Highlands County Extension Director and Citrus Extension Agent shared grower sentiments at the end of August.
As both the Extension Director for Highlands County and a Citrus Extension Agent, Laurie Hurner has pulse of local grower sentiments, and she shared them concerning this season’s citrus harvest and more in a CitrusIndustry.net article. See the details below.
Details on Grower Sentiments
According to Hurner, growers had high hopes for this year’s citrus harvest, and those positive sentiments mirror the sentiments of the same time last year, specifically before Hurricane Irma hit in September. “We heard that the crop is looking good. I think people were optimistic, but they were also hesitant in their optimism.,” she shared in the article.
Growers were also sharing about bactericides, with some seeing results, and others not. “They are a tool in the toolbox,” Hurner explained in the article. “I think it is an option for growers, and they can choose to use them or not.” Additionally, Hurner shared that psyllid resistance to neonicotinoid insecticides is “a huge worry for many, many people.”
Lastly, Hurner maintained that growers need to make production plans specific to their groves, taking factors like grove location, soil conditions, and past production practices into consideration. Hurner likened it to “a prescription” created for each individual grove—a consideration that was not required pre-citrus greening—because “it could be different across the street from where you are.”
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