LAKE ALFRED, Fla. — University of Florida (UF) Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) researchers want to answer questions citrus growers may have to produce a crop successfully and safely amid citrus greening disease.
Citrus farmers can get those questions answered during a UF/IFAS Citrus Research and Education Center (CREC) open house and field day on Tuesday, Nov 16.
All UF/IFAS CREC faculty will be sharing current findings and recommendations in 20 interactive displays. A panel will start the day with a discussion on what it takes to produce healthy citrus trees in Florida.
Hands-on exhibits will feature the latest research findings to help growers keep their diseased trees productive, increase yield, fight fruit drop, manage a number of diseases, including HLB and provide the right nutrition and irrigation to keep their citrus trees healthy. On-farm safety demonstrations, a fruit display, and new information about juice flavor research will also be featured.
Field Tours
The afternoon will feature field tours of a new ‘Jackson’ grapefruit trial of HLB-tolerant trees on six different rootstocks with high-density spacing that monitors insect and mite management and uses two sizes of individual protective covers (IPC).
Another field tour will feature an integrated project looking at reflective mulch, kaolin clay, IPCs and their impact on nutrition, irrigation, plant pathology and overall tree growth.
The CREC Processing Pilot Plant which contains most of the equipment necessary to perform studies related to citrus, beverage and by-products processing will also be open for tours. Visitors will be able to see the operations of fruit washing and sizing, state test extraction, juice extraction and finishing, centrifugation, evaporation, pasteurization and filtration. Research capabilities are available to support the studies of the scientists and for cooperative industry projects.
The open house event will start at 8:30 a.m. and conclude 2:00 p.m. Lunch is provided. The event is free, but preregistration is required to ensure an accurate food count. To register visit: https://crecfieldday21.eventbrite.com.  Please reply by Nov. 11. For more information, please contact Jamie Burrow at jdyates@ufl.edu or the UF/IFAS CREC at (863) 956-1151.