It’s been a tough year for Fla. citrus
FILE PHOTO BY K.M. THORNTON SR.
Three times this growing season, the USDA has decreased its crop estimate, a figure Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam calls "extraordinary."
ST. PETERSBURG — Florida’s citrus crop has suffered huge losses this year, with fruit falling from trees and the overall forecast declining about 10 percent, but the problems shouldn’t translate to a price increase at the breakfast table — yet.
Experts and growers say warm, dry weather; too much fruit on each tree; and citrus greening disease are the likely culprits.