Citrus under protective screen (CUPS) offers benefits that go beyond its initial purpose of Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) exclusion.
Steven Callaham of Dundee Citrus Growers Association discussed the advantages and sustainability of this form of citrus production.
Rapid tree growth is a major benefit, according to Callaham.
“It has been documented that trees inside of CUPS grow about 2.5 times faster than trees planted in a conventional outdoor setting. You can get into commercial production and commercial quantities of fruit a lot faster than you would growing in a traditional manner,” Callaham said. “You have more boxes per acre than traditional outside groves and better quality fruit, which leads to higher packouts and higher usage for the fresh market.”
Growing more with less is an additional advantage.
“We’re using less land, less water and less fertilizer to produce each piece of fruit,” explained Callaham. “CUPS has a great environmental story to go along with that high quality fruit we’re producing.”
CUPS was established to protect trees from the ACP, the insect vector of citrus greening disease. University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences research has provided hope for Florida growers under attack from this relentless disease. The main challenge with CUPS, however, is the financial component of establishing the system. It can be quite costly to implement.
“The barrier to entry is it’s fairly capital intensive to get into to build the structures, and I think that has limited the speed of growth,” said Callaham. “It is garnering a lot of interest right now in the industry. There is some expansion going on right now, but it’s not going to replace the acres that the industry has lost, by far. But the benefits we are seeing from growing under CUPS are going to have a place within our company for many years to come. We feel good about it.”
By Clint Thompson
