OpenCitrusExperience

Antonio Pascual. Sharing knowledge about #citrus crops. open minds. open science. I enjoy the act of contributing. I'm an absolute beginner

[Citrus Growers Association South Africa @CitrusGrowersSA]

2026 - estimates of citrus volumes available for export. #citrusindustry #exportcitrus #citrus

[OpenCitrusExperience @opcitex]

Struggling to find a reliable way to monitor Contarinia maculipennis in the field. Adults are tiny, fragile flies with long legs, beaded antennae, and narrow, almost veinless wings; very short-lived and often active at dusk. Sampling remains a challenge.

[OpenCitrusExperience @opcitex]

The problem is consumption. https://t.co/7L4c1tufiq

[Citrus Industry @CitrusIndustry]

🪰Texas citrus growers face new sapote fruit fly quarantines, with interstate movement restrictions and eradication efforts underway to protect the industry.
Read more: https://t.co/1jzeJOsPAG

[OpenCitrusExperience @opcitex]

South Africa's citrus harvest season will soon begin across the country, and as the conflict in the Middle East drags on, trade interruptions will persist.

[Wandile Sihlobo @WandileSihlobo]

South Africa's agricultural exports to the Middle East, worth US$1.3 billion in 2025, or 8% of overall agricultural exports, are at risk from this crisis.

Shipping costs are rising. Agricultural businesses that export to the Middle East will now be exploring whether other markets can absorb their products.

South Africa's citrus, strawberry, and maize harvest seasons will soon begin across the country, and as the conflict in the Middle East drags on, trade interruptions will persist.

Thus, exploring whether countries such as China, India, Singapore, and other Asian markets can increase their share of agricultural product imports from South Africa is key.

This also involves assessing whether the EU can increase its typical share of agricultural product imports from South Africa and the United Kingdom.

Fortunately for the citrus industry, South Africa now also has relatively lower tariffs on exports to the United States. The tariff rate is 10%, and for some products, such as nuts, oranges, and juices, there are no duties.

While the conflict will impose major costs on businesses, South Africa must remain focused on its long-term agricultural export growth strategy, which targets the Middle East as a key market.

In times of peace and reconstruction, this region would be a key agricultural export market. We believe there remains room to increase exports in peacetime.

https://t.co/KEcgmDBSOf

[OpenCitrusExperience @opcitex]

C. maculipennis eggs are laid in clusters on tips of partially open flower buds & hatch in ~24 h. Larvae feed on tender tissues, drop to soil to pupate. Life cycle lasts 21–28 days; adults live ~4 days & emerge mainly at dusk. Pupation is favored by moist (not waterlogged) soil.

[OpenCitrusExperience @opcitex]

A drop of ~50 percentage points in relative humidity within a few days is like fuel to the fire for Tetranychus urticae. Even if new flush dilutes populations across the canopy, fruits — if still present — remain the most attractive feeding site and the main source of damage.

[OpenCitrusExperience @opcitex]

The number of Prays citri individuals captured is incredible high as it was the last season. Therefore, be prepared for the next generation if lemon flowers are already present.

[OpenCitrusExperience @opcitex]

Closterotomus trivialis in citrus shoots:
Intervention is justified only when ≥10–15% of tender shoots show fresh feeding damage, or when ≥1–2 adults per beat sample are consistently recorded.

[OpenCitrusExperience @opcitex]

Egypt has secured a further reduction in inspection rates for its citrus exports to EU. This marks 2nd consecutive decrease within a year, following an earlier cut from 30% to 20%. Now, only 10% of Egyptian shipments to EU will now be subject to inspection https://t.co/wGJHzeZ0Tn

[OpenCitrusExperience @opcitex]

"I am a man of science. I believe in the power of truth. I am an adversary of barbarism, a natural enemy of chaos, & completely immune to the nihilistic abyss in which so many lose their lives, because I am committed to the future". B. Labatut. Merry Christmas with citrus fruits.

[OpenCitrusExperience @opcitex]

Phenacoccus solenopsis, a polyphagous mealybug had already been reported in Spain since 2011, mainly in ornamental plants. The alert is due to its detection in citrus in the Valencia Region for 1st time: 15 new pests on spanish citrus in the last 20 years
https://t.co/QrDhUqcXcD

[OpenCitrusExperience @opcitex]

In Brasil, #HLB infected trees are worse; the severity is increasing. In the citrus belt, #HLB trees increased from 19% in 2024 to 22.7% in 2025. This hike reduces the productive potential of the Brazilian orange industry by approximately 35%. @fundecitrus https://t.co/qSdXz0ck3U

[OpenCitrusExperience @opcitex]

Thanks @Phytoma for this opportunity to share experiences & proposals to improve the plant health of the spanish citrus fruits #IIEncuentroPhytomaAsesores

[OpenCitrusExperience @opcitex]

Failed medfly oviposition attempt: The female tests the fruit but lays no egg, common when the peel is too firm or the fly is young or stressed.
Lesions are irregular, black, corky scars that stay superficial. Old or very young females often create “empty stings” that mark fruit

[OpenCitrusExperience @opcitex]

APHIS expands #HLB quarantine footprint in Southern California after plant tissue samples from residential properties tested positive for #HLB.  https://t.co/EwDY34i3xi

[OpenCitrusExperience @opcitex]

@agrollopis On average, now firsts fruits begin to change the color.

[OpenCitrusExperience @opcitex]

Soil temperatures has fallen down bellow 15° C, so red color in Sanguinelli blood oranges appear.

[OpenCitrusExperience @opcitex]

Southafrica packed 622.500 Tm of lemons this season & sent 246.000 Tm to the EU, a 39,5%. But the key point is that 15% of trees are 1–5 yrs, adding +80–120k t in 2026–2030 (+13–19%): in next 5 years! we must expect stronger SA pressure in EU summer & greater overlap with Spain’s

[Massimo @Rainmaker1973]

Scientists have discovered that ants, after collecting grains and seeds which they need to store for the winter, actually break them into halves before storing in their nests. This is because by breaking the seeds into half, it stops them from germinating despite the most perfect conditions.

But here comes the even more interesting part.

Scientists were stunned when they discovered that coriander seeds stored in the ant nest were always broken down into 4 pieces instead of 2 pieces.

After some lab research, scientists discovered that a coriander seed is the only seed that can germinate even after being divided into two, but can not germinate after it’s divided into four parts.