Florida’s citrus forecast for the 2020-21 season continues to improve but lags behind the previous season. According to the National Agricultural Statistics Service, Florida’s all orange forecast was at 52.7 million boxes 2.37 million tons. This is an improvement of 2% from the previous forecast but still a decrease of 22% from last year’s final utilization. Florida’s early, midseason and …
Rubio, Scott Urge Reimplementation of Prohibition on Chinese Citrus Imports
Florida’s two U.S. Senators implored U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack this week to re-implement a prohibition on the importation of five varieties of citrus fruits from China. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Rick Scott (R-FL) sent a letter to Vilsack this week in an effort to protect Florida’s citrus growers. The lletter focused on potentially exposing the state’s …
New Tool in the Toolbox for Citrus Growers?
APOPKA, Fla. — Florida citrus producers need all the help they can get in combating the citrus greening disease. What about a tool that could aid trees already suffering from the disease? University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences may have a new in the citrus toolbox. Researchers found that injecting a benign Xylella fastidiosa EB92-1 bacteria biocontrol …
Minimum Changes: USDA Updates Citrus Crop Forecast
Reductions in the projected Florida grapefruit and tangerine/tangelo crops were the only changes in the May 12 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) citrus crop forecast. USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) reduced Florida’s grapefruit crop projection by 2%, to 4.2 million boxes, down from 4.3 million boxes in April. The total 100,000-box reduction was in red grapefruit, which dipped to …
Beneficial Insects Another Tool in Toolbox for Citrus Producers
By Clint Thompson Beneficial insects could be a citrus producer’s best friend. In a time when farmers are applying insecticides to control Asian citrus psyllids, the vector of citrus greening disease, it’s important to preserve the psyllid’s natural enemies, like lady beetles and lacewings. Jawwad Qureshi, University of Florida Assistant Professor in Entomology, implores growers to scout their groves periodically …
Delay in Process: Citrus Trees Taking Longer to Get to Producers
By Clint Thompson Citrus acreage is expanding across South Georgia and North Florida. But those interested in planting future acres will have to wait, likely, years before they receive their plants, says Jake Price, University of Georgia Lowndes County Extension Coordinator. “If you’re wanting a tree now, it’s probably going to be 2023, probably. If you had ordered it six …
How to Stay HLB Free in North Florida, South Georgia Citrus
Temperatures are increasing across Florida. Unfortunately, so is the risk for citrus greening disease. While the southern and central portions of the state remain vulnerable to Huanglongbing (HLB) or citrus greening, and Asian citrus psyllids (ACP) – the vectors that cause the most economically damaging citrus disease in the world – growers in North Florida and South Georgia are still …
Citrus Interest Growing in North Florida, South Georgia
Interest in citrus continues to spike in North Florida and South Georgia. Georgia acres have doubled over the past year. North Florida has increased by another 300 to 400 this spring, says farmer Kim Jones, who owns a citrus packing facility in Monticello, Florida. “We’re seeing a whole lot of acres being planted. It’s hard to get trees. We’ve had …
Impact: UF Study Focuses on How Soil Health Impacts Citrus, Other Tree Crops
How can changes in soil health impact citrus and other sub-tropical tree crops? That’s a question UF/IFAS researchers hope to answer in a four-year, $500,000 project funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Specifically, they will examine how quickly soil health can change in Florida’s sub-tropical sandy soils and how changes in the soil’s …
Ripening Industry: Georgia Citrus Continues to Grow
One Georgia farmer sees citrus as an emerging industry in Georgia with huge potential. Justin Corbett even compares it to another popular crop that’s dominated the state’s fruit landscape. “I think it has the potential to be a big industry. I compare it to blueberries 10 or 15 years ago, I just hope we don’t follow the same path they …