Georgia Citrus Grower Discusses Satsuma Situation

Georgia’s citrus industry has found its footing more than a decade into production. Whether growers can thrive for the next 10 years may depend largely on their ability to expand production beyond satsuma mandarins.

“It is a work in progress. Anybody getting into it will need to consider that,” Georgia grower Buck Paulk said. “There’s a lot of unknowns with it, but the general premise is, if you can make really good fruit, I think there’s a home for it.”

Paulk was one of the featured speakers at the recent Georgia Citrus Association annual meeting in Tifton. He is optimistic about the industry’s future but understands the challenges that can hinder profitability if producers are not prepared.

The majority of production is satsumas, he said, because it is what will survive in Georgia the best with cold hardiness being the No. 1 concern.

“The further we go into it, we’re learning there are other varieties that will function and do well here,” Paulk said. “But because satsuma is the most prominent one, there’s been a lot planted. There are some oversupply issues inside of the short window that it comes in.”

Paulk added that grocery stores require certain size and quality for satsumas. If the fruit doesn’t meet that criteria, growers will have limited outlets.

Satsumas are the most common citrus produced in the cold-hardy citrus region. Paulk estimates about 80% of his 150 acres are satsumas. But they have a short shelf life, and maturity occurred later than normal this past season. Instead of a 60-day window, growers had a 30-day window to harvest and sell their fruit, which flooded the market.

Satsuma’s lack of shelf life caused multiple growers in the region, including Paulk in South Georgia, to pull trees in favor of something else. He said he replaced three varieties of satsuma mandarins with Tango mandarins in his grove.

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