Who’s Tops in Citrus? California Might Take Crown from Florida This Year
April 19, 2021 When it comes to growing, harvesting, and packing oranges in the U.S., most folks think of Florida. This is for good reason as the Sunshine State always leads the pack in domestic orange production – well, almost always.
It looks like for the 2020-2021 season, California might edge out Florida in overall orange production. The latest crop estimates from USDA currently show Florida at 51.7 million boxes of oranges and California holding steady at 52 million boxes by the time it’s all said and done in July.
The ravages of HLB (citrus greening) have taken a huge toll on citrus growers in Florida. They have been dealing with the systemic disease for nearly two decades now. The disease puts extra stress on trees, leading to disruption in fruit development and contributing to fruit drop.
How much have things changed for the Florida citrus industry over the years? The orange crop haul during the 1997-1998 season was a record at 244 million boxes.
In California, where, unlike Florida, growers focus on citrus for fresh eating, the first Asian citrus psyllid – the vector of HLB — was found in 2012 and the initial case of HLB (in a residential back yard) in 2017. It has not yet been found in California’s commercial citrus belt in the San Joaquin Valley, but scientists believe it’s likely a matter of time.
Now even though this news about citrus in California possibly eclipsing Florida is rare news, it actually has happened before – relatively recently. Looking back at USDA stats, California farmers sold nearly 4 million tons of citrus in the 2016-2017 campaign, compared to 3.5 million tons from Florida. That was a first in 70 years!
Loading ...For this season, USDA forecasters still have a few months left to count everything up. Stay tuned.
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