2018 ASHS Annual Conference

A warming climate during the last decade has renewed interest in the culture of citrus in north Florida and in the states bordering the northern Gulf of Mexico. This industry mainly consists of satsuma. Satsuma can withstand about – 10 to -12 ^oC when properly cold acclimated. The fruit have few seeds, have a narrow harvest interval during November and must be clipped from the tree. There is ample justification for the diversification of citrus in north Florida to encompass the production of fresh market citrus from Mid-September thru December. Citrus packing houses and a juice plant have been established in north Florida to facilitate industry growth. Citrus Greening, which has decimated citrus production in the Florida peninsula, has not yet been detected in commercial groves in north Florida. Some of the cold hardy citrus that have been grown successfully in north Florida include Early Pride, Minneola Honey Belle, Navel, Orlando Tangelo and Sugar Belle. The UF Citrus Breeding Programs at the Citrus Research and Education Center in Lake Alfred have released the mandarin hybrids Seedless Snack and Bingo and several numbered selections (UF 900, UF 950 and UF C4-15-19) are under trial. In addition, the Citrus Breeding Program in Gainesville has just released the mandarin hybrids UF Dawn, UF Glow and UF Sunrise. The above genotypes are currently under trial at the NFREC-Quincy. Young tree survival and tree growth have been improved by microjet freeze protection. One major goal is to identify fresh market commercial citrus that can compete in the Cutie/Halo Market from September thru December.