2012 - Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services

Annual Report 2012
July 1, 2011 – June 30, 2012
Bureau of Citrus Budwood Registration
Michael Kesinger, Chief
Graft-transmissible diseases of citrus are incurable in commercial citrus groves; therefore, the use of certified budwood is the only
option for nurserymen to grow productive disease-free trees. The Bureau of Citrus Budwood Registration makes certain that
nurseries get a clean start, with outstanding selected stock that has been rigorously tested and made available for distribution from
foundation mother trees.
This was a good year for budwood cutting at the Chiefland foundation, as demand continues to increase. Budwood cutting increased
by 34%, to 515,007 bud eyes cut, in this fifth year of budwood distribution. Chiefland foundation budwood represents 13% of the
industry’s total source material used by citrus nurseries. The customer base includes 34 commercial citrus nurseries and 3 research
agencies. Budwood was cut on 121 days for 238 separate customer orders. One hundred forty-two varieties were utilized for
nursery propagation. Revenue from budwood sales at Chiefland amounted to $119,926. A total of 1,316,197 bud eyes were cut and
distributed in Chiefland’s first five years of existence.
The Chiefland greenhouses contain 1,105 trees, representing 309 varieties which includes 390 clones. The actual number of trees
was reduced this year, as some of the closer-spaced trees were removed to allow more growing room. Fifty-four new trees were
planted this year, representing 28 cultivars. Since the greenhouses are reaching capacity, and very little room is left for accepting
new varieties, an expansion is planned for next fiscal year. Four of the original bows are to be extended 96 feet to the west, in the
summer of 2012. This will add 11,520 sq. ft. to the greenhouses.
Florida breeders entered 48 new selections into the bureau’s parent tree indexing program, in Winter Haven, for testing and shoot-tip
grafting. A total of 72 new introductions were received in Winter Haven in 2011-2012, sixty-one were released, and 19 were sent to
Chiefland for incorporation into the foundation.
The bureau laboratory in Winter Haven ran 27,819 qPCR tests for eleven different citrus pathogens. To date citrus greening has not
been found in any budwood source trees. This is a testimony to the efficacy of insect proofing of industry greenhouses, stringent
spray programs and detailed inspections. A new robotic system has been acquired for the lab, that will increase efficiency in qPCR
set up. A second robotic handler is scheduled for purchase in the next fiscal year, which will be programmable for reconfiguring
qPCR plates.
Major improvements were made to the bureau pathogen indexing greenhouses at Winter Haven this fiscal year. Five greenhouses
were connected with an internal entry vestibule that allows employees access to the greenhouses without having to make multiple reentries.
Insect exclusion was also improved by changing roofs and sidewalls to polycarbonate. Cooling and heating systems were
upgraded as well. All the renovation work was accomplished with a federal Clean Plant Network grant.
The largest number of Florida citrus nursery propagations was reported this year since the mandatory greenhouse growing of nursery
trees began in 2007. Citrus nursery propagation figures increased 25.7% from last year to 3,941,049 trees. The actual number of
trees that make it to commercial groves is considerably lower, as the propagation figures also represent trees for the homeowner
market. An estimated 6 to 12% of the commercial citrus nursery stock is produced for the dooryard market.
The budwood office processed 937 bud cutting reports, which amounts to an increase of 153 reports from the previous year. The
average nursery made over 83 thousand propagations this fiscal year. One hundred eighty-two different clones, representing 147
different varieties, were propagated this fiscal year. Although the citrus industry utilizes only a handful of varieties in commercial
plantings, the dooryard (homeowner) market utilizes a larger assortment of citrus types.
Sweet orange propagations accounted for 3.1 million trees, or 80.5% of the nursery stock produced. Grapefruit accounted for
369,924 propagations, or 9.4% of the total production, compared to 7.3% last year. Mandarins accounted for 287,778 propagations,
or 7.3% of the total production. Lemons and Limes accounted for 1.5 of the nursery stock, with Pummelos at .2%.
Hamlin and Valencia were the top two varieties propagated, making up 34.6 and 34.2% of nursery propagations, respectively.
Midsweet was the third most popular variety, at 7.5% of nursery propagations, followed by Ray Ruby grapefruit at 4.6%, Navels at
3%, and Ruby Red grapefruit at 2.7%. Orri was the most popular mandarin type propagated at 38,731 propagations, followed
closely by Tango at 35,138. This is the first time in years that the traditional mandarin types have been replaced by relative
newcomers. Swingle was the most popular rootstock used for budding. This is the 24th year that Swingle has been the top-utilized
rootstock. Nursery trees on Swingle account for 37 % of all propagations, compared to 40% last year. Kuharske citrange and Sour
Orange were the 2nd and 3rd most utilized rootstocks, accounting for 17% and 8% of propagations, respectively. Carrizo citrange,
along with X-639, were the next most popular rootstocks, at 7.9 and 7.6 % respectively, followed by Volkamer at 4.5%, Cleopatra at
3.3% and US-802 at 3.1%.
1 Annual Report 2012 (FY 2011-2012) Bureau of Citrus Budwood Registration