What: The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Indian River Research and Education Center (IRREC) will host its annual Millennium Block Field Day to showcase the center’s emphasis on citrus research to find a solution to citrus greening, a serious citrus disease that has significantly impacted Florida’s citrus production.
The Fort Pierce area is known for its generational grapefruit production. This research block is the most comprehensive grapefruit variety trial in Florida, with varieties from the UF and USDA breeding programs, and it includes other types of citrus: sweet oranges and mandarins.
Where: UF/IFAS IRREC, 2199 South Rock Road, Fort Pierce, Florida
When: Nov. 6 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
About: The field day will have a guided tour across the 20-acre experimental plot, which includes 5,500 trees.
During the tour, attendees will see the best-performing trees with fruit still hanging, and data from the last season. The attendees will also taste and evaluate the grapefruit from the best performing trial trees, in contrast with the commercially available grapefruit.
The Millennium Block includes various citrus varieties in four research trials, one including 18 grapefruits and three commercial rootstocks, and the other three with 32 rootstocks grafted with Ray Ruby grapefruit, Glenn Navel sweet orange and UF-950 mandarin. The objective is to identify potential citrus greening tolerance in various scion and rootstock combinations and to evaluate their stress tolerance.
For the past six years, the Millennium Block has been a key tool in citrus greening research. After seven years, researchers will release results about varieties that show promise for tolerance to citrus greening.
News media is welcome to attend.
Registration: Please visit the event’s Eventbrite registration page to sign up. Attendance is free.
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ABOUT UF/IFAS
The mission of the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) is to develop knowledge relevant to agricultural, human and natural resources and to make that knowledge available to sustain and enhance the quality of human life. With more than a dozen research facilities, 67 county Extension offices, and award-winning students and faculty in the UF College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, UF/IFAS brings science-based solutions to the state’s agricultural and natural resources industries, and all Florida residents.
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