1. Please state project objectives and what work was done this quarter to address them: Hamlin fruit was harvested in Southwest Florida (Duda Farms) on January 10, 2023. Yield increased in both Fertizink and Nuzink treatments by 20% as compared to non-treated trees. There was no difference on Brix, with all fruit around 8.7.Treatments continued on Valencia trees and sampling and ratings continued as planned.Changes in mophology and particle size of the novel zinc fertilizers was assessed though low magnification Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). SEM images of six month old batches of NuZinc show irregular particulate ranging from 1 – 5 µm, while fifteen month old batches demonstrate larger particulate ranging from 3 – 12 µm. SEM micrographs also demonstre that FertiZink particulate increases in size over the course of nine months. After six monts the particulate exhibits a size between 15 – 20 µm, while after fifteen months it increases in the range of 20 – 50 µm. All particulates appear to be composed of smaller size primary particles. This results suggest there might be a change in activity of the novel novel zinc fertilizers over the course of fifteen months and help to determine the shelf-life of the products. Outreach:-Alferez, F. Using brassinosteroids and IPCs in citrus & update on how Zinc can reduce fruit drop and increase yield. Citrus production school. Arcadia, FL, February 3. 2. Please state what work is anticipated for next quarter: We anticipate that Valencia fruit will be harvested. We will perform analysis on Auxin content with samples from Hamlin and Valencia (first year of treatments and samplings).We will contunie to monitor the quality of the Fertizink and Nuzink products. We have received a fresh batch of the Fertizink and Nuzink products this week. These products will be compared with the previous batch for various physico-chemical properties. We will also evaluate Zn leaf surface coverage. 3. Please state budget status (underspend or overspend, and why):Underspent due to initial delay in the subcontract process from UCF to UF. However, we are making solid progress to complete the proposed tasks. Current status: 70% completion of Year 1 objectives.Overall: About 30% completion of the proposed objectives for the duration 3 years.