QUINCY — With the Satsuma mandarin industry taking root in North Florida, UF/IFAS researchers are working to lay a strong foundation for its long-term success.
Satsuma is a newcomer, particularly in North Florida, South Georgia and Southeastern Alabama. This cold-hardy, sweet fruit has seen success in the dense, clay soils of the region, but so far, growers have been relying on guidelines designed for citrus production in South Florida.
The issue?
“These recommendations are for sandy soil. This is a clay soil,” explained Muhammad Shahid, a UF/IFAS a fruit physiologist at the North Florida Research and Education Center. “There is no research-based recommendation for nutrient management, particularly nitrogen management, for Satsuma production in this region … we have a totally different soil as compared to the southern part of the state,” said Shahid.
Working to address these challenges, Shahid and his team are conducting a multi-year nutrient management project to assess different nutrient application rates across four sites around the Florida Panhandle.
Funded by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and the UF/IFAS Nutrient Management Program, the project aims to help growers tailor the nutrient needs of their plants to their specific soil conditions.
The most important goal for this project is to identify the best nitrogen and phosphorus application rates for Satsuma production for this region.” – Dr. Muhammad Shahid
In addition to boosting yields, optimizing application rates will help reduce the environmental impact of production — a win for everyone.
From the Grove: Growers Weigh In
“The research is going to allow us to make better decisions for managing our crop,” said Kim Jones, owner of Florida Georgia Citrus, a citrus grower participating in the project. “We’ve got several other growers involved, and just about anybody would appreciate the opportunity to get to work with this team.”
The partnership reflects UF/IFAS’s grower-first approach. “When I accepted this position, my first six months [were] about spending time with the growers to prioritize their needs,” Shahid said. “And this is one of the top needs to make this industry sustainable and profitable.”
Digging Into the Details
To develop precise fertilizer recommendations, researchers are analyzing everything from soil composition to plant uptake, taking quarterly tissue and soil samples across the four sites.
“The soil sampling and tissue sampling is the most important component,” Shahid said. “We have to track what is actually in the soil and what the plant is uptaking. We have to make the correlation within the plant tissues and within the soil.”
That includes collecting mature leaf samples — which reflect the plant’s nutrient history — and tracking soil conditions using both soil-based and sap-based moisture sensors.
“It will let you know what the actual plant needs. And then accordingly you can save your water, which is the most important,” Shahid said.
Three years into the project, the data looks promising — but Shahid says more time is needed before the team can deliver final guidance to growers.
In the meantime, Shahid is optimistic about the project’s potential. “We can reduce their input costs, improve their quality, and we can give them the sustainable citrus production in this region.”
Production: IFAS Communications Video
Camera: Luke Humphlett
Production Assistance: Al Williamson
Editor and Blog author: Kat Antunes
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