Citrus production facts for kids
Citrus production is all about growing citrus fruits. These fruits are super important in global trade because they are worth a lot of money!
There are two main ways citrus fruits are sold:
- As fresh fruit, like oranges you peel and eat.
- As processed fruit, mostly for making orange juice.
While oranges are the most common citrus fruit grown, farmers also grow lots of grapefruits, pomeloes, lemons, and limes.
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History of Citrus
No one knows exactly where citrus fruits first came from. But experts think they started growing in Southeast Asia about 6,000 years ago. From there, they slowly moved to northern Africa through people traveling and trading.
During the time of the Roman Empire, rich people wanted citrus fruits. This helped the fruits spread to southern Europe. Citrus fruits then traveled across Europe in the Middle Ages. Spanish explorers later brought them to the Americas.
People didn't start trading citrus fruits all over the world until the 1900s. And trading orange juice became popular even later, around 1940.
How Much Citrus Is Grown?
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) says that in 2020, the world grew about 144 million tons of citrus fruits! About half of this was oranges.
Citrus fruits are the most valuable fruit in international trade. In the early 2000s, citrus production grew a lot. This happened because farmers planted more citrus trees. Also, better ways to transport and package fruit helped. People also had more money and wanted healthy foods.
In 2019–2020, the world grew about 76 million tons of oranges. The biggest orange-growing countries were Brazil, China, India, the European Union, the USA, Mexico, and Egypt.
Countries That Grow Citrus
Citrus fruits are grown all over the world! In 2016, about 79% of all citrus was grown in the Northern Hemisphere. Countries around the Mediterranean Sea grew the most. Brazil was the biggest citrus grower in the Southern Hemisphere and the world.
In the United States, most orange juice and grapefruit come from Florida. But citrus fruits for eating fresh are mostly grown in California, Arizona, and Texas. Some other states like South Carolina, Georgia, and Louisiana also grow citrus. Florida alone produces about 100 million boxes of oranges each year!
China could be a huge player in the orange juice market. But high taxes on citrus there make it more profitable to sell the fruit within China. Even though citrus started in Southeast Asia, current production there is low. This is due to lower yields, high costs, and diseases.
Oranges and Orange Juice
About one-third of all citrus fruits are processed. More than 80% of this processed fruit is used to make orange juice. People in many countries, especially richer ones, want more fresh oranges and orange juice than farmers can produce.
The two biggest producers of orange juice are Florida in the United States and São Paulo in Brazil. Together, they make about 85% of the world's orange juice. Brazil sends almost all its orange juice to other countries. The US uses most of Florida's orange juice itself.
Orange juice is often traded as frozen concentrate. This means the water is taken out, making it smaller and lighter. This helps save money on storage and shipping.
Citrus Diseases
Citrus trees can get sick, which makes it harder to grow enough fruit. Here are some of the main diseases:
Citrus Canker
Citrus canker is a disease caused by bacteria. It creates ugly spots on all parts of the citrus plant. These spots make the fruit look bad, so it can't be sold. The disease also makes the tree weak and causes fruit to drop early. Even though it's not harmful to eat, whole orchards are sometimes destroyed to stop the disease from spreading.
Citrus canker can affect all types of citrus trees. Recent outbreaks in Australia, Brazil, and the United States have slowed down citrus production. Tiny insects called citrus leafminer moths can make the problem worse. When these moths create small holes in the leaves, it makes it easier for the canker bacteria to get into the tree.
Citrus Greening Disease in Florida
Huanglongbing (HLB), also known as citrus greening, is one of the most serious diseases the Florida citrus industry has ever faced. It costs a lot of money to fight this disease, and many trees are lost, which means less fruit to sell.
For example, in 2000, Florida had over 665,000 acres of citrus farms. By 2011, this dropped to about 473,000 acres. This disease has caused Florida to lose billions of dollars and thousands of jobs.
The disease is spread by a tiny insect called the Asian citrus psyllid. This insect arrived in Florida in 1998. When citrus greening first appeared in Florida in 2005, the psyllids were already everywhere. Since then, citrus farmers have had to change how they grow fruit. They now use lots of pesticides, remove sick trees quickly, and grow young trees indoors.
Symptoms of Citrus Greening
Citrus greening can show many different signs on trees.
- Trees might grow yellow shoots instead of bright green ones.
- Leaves often have uneven yellow blotches. This is a key sign of the disease.
- Fruit on sick branches can be lopsided.
- The fruit might never ripen and will taste sour, making it impossible to sell.
- Later, the tree loses many leaves and fruits, and its branches start to die back.
- Sick trees look thin because they lose so many leaves.
After a tree gets citrus greening, it becomes too expensive to keep. It might die within 2 to 5 years.
Controlling the Spread
Farmers try to control the psyllids that spread citrus greening. They spray pesticides in winter when most adult psyllids are resting. This helps protect new leaves that grow in spring. Some farmers spray pesticides up to seven times a year, using different types to stop psyllids from becoming resistant.
Even with all these efforts, it's very hard to kill all the psyllids. So, most citrus farms will eventually have all their trees infected.
New Farming Methods
Farmers are trying new ways to keep their citrus groves healthy even with citrus greening. They want to get the most fruit for the lowest cost. The disease makes farming more expensive, so citrus fruit prices need to go up for farmers to make a profit.
Farmers now spray special fertilizers on citrus trees much more often. They learned this from a grower named Maury Boyd. He tried not removing sick trees but instead used strong nutrient sprays. His farm was one of the first to stay profitable even with many sick trees. Researchers at the University of Florida are studying his methods to find the best fertilizer mixes.
Controlling the psyllid insect is now a regular part of farming. Before citrus greening, farmers didn't need to spray for insects. Now, research focuses on when and which pesticides work best.
Also, all new young citrus trees are now grown indoors in special nurseries. This makes sure that farmers buy healthy trees that are free of the disease. A young tree that already has greening disease will never grow well, even with lots of care.
These new methods – controlling insects, giving trees proper nutrition, and planting certified healthy young trees – are the best ways for farmers to fight citrus greening. The biggest hope for the future is to find citrus varieties that are naturally resistant to the disease.
Citrus Nutrition
Just like people, citrus trees need the right food to grow strong and healthy! This "food" comes from nutrients in the soil.
Main Nutrients
The most important nutrients for citrus trees are nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus. Calcium, magnesium, and sulfur are also very important.
- Nitrogen: Helps the tree and leaves grow big. It also affects how thick the fruit peel is and how sour the juice tastes.
- Phosphorus: Helps roots grow well, increases how much fruit the tree produces, and makes the fruit heavier. It also makes the peel thinner.
- Potassium: Helps keep fruit size, juice quality, and makes the tree more resistant to diseases. Fruit takes up a lot of potassium. Not enough potassium can cause fruit to split or get plugged up.
Tiny Nutrients (Micronutrients)
Citrus trees also need small amounts of other nutrients like boron, copper, iron, and manganese.
- Boron: Helps with many plant processes. If a tree doesn't get enough boron, its fruit and leaves won't be good quality, and the tree won't grow properly at the top.
- Copper: Important for how the plant makes food (photosynthesis) and how well fruit grows. Not enough copper can make shoots droop and cause "brown gum" on the tree.
- Iron: Helps many plant processes and is important for fruit sweetness, vitamin C, and juice content. Not enough iron is common. It makes leaf veins stand out and leaves turn white.
- Manganese: If a tree lacks manganese, its leaves might turn mottled yellow. It helps improve the sugar in fruit juice.
See also
In Spanish: Citricultura para niños
