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 …
Plummeting Prices: Central Florida Groves not as Valuable as Used to be
Central Florida grove land sold for about 30% less per net tree acre in 2020 than the year before, according to a firm that sells Florida land. Brian Beasley, senior advisor at SVN Saunders Ralston Dantzler in Lakeland, reported the sales in the firm’s Lay of the Land 2020 Market Report. “We assume most of this decrease (in prices) is …
Technological Advancements Helpful in Preserving Florida’s Water Supply
By Clint Thompson Water is one of the most valuable resources Florida vegetable and specialty crop producers utilize every season. But that doesn’t mean there’s an endless supply. “I think it is easy for us to forget it is a finite resource and there are limits. It’s easy for us to forget because we just got five inches of rain …
UF Scientist: Understanding the Past is Really a Window to the Future
LAKE ALFRED, Fla. — University of Florida scientists aiming to find a solution to citrus greening disease are looking to the past to hopefully find the answer. In a new study, published in Nature Communications, UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences collaborated with an international team of scientists and analyzed 69 genomes from the East Asian mandarin family, alongside their …
Sticker Ban: French Legislation Threatens Millions of Dollars to Produce Exports
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service, a new French ban on the sales of fruit and vegetables with identifying stickers could threaten future exports of U.S. sweet potatoes and grapefruits. The ban is slated to be implemented on Jan. 1, 2022. The report states that most U.S. grapefruits and some sweet potatoes shipped overseas have stickers …
Citrus Canker Detected: Disease Confirmed in Alabama
Citrus canker has been detected in Alabama. Plant health officials have confirmed the plant disease in a residential area of Baldwin County, Alabama, which is bordered by the Gulf of Mexico and state of Florida. This is the first detection of citrus canker in Alabama. It can affect all citrus species. Though the disease is harmless to humans, it can …