A Systematic Approach To Young Citrus Tree Care Problems In Florida

Over 10 million young citrus trees have been planted each year for the past several years in Florida, largely as a result of disease and several serious freezes. These young trees require intensive management and labor inputs for survival, resulting in a plea from growers for assistance in dealing with the many problems associated with young tree care. Grower problems have been delineated by using an extension survey document. The information generated from this survey has then been used in determining research priorities. Areas currently under investigation include (among others) cold protection, weed and sprout control, irrigation, and fertilization. Technology transfer of the research is accomplished through local grower meetings and research demonstrations. The result of this program has been to successfully weld the research-extension components and provide sound production information to Florida citrus producers. ----- Se ha sembrado mas de 10 millones de arboles jovenes de dtrico en los tiltimos anos en Ia Florida, mayormente como resultado de enfermedad y varias heladas serias, Estos arboles jovenes requieren manejo y labor intensivo para sobrevivir, resultando en una petici6n de los cultivadores para asistencia en tratar con los muchos problemas asociados con el cuidado de arboles jovenes. Estos problemas han sido delineados por un documento de en cuesta, Se ha usado III informacidn generada por esta encuesta en determinar las prioridades de investigactdn. Las areas bajo investigaci6n activa incluyen protecci6n del frro, control de malezas y brotes, riego, abonamiento, y otras, La transferencia de la tecnologia de investigacion se logra a traves de reuniones de cultivadores y demostraciones. EI resultado de este prograrna ha sido unir exitosamente los componentes de investigaci6n y extension y proveer informacion practica para productores de cltricos en Florida.