Growers share latest in citrus at showcase

The sweet, tangy aroma of fresh citrus wafted gently through the air at the annual California Citrus Mutual Citrus Showcase as hundreds strolled between booths advertising the newest technology in the industry.

The showcase — the largest such event for the citrus industry — attracted growers, packers, and the industry’s movers and shakers to the day-long event headlined by seminars on water and pest issues.

Some attended to sample new varieties of citrus, others to see their compatriots from whom business had kept them since last year’s gathering.

“A lot of this is intermingling with people you haven’t seen in a while,” Robert LoBue, of Lindsay-based LoBue Farms, Inc., said.

He said he attends the showcase yearly, and takes interest in many of the exhibits set up and the pertinent seminar topics.

This year, however, he said the afternoon talk on the Asian citrus psyllid was frontmost in his mind.

“It would be absolutely devastating if it reached the Central Valley,” LoBue said.

Fortunately, he said, water issues were less pressing at the current time due to the Valley’s recent bouts of rain.

The morning’s seminar, “Navigating California’s Water Wars,” addressed problems ranging from San Joaquin River water rights to recently signed legislation.

“I’m more worried about the pests,” he said.

After lunch — headlined by Republican candidate for Secretary of State Damon Dunn — the afternoon seminar focused on ACP and Huanglongbing (HLB), or citrus greening diease.

In addition to representatives from behemoths like Sunkist Growers, Inc., local industry participants including Joe Juarez of Springville-based Valley Cove Ranch also were in attendance.

Juarez caught up with friends and shared stories with new acquaintances from other counties, in town for the showcase, over the midday meal.

Anecdotes floated around the room, as growers touched on their relief over this year’s mild winter weather, which left minimal freeze damage, and anxiety regarding the slow creep of ACP northward from Southern California counties.

Also roaming the aisles of the showcase, Tulare County Agricultural Commissioner Marilyn Kinoshita said she appreciated any event that brought growers together to share best practices.

Learning about the latest in irrigation, in water use efficiency and pest exclusion could make a major difference in an operation’s bottom line, she said.

“If you can use a cheaper product, it’s always better than just staying with the old one and getting into a rut,” she said.

New technology in packing and pesticide use are important to incorporate, Kinoshita said.

One particularly popular booth, she said, let growers get a taste — so to speak — of different types of citrus with which they may have been unfamiliar without a commitment.

“Tasting is very important to a grower who is considering a new crop,” she said.

Eye-catching slices of navels, mandarins, blood oranges and lemons were labeled clearly and available for tasting.

While the CCM event usually does not involve political activities, Dunn’s appearance reflected an audible frustration among attendees regarding Sacramento’s overwhelming budget deficit and recent legislation affecting the citrus industry.

Some voters in urban areas outside of the Valley, Kinoshita said, are unable to see how the two main issues of the day — water and pests — affect the state as a whole.

“If the most productive area in the state doesn’t get water, where is their fruit going to come from?” she asked.

-- Contact Sarah de Crescenzo at 784-5000, Ext. 1045, or sdecrescenzo@portervillerecorder.com.

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