Florida citrus

The Fort Myers-based company’s president said in a filing that “box production” was down 51.4 percent from the 2021-2022 season — though Alico fared better than Florida’s overall citrus industry, which had its worst season in nearly a century.

Production numbers for Florida’s orange crop continue to decline as the citrus industry’s storm-battered season nears an end.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Friday issued a forecast that said Florida growers this season are on pace to fill 15.65 million boxes of oranges, which would be the lowest total since the 1934-1935 season.

Fourth-generation Central Florida citrus grower Eddie White has seen urbanization and citrus disease threaten the industry and his way of life, but he honors his heritage by running his family’s grove in new ways.

The Florida citrus industry could have its hardest year since the Great Depression after two back-to-back hurricanes this fall.

Before the storm, citrus production was already forecast to drop by a third compared with the year before. Estimated losses could run as much as $304.2 million.

One environmentalist called aldicarb “one of the most dangerous pesticides in history on Florida oranges and grapefruit.”

Aldicarb can cause weakness, blurred vision, headache, nausea, tearing, sweating, and tremors, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. And high doses can cause death by paralyzing the respiratory system.

The neurotoxin aldicarb is banned in about 100 countries, and is only one of 36 pesticides that the World Health Organization has called "extremely hazardous." It’s now allowed to be used on Florida oranges and grapefruits.

The increased demand is attributed to people working from home, and the thought a compound found in oranges can fend off coronavirus.

A company wants federal permission to use a pesticide linked to brain damage in young children and infants on citrus trees in Florida and Texas.

Hurricane Irma continues to challenge Florida’s citrus industry.Two growing seasons separated from the September 2017 storm that flooded groves and…