info@1stfruits.co.za
Join us
Find us
Follow Us
Firstfruits

News

27 Mar 2020
Trained dogs - Citrus Greening
0 Comments By Firstfruits Consulting Website News

Trained dogs are the most efficient way to hunt citrus industry’s biggest threat

Dogs specially trained by Agriculture Research Service (ARS) scientists have proven to be the most efficient way to detect huanglongbing—also known as citrus greening—according to a paper just published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Currently, the only solid hope of curtailing the spread of citrus greening is to eliminate trees with the disease as quickly as possible to prevent further spread. Early detection of the citrus greening pathogen is crucial because trees can be infected and act as a source to spread the disease months or years before showing symptoms that are detectable by the naked eye.

READ MORE

27 Feb 2020
Young Citrus Grove
0 Comments By Firstfruits Consulting Website News , ,

The Pursuit Grows to Build Organic Matter in Citrus

Florida citrus growers have always understood the importance of soil health and the positive influence of microbial activity and diversity in production. As citrus greening (also known as HLB) has spread, reducing production by more than 70%, interest in how these tiny organisms can improve root health is increasing. Research showing the disease, which is spread by the Asian citrus psyllid, can reduce citrus fibrous-root density by 30% to 50% before symptoms become visible above ground only intensifies the interest to learn more.

READ MORE

27 Nov 2019
Endulini Fruit
0 Comments By Firstfruits Consulting Website News , ,

Endulini Fruit introduces biological pest control in citrus

Consumers, and consequently supermarkets, demand products free of pesticide residues and with much of the citrus produced by Endulini Fruit being exported to Europe, the European Union Directive 2009/128/EC, which aims to reduce the risks and impact of pesticides on human health and the environment, has led to the popular citrus producer using softer pesticides and introducing biological pest control.

READ MORE

27 Nov 2019
Citrus leaf miner
0 Comments By Firstfruits Consulting Website News , , ,

Classical Biological Control of the Citrus Leafminer in Florida

The citrus leaf miner (CLM), Phyllocnistis citrella Stainton, a gracillariid moth, has established and spread rapidly throughout the citrus-growing areas of Florida. Ultimately, a variety of pest management tactics will have to be employed to manage the CLM, including cultural, chemical and biological controls. Relying solely on chemical control is expensive and unlikely to be feasible for very long because this pest can develop resistance to pesticides. Biological control by parasites already present in Florida may provide some control (J. Pena, UF-IFAS, Homestead and P. Stansly, UF-IFAS, Immokalee, personal communications). However, it seems unlikely that the generalist parasites already present in Florida will provide adequate control of the CLM.

READ MORE

31 Oct 2019
Cover Crops
0 Comments By Firstfruits Consulting Website News ,

Citrus Grower Sees Success with Cover Crops

Ed James has citrus in his veins. He has been working and thriving in the citrus business since he was a teenager — from hoeing orange trees to owning a caretaking business that serviced thousands of acres. That is, until about eight years ago.

In 2010, James looked around his personal 45-acre citrus grove and realized it was time to throw in the towel. The citrus industry in Florida had gone from over 800,000 acres to less than 400,000 acres. Citrus greening was the main culprit, but there were other factors for the decline. For James, it had just become completely unprofitable. The trees looked stunted and almost dead from foot rot, Diaprepes root weevil and HLB.

READ MORE

26 Sep 2019
Greater varieties
0 Comments By Firstfruits Consulting Website News , , ,

South Africa wants greater varietal spread of citrus & table grapes in Japanese trade

Carolize Jansen
www.freshplaza.com

A recent visit to Japan for the annual Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD), which was joined by the Citrus Growers’ Association at the behest of President Cyril Ramaphosa, provided the association with a salient opportunity to address some nagging aspects of fruit trade with that country, as well as to press the fruit industry’s interests.

READ MORE

26 Sep 2019
Mandarins for harvest
0 Comments By Firstfruits Consulting Website News ,

Farmers, researchers try to hold off deadly citrus greening long enough to find cure

Diane Nelson, UC Davis
https://phys.org

In an orange grove outside Exeter, California, workers climb aluminum ladders to pick fruit with expert speed. California produces 80 percent of the nation’s fresh oranges, tangerines and lemons, most of it in small Central California communities like these.

“This may be the last place in the world where you can still grow citrus,” says farmer Richard Bennett, reaching high to pull an orange from a tree. He peels it in two long ribbons, and the scent of zest fills the air. “Citrus is so important to our health and economy, and it’s threatened by a devastating disease.”

READ MORE