New Citrus FAST TRACK Program Making Progress
September 25, 2013 
The FAST TRACK release model, providing growers and nurseries an opportunity to participate in early trial and evaluation of experimental UF/IFAS fresh citrus selections, is now officially under way. Grower meetings were held in six locations from Jan. 31 to Aug. 2. Growers and nursery personnel from around the state gathered in Tavares, Lake Alfred, Sebring, Immokalee, Ft. Pierce, and Cocoa to learn details of the program and begin the registration process. Most meetings were quite interactive, with ample time allowed for Q&A.
John Beuttenmuller, executive director of the Florida Foundation Seed Producers (FFSP) Inc., provided an overview of the licensing process and New Varieties Development & Management Corp. (NVDMC) covered the specifics of the FAST TRACK program.
NVDMC was awarded the opportunity to manage this program by FFSP through the “Invitation to Negotiate� process. NVDMC will manage the three-tier system, beginning with the trial stage and progressing toward the hopeful identification of commercial varieties that will improve Florida’s competitive position and enhance grower and nursery options. The information gleaned from this process will help inform commercialization decisions and reduce the necessity of awaiting results of formal long-term replicated trials.
Nursery Involvement
NVDMC’s first task was to secure nursery participants. FAST TRACK provides citrus nurseries an opportunity to gain early experience with experimental UF/IFAS selections, some of which may move into commercial production. NVDMC worked closely with FNGLA’s Citrus Nursery Division to develop a process for assigning nurseries to specific FAST TRACK selections. There will be one propagating nursery for each FAST TRACK selection. Nurseries not chosen as a FAST TRACK propagating nursery can still register to increase budwood of any of the FAST TRACK selections (contact NVDMC for details). FNGLA has been very helpful throughout this process and their contributions are greatly appreciated. Here is a list of the FAST TRACK nursery assignments for Tier 1 propagations:
| Selection | Nursery |
| 411 mandarin hybrid | W.W. Citrus Nursery |
| 900 mandarin hybrid | W.W. Citrus Nursery |
| 950 mandarin hybrid | Phillip Rucks Citrus Nursery |
| SL Snack mandarin hybrid | Brite Leaf Citrus Nursery |
| C4-15-19 mandarin hybrid | Phillip Rucks Citrus Nursery |
| 914 grapefruit hybrid | Southern Citrus Nursery |
| C2-5-12 grapefruit hybrid | W.W. Citrus Nursery |
| 5-1-99-2 grapefruit hybrid | CitriSun Citrus Nursery |
| 501-99-5 grapefruit hybrid | CitriSun Citrus Nursery |
Grower Registrations
Growers have 180 days to register for the FAST TRACK program. The registration period began on August 2 and closes on Jan. 29, 2014 at 4 p.m. During this time, growers can contact NVDMC for documentation and/or details about the program. If you were unable to attend the grower meetings, and can assemble a group of interested growers, NVDMC will make every effort to meet with you in person. Growers are required to complete a registration document, sign a Tier I grower agreement, and pay a participation fee. Most of the grower meetings were well attended. However, NVDMC is aware that many interested growers were traveling or otherwise unable to make the meetings. For this reason, attendance at the grower meetings was not set as a requirement for participation in the program. If you are interested, contact NVDMC and get your documentation processed. As you read in previous “Citrus Nursery Source� articles, there are substantive incentives for growers to participate in this program if they have an interest in fresh citrus production.
Building Budwood Supply
Budwood is in short supply for some of the first nine FAST TRACK selections. In order to accommodate grower and nursery demand, and to ensure that some trees are planted next summer, early registrations (received by Sept. 1) received priority access to budwood. However, growers who did not meet the cut-off should not be concerned. Budwood increase continues and NVDMC expects to fulfill demand from registrations received between now and Jan. 29.
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