Cold-Hardy Citrus Region Continues to Expand

Muhammad Shahid, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) assistant professor of horticulture, joined the All In For Citrus podcast recently to discuss the growing citrus industry in the cold-hardy region of North Florida, South Georgia and Southeast Alabama. Production continues to expand in the area with some 7,000 to 8,000 acres of citrus.

Shahid is based at the UF/IFAS North Florida Research and Education Center in Quincy, which is in the heart of the cold-hardy region. He said he frequently gets calls from new growers interested in planting citrus. One of the major areas of research is expanding the variety options for the region.

According to Shahid, satsumas make up the majority of the area’s citrus acreage. “The rest is made up of lemons, grapefruit and some other mandarins. There is a need to diversify the industry,” he says.

An example of the cold tolerance of satsuma was illustrated in the last week of December 2022, when there were five consecutive days of below freezing temperatures. While around 95% of the crop was lost, the satsuma trees survived, bounced back quickly and produced a bumper crop this year.

Due to packinghouse standards, about 30% to 40% of the satsuma crop is not packed, so the industry is trying to find uses for that fruit. And the satsuma harvest window is tight because the fruit doesn’t hold well on the tree. When it’s time to harvest, growers must get fruit off the trees. That means harvest comes fast between mid-November and mid-December.

Shahid says the search is on for other varieties that can provide fruit before and after the satsuma harvest window. He and his colleagues are evaluating about 30 different varieties to expand the harvest window.

“We have found some very good candidates like UF-905, which is sweet, easy-to-peel and gives you fruit in December. Marathon is also getting some traction in the region,” Shahid said.

Learn more about the cold-hardy citrus region and potential varieties for the area in the November episode of All In For Citrus. The podcast is a partnership between UF/IFAS and AgNet Media.

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