Wednesday, December 16

It's Time to Prepare your Citrus Fruit Trees for the Winter Months

It's important to protect your fruit trees from freezing temperatures. Photo by Jared Subia on Unsplash.


Baton Rouge, La. –  As the weather continues to become colder it’s important to take precautions to protect your citrus trees. These trees are frost-tender and are likely to be damaged by freezing temperatures. Because of this, citrus trees are usually grown in hardiness zones 9-11.

When a freeze is coming (temperatures reaching 32°F or below) measures need to be taken to minimize damage to your citrus trees.

The longer the temperature remains under 32°F, the more damage it can cause.

Follow these steps to protect your citrus trees throughout the winter.

Step 1.  Make sure your tree is watered well, this helps insulate the soil and roots. Make sure the bottom of the tree is also mulched well with either pine bark mulch, pine straw mulch, etc.).

Step 2. Cover the tree with a sheet or row cover, this protects the leaves from dew accumulation – which is actually what harms the leaves once the dew turns to frost.

Step 3. If the tree is too large to cover, you can focus on protecting the lower trunk of the tree with a tree wrap, bubble wrap, foam rubber, or Styrofoam to prevent cold damage, this can be placed before the threat of the first frost and left on the trunk throughout the winter.

Step 4. After the temperature rises the next day or so, remove the sheet from over the tree branches.

Step 5. Make sure to glean or remove all mature fruits before the freezing temperatures.

For any questions contact Stephanie Elwood, SU Ag Center Sustainable Urban Ag Trainer for the Enhancing Capacity of Louisiana's Small Farms and Businesses Programs at stephanie_elwood@suagcenter.com.  

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Friday, December 4

SU Ag Center discusses the importance of the Census during a virtual workshop

 

The Southern University Ag Center partnered with the Louisiana Tri-Parish Alumnae (LTP) Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. to encourage Louisiana residents to complete the 2020 Census.

Baton Rouge, La. – The Southern University Ag Center and the Louisiana Tri-Parish Alumnae (LTP) Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. held a virtual Census workshop called “Counting Small Towns is a Big Deal.”

 

More than 4,000 individuals viewed the workshop, which was live-streamed on the Facebook pages of the Southern University Ag Center and the LTP, as well as through the Cisco WebEx virtual format.

 

SU Ag Center Community and Economic Development Assistant Specialist, Gerald Williams was the speaker for the August 4, 2020 event. Viewers were provided with information on how data from the Census is used to determine how billions of federal funds are distributed to fund programs and services for the next 10 years.

 

Louisiana residents, especially those individuals residing within rural communities, were asked to complete the 2020 Census to ensure the families in the state’s small towns and communities were counted.

 

The Southern University Ag Center will continue to partner with community and faith-based organizations to provide its clientele with information and services to help them live successful and productive lives.

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