This is the recent newsletter from the Ojai Pixie Tangerine Growers Association. Emily Ayala is the author. I thought this is a great wake up call for ALL Citrus Growers with all the rain we have had and will have. Get that copper on. Ben Happy New Year! Well, we've got the rain we were asking for-- and along with it some problems. I was out and about in a lot of orchards today and the dreaded Brown Rot disease is showing up in many orchards. You can read about brown rot here: brown-rot, Brown rot infects all citrus and has a distinctive sweet/rotten smell. Fruit that is touching the ground will get it first and it can splash up the tree dropping fruit to the ground. Fruit has brown, soft smelly sides. You should at a minimum prune all fruit up off the ground and move infected fruit away from the tree if possible. Spray with copper if necessary, especially in poorly draining soils. Keep your eyes out for the disease moving up into the tree. We look forward to having an Ojai Pixie Crop to market! Emily | 
