Growers considering producing avocados in San Diego County with high-density plantings now have help to determine the economic feasibility. A new study on the costs and returns of establishing and producing avocados in San Diego County has been released by UC Agriculture and Natural Resources’ Cooperative Extension, UC Agricultural Issues Center and the UC Davis Department of Agricultural and Resource …

An Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) sample – confirmed positive for Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas), the bacteria that causes Huanglongbing (HLB) – was collected from a residential property in the Fallbrook area of San Diego County. Confirmed by Citrus Research Board’s Jerry Dimitman Laboratory, this adult psyllid sample is the first CLas-positive ACP found in San Diego County.While the first confirmation of a CLas-positive ACP in …

New grants totaling $6.3 million will help UC Riverside solve problems facing American avocado orchards, including a lethal fungal disease called Laurel Wilt. Laurel Wilt can destroy an entire avocado orchard in a couple of weeks once symptoms develop. It is already present in Florida. Without effective treatments, it will inevitably spread to California, which is the nation’s leading producer …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Fruit World, a family-owned, flavor-focused grower-shipper of organic and conventional fruit, enters their 2020 citrus season with bold, new recyclable packaging and increased availability of 100% California-grown organic and conventional mandarins, along with organic oranges, grapefruit, lemons, and sweet limes. “We’re really excited about our new fun and colorful conventional mandarin packaging design, especially because it’s fully-recyclable,” said Bianca Kaprielian, …

A total of $45 million in funding for citrus research during the 2020-21 fiscal year was awarded by the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA) Emergency Citrus Disease Research and Extension (ECDRE) Program. The ECDRE Program addresses priorities identified by the Citrus Disease Sub-Committee of the National Agricultural Research, Education, Extension, and Economics (NAREEE) …