UF/IFAS has released its newly created Citrus Nutrition Program to offer assistance for citrus growers in the face of citrus greening.

The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) has unveiled its new Citrus Nutrition Program. According to a UF/IFAS blog, the program will offer Florida citrus growers additional help in managing citrus greening, which will come in a myriad of forms. See the details below.

UF/IFAS Citrus Nutrition Program Details

According to the blog, the “basis for the program is to improve the overall health and productivity of citrus groves affected by citrus greening disease by refining production practices; in particular, adjusting fertilization programs.” Supplying adequate nutrients to citrus trees in the form of fertilizers has shown to be an important step in helping the trees to deal with the disease.

Tripti Vashisth, a UF/IFAS assistant professor of horticultural sciences and a citrus Extension agent, said in the blog, “This system will assist growers in creating a nutrient management program for their specific grove needs. Our expectation is that growers will understand the value of nutrient testing and customizing the citrus nutrition program for individual groves.”

The program is being kicked off with workshops in October at UF/IFAS research and education centers for faculty to present the details of the program and share updated information on nutrition management for trees affected by citrus greening. Attendees will also receive a citrus nutrition box for collecting soil and leaf samples to send out to a designated lab. The results will be looked at by UF/IFAS Extension specialists and research faculty to create a custom fertilization program for that grower.

Preregistration is required to attend. Registration for each workshop starts at 9:30 a.m., with each running from 10 a.m. to 12 noon; dates, and locations of the workshops are as follows:

  • Oct. 8 at the UF/IFAS Citrus Research and Education Center in Lake Alfred. Click hereto preregister.
  • Oct. 23 at the UF/IFAS Indian River Research and Education Center in Fort Pierce. Click hereto preregister.
  • Oct. 29 at the UF/IFAS Southwest Florida Research and Education Center in Immokalee. Click hereto preregister.

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.