Speaker Spotlight: Ute Albrecht

Ute Albrecht

The seminar program at the 2017 Citrus Expo will allow growers to hear about new research and information pertaining to the citrus industry. Ute Albrecht, an assistant professor of plant physiology at the Southwest Florida Research and Education Center in Immokalee, will be speaking on citrus propagation methods for rootstocks.

“In recent years, it has been recognized now that root health is very important for citrus production, especially in the era of HLB,” Albrecht says.

She says she is part of a nursery study where she and her team will look at eight different types of rootstocks propagated by three methods. These three propagation methods include the typical seed method, as well as the two alternative methods of cutting and by tissue culture. The expected results of this study will be discussed at Citrus Expo, although the study will not be conclusive.

According to Albrecht, the concerns of these two alternative methods include inferior root systems, cost and potential for mutation in the plants. The study attempts to help eliminate these concerns and determine what alternative methods are viable. “I just want to educate growers a little bit about it so that maybe takes their fear away from these alternative methods,” Albrecht says.

Albrecht will be speaking Thursday, August 17, at the 2017 Citrus Expo. Complete details of the seminar schedule are available here.

Pre-registration for Citrus Expo is now open! All pre-registered growers will be eligible for a chance to win a John Deere gun safe courtesy of Everglades Equipment Group. As growers pre-register online, they are encouraged to participate in a very short, anonymous survey on bactericide use. Take the survey here. Conducted by AgNet Media in cooperation with the Citrus Research and Development Foundation, the 2017 survey will build on knowledge gathered from the 2016 survey. Results of the survey will be presented during the Citrus Expo seminar program.

To learn more about Citrus Expo, or to register, visit CitrusExpo.net.

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