Learning from Last Season's Citrus Challenges

As citrus fruit matures, maintaining rind quality and minimizing fruit drop become critical priorities. Today we’re talking to Ryan McCoon of Cultiva who told me looking back is just as important as looking ahead…

“Last year is a really big part of why citrus growers are paying attention to rind quality. There were a lot of issues and weather that we experienced last year as well as as much fruit drop as we’ve seen in a long time.”

McCoon told me that this often happens on mature or nearly mature fruits, so you see this late in season as growers are prepping for harvest.

“It all starts at the cuticle. We’ve got an excellent cuticle enhancer in Parka. Having a hydrophobic bilayer that’s a part of that rind really helps protect citrus from unwanted moisture as well as pathogens that can come during that maturity stage.”

He says that the stronger rind quality improves appearance, handling, and storage performance while reducing downgrades at packing. Visit Cultiva.com to connect with your local sales representative.