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19 Jul 2021
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Citrus industry rolls out recovery plan

The citrus industry is rolling out a recovery plan to continue exports.

In a statement, Justin Chadwick, CEO of the The Citrus Grower Association of Southern Africa (CGA), said that while the citrus value chain has been impacted by the closure of the Durban port, the industry has and will continue to ensure that citrus is exported to key markets.

Growers in the northern provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga have been diverting their fruit to other ports across the country, with citrus from other regions continuing to be exported from Cape Town and Coega ports.

“Last week saw little impact on volumes of citrus being exported to markets including the European Union, Middle East, China and the United States.

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01 Jul 2021
Olifants River
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Cold in the Cape boosts citrus colour development

In the Western Cape where citrus producers are packing late navels, soft citrus like Fairchild and Valley Gold, with a bit of lemons, harvesting has ceased as the southwestern part of the province experiences a winter as it’s supposed to be: icy and very wet.

Citrusdal has recorded 35mm over the past 24 hours, while it has been raining more or less continuously since the end of last week (right: Citrusdal orchard after recent rains).

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29 Jun 2021
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Citrus exports to Philippines may reach R205 million

The new Philippine market potentially offers the opportunity for South African producers to export 20 000 tons of citrus fruit a year. After twelve years of negotiations between South Africa and Philippines the landmark export plan was at the end of last year. The South African citrus industry is expected to grow with approximately 500 000 tons over the next few years. Thus, expanding to new markets is of upmost importance to ensure that an oversupply does not occur in existing markets. The area used for soft citrus production is expected to grow with approximately 29 %, of which 42 % of the growth is expected to be mandarins.

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25 May 2021
Ruby Grapefruit
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South African grapefruit growers flatten the curve through an early start

Citrus growers in areas like Letsitele, Hoedspruit and Onderberg have decided to pick their grapefruit earlier in order to benefit from an empty market. Despite this decision, the grapefruit still conform to market requirements. This has allowed South Africa to be the sole grapefruit supplier on the market for about six months.

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25 May 2021
HLB
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CRISPR/Cas technology could enable early diagnosis of devastating citrus disease

Scientists from Penn State and the U.S. Department of Agriculture have developed a diagnostic test that enables early detection of Huanglongbing (HLB) by detecting the presence of the bacterium that causes the disease, i.e. Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas). Early detection of CLas is vital in controlling the spread of HLB because trees that have been infected by CLas can serve as a disease reservoir for years before symptoms are visible.

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28 Apr 2021
Trapping 2021
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Trapping for Asian Citrus Psyllid in Southern Africa: Feb / Mar 2021

The article describes how the presence of the Asian Citrus Psyllid (ACP), Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Liviidae), in parts of Africa, most recently trapped in southwestern Tanzania and Kenya, is increasing the risk to citriculture in Southern Africa. ACP is an effective vector of Huanglongbing (HLB), which is a destructive citrus greening disease and is associated with the gram negative α-Proteobacteria Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (Las).

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28 Apr 2021
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New pigmented orange varieties allow for year-round red orange promotions

BioGold North America, a citrus variety development company, is now licensing growers to plant two new red orange varieties in California. BioGold North America is a part of the BioGold International family of companies, which has footprints in Australia, Spain, the Mediterranean Basin, South Africa, South America and the United States.

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25 Mar 2021
Vanity Citrus
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Bayer to launch Vanity Citrus, its new biological product to control citrus farm pests

Bayer will introduce Vanity Citrus®, its latest biological and pheromone-based crop protection product to control pests on citrus farms during the International Symposium on Horticulture in Europe – SHE2021, March 8-11. Bayer is a main sponsor of the event, which invites scientists and industry leaders to discuss the latest achievements and developments in horticulture. Bob Reiter, Head of Research and Development for Bayer Crop Science is a SHE2021 featured speaker. He will discuss the company’s R&D strategy for fruits and vegetables.

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