Perhaps like me, you are living in the delusion that Florida’s orange industry is thriving, those magical orange globes, bursting through lush leaves and oozing with juice, ready to be transformed into our favorite breakfast beverage. The reality is rather sad: Florida now produces only as many oranges as it did in the 1940s, and has been surpassed by California as the US’s leading supplier of the fruit.

So what went wrong? Some point to the “greening” disease that devastates entire orange groves, others to the impact of hurricanes tearing through central Florida, or the destruction caused by occasional freezing weather. These are unfortunate realities, but they don’t penetrate the pith and pip of the situation. Orange trees and the Floridian climate are a great match. The trees need abundant sunshine, and Florida is the quintessential sunshine state. However, Florida’s water table is high, resulting in trees with a very wide rather than a deep root system. Over time, in an attempt to boost production, growers planted the trees in ever closer proximity, so that not only do the roots intermingle but the canopies shade one another. Why is that a problem, one might query. Too many trees in search of too few soil nutrients, overlapping leaves blocking essential UV light, and hence less healthy trees prone to infestation. And a vicious cycle emerges. In response to infestation, growers enthusiastically sprayed fungicides and insecticides, further denuding the soil and ultimately weakening the trees. Weak trees bear less fruit. And thus the temptation to plant ever more densely.

Freezing conditions used to be a short-term catastrophe, yet most of the trees recovered and even flourished after the “rest” of the non-productive “frozen” season. Unfortunately over overplanted weaker trees don’t have this resilience, and many are lost to freezing conditions. Times are hard for commercial citrus growers, but, in time, the industry can revive, orange blossoms will bloom, and the ambrosial fruit will drip with juice again. In the meantime, don’t depend on Chris and Jean’s single orange tree. We made mistakes too, and this year’s crop will only supply two or three glasses of delicious orange juice. While we savor it, I’ll leave you with the  inevitable  question, 

What came first, the fruit or the color?

News Flash!

’Tis the Festive Season
Celebrate with Joy

End Notes

Reading

Listening

Teardrop
Massive Attack with Elizabeth Fraser

Poetry

When the Burning Begins
Patricia Smith