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Vol.7, No. 1 Florida Citrus Nurserymen's Association 1997-98 Officers During the annual meeting on April 23rd the officers for the coming year were elected and installed. Many of last year's officers were asked to serve again along with a new vice-president and two new directors. Les Stephens, was elected as vice-president. Wallace Thompson and Paul Harris were elected as new directors, replacing Jim Dilley and Gary Mahon. Appreciation was expressed to both Jim and Gary by President Rucks for their service to the Association. The 1997-98 officers are: President Vice-President Treasurer Secretary Immediate Past President Directors-at Large Joe Himrod Paul Harris Russell Stromsnes Tom Barber The Florida Citrus Nurserymen’s Association elected officers and executive committee members at its annual meeting April 4. They are, left to right (those not listed as officers are on the executive committee), Joe Himrod, Past President Phil Rucks, Don Fussell, Paul Harris, Secretary Bob Rouse, Treasurer Lynn Ellis, Russell Stromsnes, Vice President Les Stephens, Tom Barber, President Chuck Reed. Message from FCNA President Chuck Reed To my fellow Florida Citrus Nurserymen Association Members: I would like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation to the FCNA for having the confidence in me to serve as your president for the 1997-98 term. As an association, we have seen many ups and downs in our industry, but I feel we are coming into a time of stability. After much hard work by many dedicated people, we now have a quality tree program in place that is good for both the nurseryman and the grower. Tree movement is good with most nurseries that I talk with indicating that they are sold out of trees and are accepting orders for delivery in the 1998 season. Tree prices are approaching the levels that they were in the mid 80s, but are still lower than they need to be. I feel there will be a continued upward adjustment of the prices as the cost of our quality tree program is realized. Although times are good and we are a much leaner organization than we have been in the past, we do not need to relax our dedication to continuing to produce the highest quality citrus trees that can be produced, and we need to be aware of any potential problems so that we can address those as they arise. In order to remain strong so that we continue to function as an effective organization, I intend to place an emphasis on recruiting citrus nurserymen that are not currently members of our association. I will be calling on many of you to help in this effort. Also, the citrus nurseries in Florida are the only nurseries in the state that are not provided federal crop insurance. All other nurseries, i.e., foliage, woody ornamental, etc., are provided federal crop insurance at a nominal cost. I would like to see the FCNA be on the forefront of an effort to include the citrus nurseries under this crop protection. Again, thank you very much for your confidence and if I can be of any assistance, please do not hesitate to give me a call. I look forward to working with each of you in this upcoming year. The New Citrus Budwood Protection Program Mike Kesinger Five months after implementation of the new budwood protection program the number of commercial citrus nurseries is at ninety five. Thirteen of these nurseries are own use nurseries. The first mandatory citrus tristeza virus testing period has come and gone. If you did not have your scion trees tested for tristeza during this time, you will have to purchase registered propagative material until the next testing period this fall. We are pleased to report that of the scion trees tested this first year, only 1.5% reacted positive with MCA 13 indicating presence of severe tristeza. No tristeza was found in 50% of the scion trees tested, while 48% had a mild strain. Program Compliance We are about to begin auditing nurseries for program compliance. Any commercial nurseries who have propagated citrus since January 1, 1997 will have budwood cutting reports to establish that fact. We have begun to enter these reports in the computer and will soon be visiting nurseries to check propagations. Nursery trees that have not been propagated according to program rules cannot be sold. Scion Tree Registration The budwood office has recently sent out the annual scion grove tree registration statements. Registration fees need to be paid by the end of June for the new Certificate of Scion Grove Registration to be mailed prior to July 1, 1997. Scion trees that have not been tested for citrus tristeza virus will be placed in reserve status. To be in reserve status, the registration fees have to be paid on each tree. Trees that are not kept current by paying fees will be dropped from the program. A new tristeza virus test will have to be run during the next testing period in order to bring a tree from reserve status to active status. The budwood office is upgrading their database software. We are hopeful that if all goes well, the new Certificate of Source Tree Registration can be reduced to 8.5" x 11". This size paper lends itself to easier use in the field and for photocopying. Exocortis Testing The budwood bureau plans to test at least 50 scion trees for citrus exocortis viroid this year for each nursery. The bureau's goal is to test each scion tree once during a six year period for the exocortis viroid. The "E" will be placed on the end of tree location after no exocortis is found in testing. The "E" will remain with the tree for six years and then be removed unless another test is completed during this time. It may take a few years of testing to get the "Es" reinstated on the Certificate of Source Tree Registration. New Releases The Budwood office has two new citrus selections, Midknight Valencia and Daisy mandarin, that will be available to nurserymen on July 8, 1997. Both Midknight and Daisy are new introductions to Florida. They were indexed and declared free of citrus pathogens by the FDACS\DPI Germplasm Introduction Program in Gainesville. Midknight and Daisy are untried in Florida. Because they have not been field tested in Florida, it is recommended that they be used for trial plantings only until more is learned of their horticultural performance and characteristics in Florida. Midknight is a South African selection introduced to Florida via California. In South Africa it has been marketed as a fresh fruit. Midknight fruit appear more round than Valencias and have very good juice quality. Commercial experience in South Africa and elsewhere suggests that Midknight fruit are larger and mature two to six weeks earlier than standard Valencia selections. Fruit is reported to be virtually seedless and to have a thinner, more tightly adhering rind than Valencias. Midknight trees have larger leaves and are less vigorous than Valencia. Fruit production is expected to be less than that of a Florida nucellar Valencia. A physiological twig and branch dieback has been observed in young Midknight trees grown in Florida and likewise reported in South Africa and California. Daisy mandarin is a hybrid developed by the USDA in California. Daisy is a cross between Fortune and Fremont, two California varieties that are grown in the arid parts of the state. It has not been extensively planted in California nor is it grown in other citrus areas of the world. Daisy flavor is reported to be very good but it is very seedy. Maturity is midseason in California, where it has been reported to alternate bear. Nurserymen wanting budwood of either of these two new selections should place their order with the budwood office. The cost for Midknight or Daisy budwood is $ 1.00 per budeye. Scion Tree Registration The budwood office has recently sent out the annual scion grove tree registration statements. Registration fees need to be paid by the end of June for the new Certificate of Scion Grove Registration to be mailed prior to July 1, 1997. Scion trees that have not been tested for citrus tristeza virus will be placed in reserve status. To be in reserve status, the registration fees have to be paid on each tree. Trees that are not kept current by paying fees will be dropped from the program. A new tristeza virus test will have to be run during the next testing period in order to bring a tree from reserve status to active status. The budwood office is upgrading their database software. We are hopeful that if all goes well, the new Certificate of Source Tree Registration can be reduced to 8.5" x 11". This size paper lends itself to easier use in the field and for photocopying. Citrus Budwood Technical Advisory Committee The Citrus Budwood Technical Advisory Committee has met on three separate occasions. This committee is very important in giving direction to the Citrus Budwood Protection Program. The committee is made up of four citrus growers, four citrus nurserymen, three researchers and two DPI representatives. The growers and nurserymen are the only voting members of this committee. Your nursery representatives on this committee are: Phil Rucks, Chuck Reed, John Gose and Jim Brewer. A Publication Worthy of Noting: There is a new book out on the market entitled "A History of Florida Citrus Freezes" by John A. Attaway. This book provides an overview of the changing geography of Florida citrus from the mid 1700s to the January 1997 freeze in south Florida. Temperature data, fruit quality, freeze protection changes and both fresh fruit and juice market economics are all recorded in this text. In addition, valuable information on meteorology, forecasting, the demise of the US Weather Bureau agricultural forecasting services and freezes in California are included. Every citrus grower, processor and fresh fruit packer in Florida and elsewhere can benefit from the information in "A History of Florida Citrus Freezes". It is available from the Florida Science Source, Inc. Calendar of Events
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