Florida Orange Acres Fall as Farmers Cut Sick Trees

Orange-crop acreage in Florida, the world’s second-biggest producer, fell to a 24-year low as growers removed trees to slow the spread of disease affecting citrus crops, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said.

The state has 483,418 acres of orange groves this year, down 1.8 percent from 492,529 acres in 2009, the USDA said today in a report on its Web site. That marked the smallest area since 1986 after several major freezes hurt groves.