2024 Millennium Block Field Day
FORT PIERCE, Fla.— Citrus industry stakeholders will join University of Florida/IFAS Assistant Professor Flavia Zambon on Thursday, Nov. 7, from 9 a.m. until noon for the Millennium Block Field Day. In the Millennium Block active experimental grove, more than 5,500 trees bred to tolerate citrus greening is expected to bear data that growers will use to make decisions about their production operations.
New walk-thru format offers direct access to researchers
During the walk-thru tour, participants will interact directly with researchers and their data interpretations from the trees.
Iconic research grove to identify HLB-tolerant varieties
The Millennium Block is an iconic grapefruit, pummelo hybrid, mandarin, and navel citrus grove on 20 acres at the Indian River Research and Education Center (IRREC). The block includes UF/IFAS and the United States Department of Agriculture-bred scion and rootstock varieties. Now in its fifth year and third harvest, the block bears data that includes varieties expected to tolerate citrus greening. But this year, following recent Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton events and a tornado that spun off the Milton storm system, Zambon will also present the impacts of the severe weather to tour participants.
UF/IFAS Citrus Horticulture Expert joined by USDA citrus breeder
Zambon is the UF/IFAS IRREC horticultural production expert and team member of statewide UF/IFAS citrus experts. Joining Zambon as a tour host will be Matthew Mattia, a USDA-ARS geneticist based at the horticultural laboratory next to IRREC.
“Dr. Mattia and I will escort attendees to varieties that present tolerance to citrus greening and other desired characteristics,” said Zambon. “Visitors will see more differences between trees that produce high yield, good brix, or color, from those that are not performing well in HLB conditions.”
Zambon emphasizes that no variety in the Millennium Block offers all the desired traits growers seek in fresh grapefruit. However, some varieties show consistently good tolerance of the disease and other performance factors. Some of the varieties are exclusive to the Millennium Block. In 2024, severe weather will contribute to climate change data that began with the impacts of Hurricane Ian in 2022.
Hurricane and Tornado Damage
Hurricanes Helene and Milton whisked through Florida in the early fall this year. A few hours ahead of Hurricane Milton, an unexpected F-3 tornado passed the Millennium Block by only about 100 yards, leaving a thin margin of catastrophic damage to major buildings and electrical infrastructure only about a mile from the grove. The severe weather will add more climate change data to the experimental grove’s findings.
“We still have fruit on the trees, but a significant amount of fruit has dropped. This is almost the same scenario we had following Hurricane Ian, which occurred in 2022,” said Zambon. “This year, we changed the fertilizer regimen, and we had planned to capture the data for this input, but with the fruit drop, it will not be possible.”
Details of High-Performing Citrus Varieties to be Highlighted
Mattia and Zambon will escort event participants throughout the block, stopping at the high-performing scion and rootstock varieties. Upon arrival, attendees will receive printed maps and data for onsite reference and personal use following the tour. During the walk-thru tour, Zambon will interpret the latest findings and reference data collected since the grove’s 2019 implementation. Mattia will expand on the breeding and genetics of the experimental trees.
Following the walking field tour, attendees might taste samples of fresh fruit harvested from the Millennium Block.
“The samples for tasting will include varieties that show the most promise. However, the samples for the tour date are subject to the fruit’s maturity and availability,” said Zambon.
Register at Eventbrite for the 2024 Millennium Block Field Day. For more information, contact Dr. Zambon at f.zambon@ufl.edu or 772-237-1515.
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