus, calculated Florida crop output through the 2031-32 season based on various yield and tree replacement assumptions. Oranges and red grapefruit are Florida’s …
Artificial Intelligence: UF Scientists Use AI to Predict Citrus Yield More Accurately
IMMOKALEE, Fla. – The implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) helps citrus growers better forecast their production. So far, they’ve found in a University of Florida preliminary study, its technology predicts yields with 98% accuracy. That’s a substantial increase from the 75% to 85% accuracy growers get when they count their trees manually, said Yiannis Ampatzidis, a UF/IFAS associate professor of …
Expo Pre-Registration Closes Aug. 12
Pre-registration for the upcoming Citrus, Vegetable and Specialty Crop Expo, scheduled for Aug. 18-19 in North Fort Myers, Florida, closes Thursday, August 12 at 11:59 a.m. The annual conference returns to an in-person event this year after last year’s virtual show amid the coronavirus pandemic. The two-day event will feature a citrus session on Wednesday, Aug. 18. Growers and industry …