One Florida citrus grower shared the keys to good citrus tree health, with one being fertilization.
A citrus grower shared the status of his grove, The Groves of Peace River in Hardee County, in a Citrus Industry article. Marlon Pendergrass discussed topics like the current orange crop at The Groves, citrus tree health, and current citrus prices. He maintained that this year’s crop looks better than last year’s, and he shares some thoughts on what really works in maintaining tree health. Read his words below.
Keys to Citrus Tree Health
Hardee County citrus grower Marlon Pendergrass with The Groves of Peace River discusses his orange crop, tree health and citrus prices. He shared that he felt that this year’s crop was better than last year’s but that the damage caused by Hurricane Irma is still a factor for both years.
However, he added that this year’s crop seems better “because we’re now doing practices to initiate better tree health … We’re getting back to the basics. Number one, you’ve got to have a good irrigation program,” he said in the article. He added that “number two, you’ve got to spoon feed those trees,” indicating adding nutrients via fertilizers. “If we treat our trees much like (we ensure) good health in our bodies, we’ll be a lot better off,” he explained in the article.
Citrus tree roots are seriously compromised by citrus greening, also called HLB, which affects the trees’ ability to take up both nutrients and water. Minimizing irrigation and nutrient stress is one way Florida citrus growers have found to help citrus trees deal with citrus greening.
Griffin Fertilizer is committed to helping both growers and ranchers make sound agronomic and economic decisions in order to maximize the health of their grove and pasture. As a full-service custom dry & liquid fertilizer blender and crop protection product distributor, we will continue our mission to further advance Florida agriculture. For questions or concerns about your farm or pasture, contact us and one of our team will be in touch.
