EXPERIENCE THE FUTURE OF CITRUS FARMING
Join Us for a Hedge Row Citrus Field Day!
⏰ January X, 2025
📍Lost Lake Groves just outside of Lake Placid, Florida
IF YOU ASK GROWERS WHAT THEIR TOP TWO CHALLENGES ARE, most will list citrus greening (also known as HLB) and sourcing affordable and reliable labor.
On January X, a grove demonstration will be hosted that might help growers in both areas.
The field day will be held at Lost Lake Groves just outside of Lake Placid, Florida where A 14-acre block is using the Hedge Row Production model.
- This model allows for mechanical harvest, which helps address the labor issue.
- The trees appear to be withstanding the effects of HLB better than conventional plantings with larger trees.
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The field demonstration will showcase mechanical harvesting with an Oxbo 6430 and handpicking to highlight the ease of harvesting smaller trees. Attendees can also observe HLB effects in the grove.
"Earlier tests show the machine harvests fruit with minimal damage," says Clay Pederson, Managing Director of Agromillora Florida. "Smaller trees, despite greening, fare better than larger ones, as confirmed by Brazilian researchers."
These promising results could help citrus growers tackle major challenges. During the field day in January, we'll also discuss how the Agromillora Smart-Tree® aids in hedge row planting with its micropropagated clonal rootstock, easy handling, and biodegradable paper pot.
Agromillora, in collaboration with Lost Lake Groves owners, is introducing the Hedge Row Production model to Florida growers. With global experience in high-density planting, we are applying this to Florida citrus production.
Planted in May 2018, the grove has shown impressive growth. Trees, now 7-8 feet tall, are expected to reach 10 feet. This season marks the first full commercial harvest.
Training for Success
With trees planted on a 12-foot by 4-foot spacing, rows can be trained for mechanical harvest and more efficient hand harvest. That’s been the practice in the Lost Lake citrus grove. The Hedge Production Model can range in spacing and density from 500-908 trees per acre where the size and shape of the hedge is key.
In addition to harvest efficiency, the system also provides benefits in more efficient use of inputs and irrigation. In the Lost Lake grove, microjets are situated one for every two trees since spacing is so close.
“One of the things that helped Agromillora get established as a company was propagating super-high-density olives in Europe nearly 30 years ago. We have shared our Hedge Production Model that allows for mechanical harvesting around the world, and now here in Florida too,” Pederson says.
“But what we are doing at Lost Lake is a different way of approaching mechanical harvest. This is not the old tree-shaker model where we tried to harvest existing trees with newly engineered machines. Here we are growing and training the trees, from the beginning, to be mechanically harvested with existing equipment."
“We are very excited how these trees look and are eager to show them off during the field demonstration this January”
