A University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences researcher shares insight on preparing for citrus black spot.
Citrus black spot is another disease that affects Florida citrus, though it doesn’t enjoy quite the spotlight that citrus greening, also known as HLB, has in the current citrus industry. Nevertheless, it is still a problem that presents increased costs and decreased harvests and profits for Florida citrus growers. A recent Florida citrus grower’s workshop in Sebring saw University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) researcher Megan Dewdney share her insight into preparing for black spot, especially when it is not yet detected in the grove, according to a Citrus Industry article. See the details below.
Preparing for Citrus Black Spot
Dewdney advised growers to know the symptoms of the disease and be vigilant on whether or not citrus black spot is present in your area, such as southwest Florida and Gulf citrus-growing regions. “My few pieces of wisdom have been to tell people to just be conscious of their area and know whether they are located in an area where black spot might have spread to but not be symptomatic yet,” Dewdney said in the article. “The other thing is to become familiar with the symptoms of the disease.”
She also recommends that growers save their money until they know that black spot is actually present “I don’t know that it would be beneficial for people to spend money … on a problem that they don’t yet have. I think it’s best to wait until they do see symptoms and then start taking some actions at that point in terms of fungicide applications.”
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