“Citrus trees are a critical piece of the state’s agricultural landscape from backyard trees beloved by homeowners to the rolling acres of beautiful and fragrant commercial citrus trees,” so states the 2017/18 annual report just released by the California Department of Agriculture. The report will be distributed to targeted audiences throughout the state. Highlights of [...]
During a routine inspection in New Zealand, spotted winged drosophila (SWD) was detected in one out of 600 Navel orange samples. Citrus is not a known host for the SWD. Because of this detection, New Zealand’s Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) has instructed USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to stop writing phystosanitary [...]
Last week, CCM hosted a lunchtime briefing at the Capitol for legislative staff on the status of HLB in California and the industry’s continued efforts to prevent the disease from spreading into commercial groves. The briefing included a panel discussion with CCM Director of Government Affairs Alyssa Houtby, CPDPP Interim Director Victoria Hornbaker, and Dr. [...]
Thanks to a generous grant from Bayer CropScience and a Specialty Crop Block Grant from CDFA, the Citrus Mutual tree removal program has sufficient funding to remove neglected, abandoned, or back yard trees thereby removing potential HLB reservoirs in critical areas. Coordinating the program continues to be Joel Medina Reyes in the CCM office. “We’re [...]
How close you ask? The facility passed a final pre-certification test last week and now the California Citrus Research Foundation (CCRF) awaits confirmation from USDA as to when they will visit, inspect, and ultimately communicate the lab is open for business. A vision started by the University of California Riverside was given life when the [...]
In response to the ACP detection in Sacramento County, NST worked with CDFA and the Sacramento County Agricultural Commissioner’s office to notify local media about the detection, and encourage cooperation and inspection by residents. As a result of this outreach, 34 stories were published or broadcasted across four days in the greater Sacramento region and garnered [...]
UC Ag Experts have put together a series of 1-hour webinars, designed for growers and Pest Control Advisors, which will highlight various pest management and horticultural topics for citrus and avocados. During each session, a UC Expert on the subject will make a presentation and entertain write-in questions via chat during and/or after the presentation. As [...]
The California Citrus Quality Council (CCQC) is contacting the industry with information on how to comply with the Korea and China export protocols. Increased rainfall has triggered the need for a second copper application for Korea (Septoria spot) and China (Phytophthora) in all counties with the exception of Kern, Imperial, and eastern and western Riverside / San [...]
At the January meeting of the Citrus Pest and Disease Prevention Program (CPDPP), the Committee moved forward a plan to develop recommended voluntary actions for growers should HLB be discovered in or near a commercial citrus grove. Under existing law, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) is authorized to take certain actions in [...]
The industry advisory committee on ACP/HLB activities held its initial meeting for 2019 in Exeter this past Wednesday; the highlights follow: Grower assessments collected 17/18 = $15,097,461 Tamarixia releases = 3,939,314 in 2018 & over 12.6 million since 2011 Tamarixia production costs = 27 cents per insect 2018 ACP grove sampling = 23,959 collected ACP [...]