Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
other complications, too. Clementines, for example, are seedless only when they are
grown in isolation, away from other citrus. This is extremely inconvenient for growers,
who like to have a range of fruits to offer.
Until the early 1990s, mandarins represented a minor part of the American citrus mar-
ket - no more than 5 percent a year. Then came a wake-up call from Spain. The largest
exporter of fresh citrus in the world, Spain started sending boatloads of Clementines to
the United States and found a downright eager market. From 1996 to 2000, Spanish ship-
ments of Clementines increased fivefold, to more than 200 million pounds a year.
That got the attention of California's citrus growers, many of whom were getting
squeezed in the souring orange market. California has the advantage of a cooler growing
climate than Florida, so it can produce mandarins much later in the year. California grow-
ers began planting great swaths of mandarins in the southern part of the San Joaquin Val-
ley in the late 1990s, more than doubling the state's previous plantings in just five years
and drawing nearly even with Florida. From 1998 to 2005, California's acreage increased
from about 8,000 acres to more than 18,000, and Florida's plantings decreased. During the
same period plant breeders at the University of California at Riverside released a series of
new seedless mandarin hybrids that have the potential to extend the season well into early
summer.
Although Spain produces about 2 million tons of mandarins every year and still domin-
ates the global market, the United States grows 40 percent of the grapefruits in the world.
(The name comes from the fact that the decidedly ungrapelike fruit grows in clusters at
the ends of branches.) The origin of the grapefruit is unclear, but most botanists believe it
is a cross between the pummelo and a sweet orange. It was first described on a plantation
in Barbados in 1837 and was introduced in Florida not long after.
Grapefruits are beloved by growers and retailers for their remarkable durability. The
ripe fruit of most varieties will hold on the tree for months, waiting for the most opportune
time for harvest. Once picked, grapefruits will last for weeks, even when kept at cool room
temperature.
Florida grows more than 80 percent of the U.S. harvest, primarily the white Marsh vari-
ety. Texas is a distant second, with less than 15 percent of the Florida total. The state is
best known for its Star Ruby and Ruby Red deep pink grapefruits, which get their color
from the flavorless pigment lycopene. These grapefruits turned up in the early twentieth
century as chance mutations and quickly found ready consumers.
