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Vol.8, No. 1 Invitation From FCNA President Phil Rucks The combination of the January 18th freeze, and the continued short supply of citrus nursery trees, has materialized into another year favoring the citrus nursery industry. Beginning January 1, the new Florida mandatory budwood protection program went into effect. This program is an important milestone for Florida citrus nurserymen in continuing the preservation of a quality tree. I invite all citrus nurserymen to attend our next meeting on February 20, 1997 in Wauchula. This meeting will be a workshop addressing the required testing and other procedures required for compliance with the new program. The three commercial labs certified by the state to test trees prior to budwood distribution will each present in layman’s terms their sampling and testing procedures. It will be an educational experience worth attending. The annual meeting for the FCNA will be at 10:00 a.m., April 23, 1997, in Lake Alfred at the Ben Hill Griffin auditorium. This meeting’s theme will be the performance of citrus nurseries operating from an international perspective, hosted by Dr. Bill Castle and Dr. Bob Rouse. The FCNA has assisted Dr. Castle and Dr. Rouse in traveling to the International Society of Citrus Nurserymen’s Congress held in the Mediterranean this February. I urge all nurserymen to attend this meeting for the beneficial information it can provide in improving our own horticultural programs. The annual meeting is also the time to elect and install new officers. Paul Harris, chairman of the nominating committee, is seeking volunteers to serve on this committee as well as members interested in serving as officers in the FCNA. The FCNA is an excellent organization open to all citrus nurserymen who wish to participate in the future of our industry. This organization is dedicated to conveying the latest techniques, as well as keeping it’s members informed on current industry issues. If you don’t belong to the FCNA, I encourage you to come to our meetings and get involved today. We hope you will join our organization as an active member. The New Citrus Budwood Protection Program Mike Kesinger The mandatory budwood program began January 1, 1997 for all commercial citrus nurseries. We currently have 86 commercial citrus nurseries in Florida. This figure includes 11 nurseries that are designated as own use. If you have not submitted an application form to the budwood bureau within the past two years, you are not considered a commercial citrus nursery as of January 1, 1997. The citrus tristeza virus testing of all source trees is to be completed by May 1, 1997. See the list of certified laboratories in this newsletter to contact for tristeza testing your budwood source trees. Remember all budwood cutting must now be witnessed and reported on a budwood cutting report. If your nursery does not yet have an authorized witness, please contact the budwood office to arrange training. All budwood must now originate from either registered or validated source trees. If your nursery does not have registered sources, you may want to acquire first generation budwood to start a scion grove or increase block. For those nurseries without qualified budwood sources, the budwood office can supply you with a list of participants having registered source trees. Budwood can also be purchased from the Immokalee Foundation Grove. The following are some frequently asked questions: I grow trees strictly for my own use, do I have to abide by the new budwood protection regulations? Yes, all citrus propagated for use in commercial citrus groves must have originated according to the program’s rules. What about topworking? All propagative material, including topworking budwood must originate from registered or validated sources. I have trees in my nursery that were propagated prior to January 1, 1997, how does the new rule affect my trees? This new rule will not affect the saleability of your existing stock. All trees propagated prior to January 1, 1997 can be sold as under the old regulations. By what date do I need to have my source trees tested for tristeza? May 1, 1997. Do seed source trees need to be tested for tristeza? No, citrus tristeza virus is not transmitted through seed. I sell both dooryard and commercial trees, can I propagate my dooryard trees under the dooryard requirements and the commercial trees under the registered requirements? No, all trees in your nursery potentially can effect commercial groves and all have to be grown under the commercial requirements of Rule 5B-60. Laboratory Certification The Bureau of Citrus Budwood Registration recently certified three commercial laboratories for citrus tristeza virus testing. The certification process involved a site visit to each of the laboratories. The site visit was made to insure that the laboratories had the proper equipment and technical expertise to run the tests. The second part of the certification process involved having the laboratories test a blind panel of samples. These samples represented a wide range of tristeza isolates including severe, mild and negative reactions. We are happy to report that the following three laboratories all passed the certification process: CertiCorp Laboratories, Inc. Nokomis Corp. P.O. Box 150967 United States Sugar Corp. New Budwood Bureau Policies Budwood from Winter Haven/Dundee foundation trees is intended to be used to establish scion trees or increase blocks. Budwood for regular commercial propagations can be ordered from Immokalee or a participant's registered scion groves or increase blocks. Budwood ordered from Winter Haven/Dundee foundation material must be ordered by noon on Fridays. The wood will then be cut the following Tuesday for pickup or mailing on Wednesday. Larger quantities of budwood can be ordered from the Immokalee Foundation Grove at the UF/IFAS S.W. Fla. Research & Education Center. The new procedure for ordering budwood from Immokalee is to call Immokalee directly to set up an appointment. Immokalee phone number: 941-657-5221, ask for Kris. Their fax: 941-657-5224. New Budwood Position We are pleased to announce that Dr. Peggy Sieburth has joined the bureau as a biological scientist III. Dr. Sieburth will be heading up the pathogen indexing of source trees. She will soon be incorporating PCR techniques for testing scion trees for citrus viroids. If you have any graft-transmissible pathogen testing questions you may want to talk to her at the Winter Haven budwood office, 941-294-4267, extension 103. Program Compliance All nurseries must submit Budwood Cutting Reports to the budwood office. Budwood Cutting Reports will be vital to proving compliance in the program. Nursery inventories will be matched up to budwood cut as indicated on the report. The Budwood Cutting Report is also a handy platting form. It is very simple to record where individual propagations are located in the nursery using the Budwood Cutting Report Plat. It is permissible for a nursery to develop their own inventory or platting system. However, the official Budwood Cutting report still must be used and the original sent to the budwood office. Remember to fill out the rootstock being used on the cutting report or it will be returned. Program compliance will also be determined by site inspections. The nursery inspector will audit several of the propagations to locate them in the nursery using the plat or nursery inventory. Tagging compliance will also be checked while doing the field audit. Bulletin - Roble Orange The following information is very preliminary but important enough to be passed on to nurserymen for their consideration. A declining Roble sweet orange planting on Swingle citrumelo rootstock has recently been reported to the budwood office. This is the first and only report of possible Roble decline on Swingle rootstock. If anyone has access to any Roble on Swingle plantings over ten years old, please contact the budwood office so we can take a closer look. It has been reported in the past that Roble has incompatibility problems with Poncirus trifoliata. It would be wise to investigate Roble on all trifoliate hybrid type rootstocks to determine the possible extent of the problem. We have looked at some apparently healthy Roble on Swingle combinations and noticed some gumming at the bud union. To check for this gumming, cut a small window across the bud union, after removing the bark patch a thin line of discoloration would be noticeable in the wood. Considering the large numbers of Roble budded on Swingle in recent years, it is important that we get grower feedback so we can make a proper evaluation of this scion/rootstock combination. Need Budwood?! Get It Now From Immokalee Bob Rouse The Immokalee budwood grove survived the January 18 freeze with primarily only leaf loss to the outer canopy. With recent warm days and rain, things are starting to grow. Now is an ideal time to get budwood and you may not even need to trim the leaves. If you are not quite ready to bud, this is still a good time to collect budwood and store it in refrigeration for a few weeks. New procedures allow you to call Immokalee direct and schedule your bud cutting. Contact the Southwest Florida Research & Education Center at (239) 657-5221 and ask for Kris. |
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