Florida’s Citrus Industry

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What is the first thing that comes to mind when citrus is brought up? Citrus has been a part of Florida’s History for nearly 400 years. Citrus trees were brought to Florida from the island of Hispaniola around the year 1579 (Joyner 3). A Spanish explorer named Ponce de Leon planted them in St. Augustine, the oldest European settlement in the United States (Joyner 3). This was the first place to have citrus because of the rich soil, easy seaport, and the right temperature to produce a successful crop.
In the early 1800s, the French Count Odet Philippe brought citrus trees from the West Indies to Florida (Joyner 3). He decided to plant the first grove ever in the history of Florida in Tampa. Furthermore, Citrus became the reason Florida expanded with settlers. All around the northern tip of Florida there were groves; until Mother Nature made it turn for the worse. In 1894, there was a disaster known as “The Great Freeze.” From oranges to lemons; everything was killed! It took nearly fifteen years for Florida to recover from this tragedy. When the crop finally came back, it was stronger than ever!
More importantly, Florida now has over 100 million oranges and grapefruit trees (Joyner 3)! In these 100 million orange trees there are 5 different varieties. What makes these varieties different from each other is there root stock. There are different varieties of orange trees because of the condition they are grown under. The five types of orange trees are Ambersweet, Hamlin, Navel, Pineapple, and Valencia. ( Joyner 3)
Citrus fruit are not just used for fresh fruit and juice. It has many other uses. One is in jellies and in other preserves. Preserves include marmalades and crystallized fruits. A by-product of citrus production is ...

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...in,the biggest Citrus Operation in the state of Florida, then you are praying that the prices go up so you can afford to beat this so called beast named greening (Alvarez 1).
I hope your outlook on citrus is a whole lot different. These farmers are not rednecks; they may not wear dress shoes and a tie everyday but they know what hard work is. If this disease kills the citrus in Florida then I have no clue what these farmers will do. When you’re a farmer you are taught to live off the land; so I am sure they will be just fine.

Works Cited

Alaverez, Lizette. "Citrus Disease With No Cure Is Ravaging Florida Groves." The New York
Times. N.p., 9 May 2013. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.
Joyner, Cynthia. "The History of Citrus in Florida." n.d.: n. pag. Print.
Ziegler, Louis W., and Herbert S. Wolfe. Citrus Growing in Florida. Gainesville: University of
Florida, 1975. Print.

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