Irma Destroys Over Half of Orange Crop in Parts of Florida
- Damage to trees could reduce output already lowest in 50 years
- Frozen-juice prices surge, and fresh-squeezed gets more costly
Concerns Over Florida Crop Damage Are Easing
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Thousands of unripe oranges littered the ground at the Bereah Grove in Frostproof, Florida. Some trees were split, ripped from the ground or flooded in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma. The grove is one of many owned by Alico Inc., the nation’s largest citrus producer, that were vulnerable in Irma’s path.
Joel Rivera, 65, an irrigation worker for Alico in Frostproof, said his biggest concern was the amount of fruit on the ground. "I’m not too worried about the trees themselves," Rivera said. "One tree is down here, one is flooded there, but the hurricane took a lot of fruit off these trees."