On September 28, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) held its 2017 Central Florida Fruit Grower Day in Tavares. The event featured talks from top UF/IFAS researchers as well as presentations about property appraisal and the policies growers need to know.
The event started with a focus on blueberries in the morning, then switched to citrus after lunch. With blueberry season approaching, growers learned about pesticide issues and a rootstock trial. Growers also received a blueberry disease update and got the chance to learn about the UF blueberry breeding program.
The citrus sessions started out with question-and-answer presentations by Craig Stokes, a Farm Service Agency representative, and Glenn Hubbard, a local property appraiser. Stokes discussed what growers need to be doing if they have hurricane damage on their farms, which includes reaching out to their local Farm Service agents. Hubbard answered growers’ tax questions from an appraiser’s point of view.
Kirsten Pelz-Stelinski, UF/IFAS associate professor of entomology, presented her citrus greening research on tree orientation, windbreaks and planting considerations. Also, Peter Chaires of New Varieties Development and Management Corporation discussed citrus varieties from the 2016–17 season, as well as ones to watch next season.
More information on the presentations from the Fruit Grower Day will be coming during the next few weeks on VSCNews.com as well as CitrusIndustry.net.
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