FEATURE | e d i t i o n
Citrus Season Recap After Disappointing Season, Growers Hope Research Will Slow the Slide by PAUL CATALA
F
FOR GROWERS ALL TOO FAMILIAR with struggle, the final numbers for the 2021-2022 citrus season were not surprising. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s June report for the October to June 2021-22 season estimated a season total of 44.75 million boxes of oranges, grapefruit, and specialty citrus, down more than 22 percent from the previous year. Oranges account for most of that estimate, with 40.7 million boxes, while grapefruit was estimated at 3.3 million boxes and tangerines/ tangelos were estimated at 750,000. While 2021-2022 was a disappointing season that echoed the familiar decline in citrus production, it didn’t mark the end of an era for most growers and industry experts. Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried cited the meager bump in production estimates from April to June as a sign of hope. “Our producers have faced challenges over the past decade, including the continued impact of citrus greening and severe weather events. However, Florida orange juice and our fresh citrus continue to be in demand by consumers.” Many citrus growers such as Vic Story, presi-
dent of The Story Companies in Lake Wales, remain guarded on the season outcome and what it could indicate for the future. Story says the 2022 citrus season was more or less hit-and-miss, but mostly “miss.” “Some of our groves did pretty well this season,” he says, “but the ones we picked at the end did not. We had a heavy fruit drop. We picked the least we picked in some time. It was a very poor season, no question about that, due primarily to the fruit drop.” Established in 1945, The Story Companies holds about 1,800 acres of citrus, leases about 400 acres and caretakes about 2,000 acres across Central Florida. The Story Companies harvested about 400 boxes an acre of Valencia oranges, but other varieties averaged about 100 boxes. He says the average is 225 per acre, with the high at about 425 boxes per acre. Other factors for The Story Companies’ lessthan-stellar season were greening and a signifi-
cant freeze in January. He says the citrus greening put trees under stress, causing them to drop fruit; some blocks were filled with dead wood. “For us, there were some blocks that were in bloom at that time and even though we ran our microjets, it still was very damaging,” says Story, who adds that impact will carry forward to the next crop for growers. “There are some blocks with dead wood. And for greening trees under stress – it causes them to drop fruit.” Story says he’s used gibberellic acid to help rejuvenate trees to hold fruit better, although it causes the outside of the orange to stay green while the inside develops. Overall, Story says growers have been able to maneuver to keep up production, although he sees a further decline in numbers of growers statewide. “It’s a lot more work than it used to be. I haven’t given up yet, and we’re making it work so far. We’re doing a lot of things at different times of the year to help the trees stay healthy and for us, a lot of that’s working,” he adds. “There are other growers committed and hoping things get better. The trick to that is to stay in business long enough … to get in viable production.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 14
12 | CFAN
FloridaAgNews.com
