4-H Citrus Tree Project Information

The Central Florida Fair 4-H Citrus Tree Contest has been in operation for more than twelve years. There are a number of objectives, one of which is to have an increased awareness of the Central Florida citrus industry. A key part of the project is the citrus grower, processor, packer, and support industries which purchase the trees. Central Florida Fair Dates are April 16 through April 26, 2009.

Citrus Tree Contest Details

Each contestant will be given the opportunity to choose his or her own tree. Once trees have been selected, no substitutions will be allowed. Only trees from the original group will be eligible for exhibition in the fair.

Tree Judging

Two weeks prior to 4-H Day, each tree will be pre-judged and classified as blue, red, or white by qualified judges. All trees must be taken home. Blue-rated trees will be eligible to be "shown" by the exhibitor. You should return your tree the night of the sale. Separate classes will be held for Juniors and Seniors. During this final judging process, exhibitors should be prepared to answer questions related to the care of their trees.

Project Book Judging

Project books must be submitted by all CFF Citrus Contest participants. At check in time, books will be screened for completion. An exhibitor whose project book does not meet completion criteria will be ineligible to enter the tree in the CFF. Junior and Senior project books will be judged separately according to completeness, accuracy, and overall neatness.

Knowledge Test

All participants MUST take the knowledge test. Contestants will be required to ID varieties of citrus, parts of a tree, diseases, nutritional problems, and to answer questions relating to tree care and the citrus industry. Junior and Senior trees will be judged separately. Participants may take the test regardless of whether a tree is entered for judging. 2008/2009 Knowledge Test List.  (Coming Soon!)

Tree Sale

Blue ribbon trees will be for sale to the public during the fair. Sale of trees is optional. Please note your desire at time of check-in. Contest coordinators will attempt to recruit potential buyers for trees, but exhibitors are ultimately responsible for recruiting their own buyers.

Event Dates

Please note:  Mr. Ryan's Saturday programs will run from 10 a.m. to 12 noon unless otherwise noted.

December 6, 2008 Conserv II - Workshop Day and Conserv II Tour. 10 a.m. to 12 noon.

Sat. March 21, 2009 Apopka, MREC - Tree pre judging. Check in 10:00 a.m. to 12 noon. Trees need to be picked up immediately follwoing the pre judging. Project books are due at this time! And also on Sat. March 21, 2009 Apopka, MREC - The Knowledge Test. Will be done after pre judging. 10:00 a.m. to 12 noon. Test takes approximately 30 minutes after trees and project books are checked in. Test will consist of citrus variety id, pest, disease and nutritional disorder id, tree or fruit parts and other various questions.

Sat. April 18, 2009 - Blue ribbon trees eleigible to be shown at the Fair. All Exhibitors should check in with trees at the 4H information booth from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. The show will begin at 5:00 p.m. and the sale immediately following completion of the show.

4 H Citrus Photos

Click here to view photos of various field days, events, etc. (Coming Soon! )

4 H Citrus Problems

4 H Citrus Problems

Presentation designed to show some challenges/diseases a citrus tree might have.

Contest Materials

• 2009 CCF Contest Rules (20.5KB pdf)
• Care of Your Tree (321KB pdf)
• Citrus Tree Project Book #1 (336KB pdf)
• Citrus Tree Project Book #2 (369KB pdf)
• Citrus Tree Project Books #3-5 (364KB pdf)
• Citrus Tree Project Book #6 (636KB pdf)
• Cloverbud Citrus, ages 5-7 (716KB pdf)
• How to Transplant (122KB pdf)

2008/2009 Variety

Murcott  (Honey Tangerine) Murcott is an excellent tasting fruit with thin skin and good internal flesh color.  Trees tend to alternate year bare (one year lots of fruit the next year not much fruit).  Heavy cropping years can cause extensive limb breakage.  Trees are normally cold hardy, although are susceptible to cold damage when having lots of fruit.   Fruit is susceptible to scab, windscar, and sunburn.  Average seeds per fruit are between 10-20 seeds.  Fruit matures around March 1st.  Murcott’s are one of Mr. Ryan’s favorite fruits.

Cleopatra Mandarin  (Cleo)  Cleo rootstock is a somewhat cold hardy rootstock that produces and above average size tree.  Cleo rootstock produce a good internal juice quality and a small fruit size.  Cleo is susceptible to Phytophthora foot and root rot and should not be planted on poorly draining locations (wet sites).