All In For Citrus, Episode 79 March 2025

With spring comes a number of citrus events. One of those was the Florida Citrus Show held on March 13 in Fort Pierce. Michael Rogers, director of the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Citrus Research and Education Center, joins the March All In For Citrus podcast to discuss highlights of Florida Citrus Show. He also gives a sneak peek of the annual Florida Citrus Growers’ Institute planned for April 8 at South Florida State College in Avon Park.

Rogers says the seminars were well attended at the Florida Citrus Show and covered a wide range of topics. One highlight was a grower panel, which he says was a good example of growers and researchers collaborating.

“It was good to hear that the growers on the panel were committed to hanging in there and continuing to fight HLB,” says Rogers. “I really appreciated that they are sharing information and working closely with the researchers.”

Chris Oswalt, citrus Extension agent for Polk and Hillsborough counties, also joins the podcast this month to give more details on the Citrus Institute. There’s a change in the program this year that he believes growers will appreciate. After lunch, rather than going back into a seminar setting with speakers, there will be researchers from the various UF/IFAS citrus labs available to answer specific questions from attendees. It will be a way that growers can build their own educational experience. The Citrus Institute will be providing continuing education units for growers.

Also in the March podcast, UF/IFAS weed scientist Ramdas Kanissery discusses his research aimed at helping citrus growers manage weeds. He says this is a tough task given Florida’s climate and large weed-seed bank in the soil. One area he is studying is the growing tolerance weeds are developing to important herbicides like glyphosate. He also talks about the role cover crops could play in weed management.