The 2025–26 State of the Citrus Industry Survey asked growers if they are planting and what their variety and rootstock selections are. It also surveyed growers on their sentiments about the future of citrus in Florida.
Following are some highlights from the survey which was conducted in the fall of 2025. (See Part 1 of survey results here).
Growers’ preference for what they know is clear in the dominance of Valencia. The majority of grapefruit noted are the Ruby Red variety. The OLL varieties were mostly OLL 8. There were quite a few other varieties mentioned in small numbers.
For the first time in this survey, X-639 has displaced US-942 as the top selection. There were several other rootstocks listed, but these were the most frequently mentioned. Of note, a few growers listed CarriCea T1, which is the new CRISPR rootstock that aims to help fight HLB.
Many of the growers responding to the survey noted they are using funds to replant new trees, which is the major goal of the CRAFT Foundation. The CRAFT Existing Tree Therapies program funding is largely aimed at oxytetracycline injections and applications of plant growth regulators like gibberellic acid.
About half of the growers responding noted fruit quality during the 2024–25 season was average to good, but nearly 30% rated quality poor.
While some respondents expressed hope in the future, many commented that assistance from programs like CRAFT is critical to saving the industry that has been pummeled by HLB for 20 years.
This article was published in the February digital edition of Specialty Crop Grower magazine, which includes a video of Florida Citrus Mutual’s Matt Joyner discussing early reports of Florida citrus damage from the late January/early February freeze.
NOTE: These results are from an online survey, not a scientifically verified survey, but data do reflect general industry trends.
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