Florida and oranges have been a pair for decades. Now the industry has sour prospects

Hurricanes and an untreatable tree disease have left a once fruitful citrus industry with little to produce this year

For decades it was the signature taste of Florida: orange juice from the state’s plentiful groves advertised to a thirsty nation as “your daily dose of sunshine”. But now another hyperactive hurricane season, paired with the dogged persistence of an untreatable tree disease known as greening, has left a once thriving citrus industry on life support.

Only 12m boxes of oranges will have been produced in Florida by the end of this year, US Department of Agriculture (USDA) forecasts show, the lowest single-year yield in almost a century. The figure is 33% lower than a year ago, and less than 5% of the 2004 harvest of 242m boxes.

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