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Hope On 27

Frank Giles By Frank Giles|August 20, 2010

Hope On 27

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However, according to Steve Farr, citrus production manger for the company, Ben Hill Griffin Inc. is not holding back and believes in the future. While the company is diversified, it always has had a strong foundation in citrus. With that in mind, in 2007, they began replanting 2,000 acres of groves lost to disease.

One such planting is a 200-acre grove at the intersection of U.S. 27 and Florida 17. From day one, the young grove on its picturesque rolling landscape has caught the attention of passersby. Just the image itself of a large planting of a new grove embodies belief in the future of Florida citrus.

“Canker got the original planting in 2005,” says Farr. “It was a 40-year-old red grapefruit grove that was among the original blocks of Ben Hill Griffin Inc. We had considered some other options, but this company has been in citrus for more than 50 years.

“We believe, with today’s technology and the research that is being applied to find better tools to manage greening, we’ll make it.”
According to Ben Bolusky, executive vice president of the Florida Nursery, Growers & Landscape Association, the willingness to plant new trees varies by grower and the areas they are located in. “For those growers who see their glasses as half-full, they’re putting in some new trees or new blocks,” he says. “For those whose glasses are half-empty, they seem to be holding tight.

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“In part, this appears to be dependent on one’s location. If one is located in an area where there are good results from coordinated psyllid sprays, they’re doing more resets. Growers in other areas where control is less aggressive, the planting is spottier. From what I’m hearing, propagations have held relatively steady over the last few years at three to four million trees, and they will probably stay about the same this year.”

Grove’s Got Giddy Up

More than just the sight of a large, young planting has caught the attention of those driving by on U.S. 27. The speed at which the grove is growing also is noticeable from the road. In just a little more than three years, the trees have grown to about 8 feet tall. Fruit was pulled from the trees last year in preparation for commercial harvest this season.

Ironically, Farr attributes the grove’s growth to greening. In an effort to keep the disease at bay, he has applied an aggressive psyllid-control program, and in all of those sprays, foliar nutritional products are added. These include Ben Hill Griffin Inc.’s own line of foliar fertilizer products.

 

Traditional Setting

While there has been a lot of attention placed on open hydroponics systems and high-density plantings to accelerate early growth, the grove on Highway 27 is more of a traditional planting. The Valencia/Kuharske trees are planted on a 25X12.5 configuration at 140 trees per acre. “We would have liked to have been a little more aggressive with the tree density, but we were concerned about freeze protection and the available water we have here,” says Farr. “The grove is a cold spot. We’ve had mornings drop to 19°F the past two winters. I would have rather gone to 200 trees per acre, but we couldn’t make it work with the water we have.”

Disease Persists

Belief In The Future

Despite the challenge of greening, Farr is betting on the future of citrus in Florida. He believes the massive research effort under way to fight disease will yield results that will sustain the industry over time.
“I am on the research box tax committee,” he says. “Growers are spending a lot of our own money on research, but we have no choice. I am happy with the new Citrus Research and Development Foundation. I believe it will do a good job keeping everything accountable and managing the $15 million or so that we are investing in greening research.
“We may not find a silver bullet, but I believe we will find a combination of bullets that will help us manage and live with greening better than we are today.”

Fighting Psyllids, Feeding Trees

 

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Frank Giles is a former Editor of Florida Grower and Cotton Grower magazines, both Meister Media Worldwide publications. See all author stories here.