Pear producers are turning to science in order to take a bigger bite out of the fruit market. U.S. pear production is only about one-seventh that of apple production. Reasons for this shortfall include relatively limited areas with a favorable growing climate; the large size of pear trees; and susceptibility to storm damage, climate change, and disease – particularly fire …
The United States will remain the largest exporter of fresh apples, pears, and table grapes to the Canadian market in marketing year (MY) 2020/21. FAS/Ottawa forecasts a five percent growth in Canadian apple production for MY 2020/21 with fewer weather-related challenges. A reduction in the marketed production of Canadian pears and table grapes is anticipated as a result of weather …
To ensure the California Avocado Commission can make informed marketing and budgeting decisions, it has partnered with LandIQ to conduct statewide spatial land use surveys via digital satellite imagery, aerial photography and analytical tools. This data is compiled in a comprehensive land use database and an annual summary is prepared. The 2020 Statewide Avocado Acreage and Conditional Analysis is now available …
At the October 7, 2020 meeting, the California Avocado Commission Board of Directors took action to approve the assessment rate for the upcoming 2020-21 fiscal year, reducing the assessment rate to 1.75% of the gross dollar value of fruit sold. The new assessment rate is effective from November 1, 2020 through October 31, 2021. The CAC Board and management are …
University of Florida scientists achieved a major milestone in their quest to develop a citrus greening-resistant tree by sequencing the genome of a fruit plant that’s a close cousin to citrus trees. You’d need to print 54,000 pages of copy paper to see the complete genome sequence. But within it, scientists believe they’ve found genes to lay the groundwork to …
You may have heard of them in the comedy film Princess Bride as “Rodents of Unusual Size”, but this is the real thing — only not so large and formidable. Nutria were originally introduced into the United States as part of the fur trade in the late 1800s, but were eradicated from California in the 1970s. They made a sudden …
Every backyard gardener knows how hard it can be to tell when to water the plants. Multiply that by tens or hundreds of acres and it’s easy to see the challenges growers face keeping their crops healthy while managing water resources wisely. To determine water needs accurately, growers hand-pluck individual leaves from plants, put them in pressure chambers, and apply …
University of Florida researchers hope to discover new methods to help citrus growers fight the deadly citrus greening (or Huanglongbing) disease with cost effective, long-term sustainable treatments with the support of recently awarded federal grants. Three teams of scientists from UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences received nearly $4.5 million in U.S. Department of Agriculture funds to study new …
On Nov. 10, the European Union (EU) imposed an additional retaliatory tariff of 25% on a range of U.S. agricultural products, including fresh blueberries (HS 0810.40.50) and frozen blueberries (those imported under tariff lines HS 0811.90.50 Vacinnium myrtillus and HS 0811.90.70 Vacinnium myrtilloides and Vaccinium angustifolium). This development will take the total EU tariff on U.S. fresh blueberries to 28.2%, …
A new study on the costs and returns of establishing and producing lemons in Ventura County has been released by UC Cooperative Extension in Southern California and UC Agricultural Issues Center, both part of UC Agriculture and Natural Resources. “Coastal agriculture is always in transition and as strawberries and vegetables become less profitable due to markets and labor availability, lemons …
Citrus thrips have been a major nuisance for California blueberry growers, but how do …
