Return to the Table of Contents for Publications ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CITRUS COMMERCIAL CITRUS INVENTORY PRELIMINARY REPORT August 31, 2000 Florida Agricultural Statistics Service | 1222 Woodward Street | Orlando, Florida 32803 | 407 / 648-6013 ------------------------------------------------------------- ALL CITRUS ACREAGE DECREASES TO 832,275 Florida's biennial Commercial Citrus Inventory shows 832,275 acres of citrus as of January 2000. A net decrease of 12,985 acres, two percent, has occurred in the past two years. During 1998 and 1999, plantings totaled 46,531 acres while 59,516 were removed. Total trees at 106.7 million are down less than one percent from the 107.1 million trees in 1998. Polk County is the leader with 101,484 acres of citrus, followed by Hendry with 99,437 and St. Lucie with 98,899. These three counties comprise over one-third of the citrus acreage in the state. Hendry County continues to lead in total trees and averages 154 trees per acre, 20 percent above the state average of 128 trees per acre. St. Lucie County has 120 trees per acre and Polk has 115. There has been a decline in acreage in 26 of the 33 citrus counties in the past two years. The Gulf Citrus area of Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry, and Lee counties had only a slight decrease in acreage since the previous census, declining from 179,948 to 178,595. The Gulf area also experienced a loss of 111,900 trees from 27,164,300 trees in 1998 to the current level of 27,052,400. ORANGE ACREAGE REACHES 665,529 All orange acres increased to 665,529 as of January 2000 compared to 658,390 in 1998. Along with this 1.1 percent increase in acreage there was a 2.1 percent increase in tree numbers. There are currently 87.2 million orange trees compared to 85.4 million trees in 1998. Bearing trees for all oranges are currently 78.7 million trees compared to 78.6 million in 1998. Bearing trees from this census are for use with the 1999-2000 harvest season and include those trees planted in 1996 and earlier years. Hamlin orange acreage is 217,214, up slightly from the 216,587 acres reported in 1998. Valencias showed a 3.6 percent increase to 325,625 acres, up from 314,310 in the previous census. Navel acreage has decreased 8.2 percent to 23,099 from 25,150 in 1998. A 39.5 percent decrease in Ambersweet oranges from 13,314 acres in 1998 to 8,050 in 2000 was recorded for this survey. GRAPEFRUIT DECREASES TO 118,145 Grapefruit acreage decreased an additional 2.6 percent from the special grapefruit survey conducted last year to 118,145. Colored varieties decreased 1.8 percent from 71,731 acres in 1999 to 70,437 in 2000. White seedless grapefruit acreage is 44,485, down 3.6 percent from the 46,160 acres in 1999. Seedy grapefruit acreage at 2,385 is down 9.1 percent from 2,623 acres in 1999. SPECIALTY ACREAGE DECREASED 10.1 PERCENT Specialty citrus types decreased 10.1 percent to 48,601 in 2000 from 54,053 acres in 1998. Temples continued to decline in acreage. Although acreage decreased, the Sunburst and Fallglo tangerine varieties now comprise 87 percent of the early category. Acreage of the older varieties has dropped over 30 percent since 1998. The Honey variety has increased steadily and accounts for 36 percent of the total tangerine acreage. Tangelo acreage decreased with Orlando, the main variety, down 9.0 percent and Minneola down 7.2 percent over the level of the previous census. Lemon acreage decreased 16.5 percent. Florida Commercial Citrus Acreage Census Specialty years Oranges Grapefruit fruit Total 1966 673,086 103,224 81,772 858,082 1968 713,400 119,883 97,966 931,249 1970 715,806 124,050 101,615 941,471 1972 659,418 124,142 94,459 878,019 1974 642,431 130,326 91,341 864,098 1976 628,567 137,909 85,893 852,369 1978 616,020 136,342 78,873 831,235 1980 627,174 139,944 78,165 845,283 1982 636,864 139,939 71,053 847,856 1984 573,991 134,680 52,694 761,365 1986 466,252 117,845 40,395 624,492 1988 536,737 119,606 41,586 697,929 1990 564,809 125,300 42,658 732,767 1992 608,636 135,166 47,488 791,290 1994 653,370 146,915 53,457 853,742 1996 656,598 144,416 56,673 857,687 1998 658,390 132,817 54,053 845,260 1999 -- 121,258 -- -- 2000 665,529 118,145 48,601 832,275 Florida Commercial Citrus Acreage Changes Between Censuses Census Two year change years Gross loss New plantings Net change Total 1966 NA1/ NA1/ NA1/ 858,082 1968 13,910 87,077 +73,167 931,249 1970 26,114 36,336 +10,222 941,471 1972 2/ 82,948 19,496 -63,452 878,019 1974 40,181 26,260 -13,921 864,098 1976 40,518 28,789 -11,729 852,369 1978 2/ 49,127 27,993 -21,134 831,235 1980 25,925 39,973 +14,048 845,283 1982 2/ 51,942 54,515 +2,573 847,856 1984 2/ 159,719 73,228 -86,491 761,365 1986 2/ 185,598 48,725 -136,873 624,492 1988 52,240 125,677 +73,437 697,929 1990 2/ 85,858 120,696 +34,838 732,767 1992 74,704 133,227 +58,523 791,290 1994 45,214 107,666 +62,452 853,742 1996 35,947 39,892 +3,945 857,687 1998 49,325 36,898 -12,427 845,260 2000 59,516 46,531 -12,985 832,275 1/ First census via aerial photography in 1966. 2/ January freezes in 1971, 1977, 1981, 1982, 1985, and 1986. December freezes in 1983, 1985, and 1989. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2000 Florida Commercial Citrus Inventory All citrus, number of acres, by variety and year set Oranges Grapefruit Year Set All Colored Citrus Early Midseason Late Unidentified Total White Seedy Seed Acres Pre-1956 33,233 6,386 5,468 15,361 0 27,215 1,350 2,355 765 1956-65 75,121 23,857 10,964 25,494 0 60,315 7,558 1,719 182 1966-75 61,367 11,123 6,387 17,009 1 34,520 12,658 10,777 433 1976 4,851 1,306 533 1,786 0 3,625 263 882 20 1977 6,060 1,786 466 1,846 0 4,098 247 1,556 72 1978 6,196 1,776 464 2,119 1 4,360 210 1,500 34 1979 9,024 3,141 660 3,099 0 6,900 162 1,631 34 1980 8,018 3,215 646 3,064 0 6,925 184 676 17 1981 13,082 6,361 736 3,854 0 10,951 243 1,522 25 1982 14,287 6,631 816 4,338 0 11,785 223 2,048 23 1983 24,096 11,614 1,975 7,552 6 21,147 265 2,009 83 1984 16,197 7,306 822 5,340 0 13,468 304 1,968 4 1985 16,024 7,813 928 5,998 0 14,739 160 632 13 1986 31,397 14,932 1,021 12,347 0 28,300 224 1,746 50 1987 56,386 23,744 2,869 22,598 8 49,219 800 3,850 116 1988 44,885 15,904 2,139 17,981 2 36,026 1,091 4,461 67 1989 62,731 20,613 2,609 26,950 60 50,232 3,630 5,275 90 1990 56,226 16,803 1,886 25,660 145 44,494 3,614 4,569 112 1991 68,721 24,072 2,911 27,764 162 54,909 2,382 6,592 36 1992 61,754 18,433 3,460 25,079 80 47,052 2,628 6,582 85 1993 38,034 10,134 2,408 15,765 67 28,374 1,474 3,375 51 1994 17,947 4,653 1,167 7,474 50 13,344 1,000 1,365 17 1995 20,712 6,887 1,264 9,040 37 17,228 1,318 852 18 1996 16,050 4,271 906 7,521 212 12,910 1,090 693 10 Bearing 762,399 252,761 53,505 295,039 831 602,13643,078 68,635 2,357 1997 23,345 4,816 1,091 11,983 3,044 20,934 609 504 12 1998 22,870 3,830 1,017 10,507 5,007 20,361 566 759 8 1999 23,661 5,890 1,061 8,096 7,051 22,098 232 539 8 Non-bearing 69,876 14,536 3,169 30,586 15,102 63,393 1,407 1,802 28 Total 832,275 267,297 56,674 325,625 15,933 665,52944,485 70,437 2,385 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2000 Florida Commercial Citrus Inventory All citrus, number of acres, by variety and year set Grapefruit Tangerines Other Year Set Temples Tangelos Unidentified Total Fallglo SunburstRobinson Dancy Honey Citrus Acres Pre-1956 1 4,471 952 413 0 0 0 123 49 10 1956-65 0 9,459 1,780 2,112 0 0 91 85 1,064 215 1966-75 0 23,868 987 1,271 0 0 98 55 446 122 1976 0 1,165 10 19 0 0 4 3 23 2 1977 0 1,875 16 22 0 0 6 4 34 5 1978 0 1,744 17 47 0 0 6 4 13 5 1979 0 1,827 33 26 0 0 1 1 225 11 1980 0 877 24 31 0 24 19 5 111 2 1981 0 1,790 67 72 0 68 14 1 77 42 1982 0 2,294 38 55 0 54 9 2 35 15 1983 0 2,357 83 144 0 120 7 6 191 41 1984 0 2,276 54 130 0 158 20 4 71 16 1985 0 805 20 101 0 123 24 10 175 27 1986 0 2,020 156 355 0 227 51 35 207 46 1987 0 4,766 153 713 10 855 90 48 393 139 1988 0 5,619 158 979 21 1,300 129 78 445 130 1989 0 8,995 293 764 282 1,274 167 24 565 135 1990 0 8,295 81 783 445 1,227 125 28 613 135 1991 0 9,010 160 1,064 415 2,196 253 21 548 145 1992 0 9,295 161 965 582 2,133 130 55 1,036 345 1993 0 4,900 156 532 1,036 1,295 302 8 1,006 425 1994 1 2,383 123 271 236 264 54 5 644 623 1995 5 2,193 141 167 76 195 68 0 462 182 1996 12 1,805 92 223 72 213 5 1 455 274 Bearing 19 114,089 5,755 11,259 3,175 11,726 1,673 606 8,888 3,092 1997 280 1,405 86 169 75 148 15 5 401 107 1998 319 1,652 98 92 44 100 1 0 491 31 1999 220 999 71 61 78 74 7 0 257 16 Non-bearing 819 4,056 255 322 197 322 23 5 1,149 154 Total 838 118,145 6,010 11,581 3,372 12,048 1,696 611 10,037 3,246 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2000 Florida Commercial Citrus Inventory All citrus, number of acres, by variety and year set Oranges Grapefruit Year Set All Colored Citrus Early Midseason Late Unidentified Total White Seedy Seed 1,000 trees Pre-1956 2,975.3 558.1 503.2 1,430.9 0.0 2,492.2 111.9 178.2 60.7 1956-65 7,374.9 2,278.9 1,149.9 2,612.1 0.0 6,040.9 620.9 148.9 16.7 1966-75 6,648.1 1,300.4 758.6 1,999.3 0.1 4,058.4 1,172.4 1,035.0 39.3 1976 539.2 141.8 65.1 216.6 0.0 423.5 23.2 84.2 1.7 1977 664.9 198.7 54.7 212.6 0.0 466.0 25.6 156.5 6.9 1978 677.7 201.5 52.5 241.5 0.2 495.7 21.8 147.3 3.1 1979 1,019.1 356.5 79.9 379.0 0.0 815.4 16.6 154.0 3.2 1980 949.9 370.6 77.4 379.7 0.0 827.7 19.9 70.0 1.5 1981 1,522.7 739.6 93.1 470.1 0.0 1,302.8 25.2 153.6 2.3 1982 1,645.5 767.9 104.4 528.1 0.0 1,400.4 20.9 198.7 2.2 1983 2,859.7 1,370.2 244.4 931.2 1.1 2,546.9 26.6 206.5 9.3 1984 1,950.3 877.8 102.7 661.9 0.0 1,642.4 28.6 222.7 0.4 1985 2,067.4 971.5 115.0 819.6 0.0 1,906.1 16.0 73.5 1.3 1986 4,144.2 1,950.5 130.2 1,686.5 0.0 3,767.2 23.0 199.9 5.2 1987 7,449.2 3,119.9 374.1 3,076.9 0.7 6,571.6 81.0 445.8 11.7 1988 6,083.6 2,175.1 287.1 2,531.2 0.5 4,993.9 122.7 507.7 7.0 1989 9,040.6 3,048.2 362.7 4,042.7 6.8 7,460.4 414.3 636.1 9.2 1990 8,106.0 2,342.7 264.4 3,944.0 17.8 6,568.9 411.2 554.3 11.1 1991 9,725.1 3,381.5 386.0 4,153.4 22.8 7,943.7 267.2 820.5 3.6 1992 8,613.3 2,505.4 485.7 3,662.4 11.7 6,665.2 311.2 816.9 9.0 1993 5,502.6 1,412.7 374.0 2,287.9 8.9 4,083.5 178.8 459.8 4.6 1994 2,618.5 627.7 194.7 1,121.1 8.5 1,952.0 118.6 183.2 1.6 1995 2,897.1 943.8 160.1 1,306.8 5.1 2,415.8 151.3 111.3 1.6 1996 2,311.6 584.8 129.5 1,133.1 33.0 1,880.4 126.4 87.7 0.7 Bearing 97,386.5 32,225.8 6,549.4 39,828.6 117.2 78,721.04,335.3 7,652.3 213.9 1997 3,120.1 645.0 140.6 1,602.1 421.9 2,809.6 70.4 62.4 1.0 1998 3,051.7 507.4 141.5 1,414.4 676.6 2,739.9 55.3 100.2 0.8 1999 3,120.4 774.6 139.0 1,080.2 935.8 2,929.6 22.9 61.8 0.8 Non-bearing 9,292.2 1,927.0 421.1 4,096.7 2,034.3 8,479.1 148.6 224.4 2.6 Total 106,678.7 34,152.8 6,970.5 43,925.3 2,151.5 87,200.14,483.9 7,876.7 216.5 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2000 Florida Commercial Citrus Inventory All citrus, number of acres, by variety and year set Grapefruit Tangerines Other Year Set Temples Tangelos Unidentified Total Fallglo SunburstRobinson Dancy Honey Citrus 1,000 trees Pre-1956 0.1 350.9 86.2 31.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 9.7 3.9 1.1 1956-65 0.0 786.5 183.6 195.8 0.0 0.0 10.1 7.9 123.9 26.2 1966-75 0.0 2,246.7 113.8 140.4 0.0 0.0 12.0 5.5 52.7 18.6 1976 0.0 109.1 0.9 2.0 0.0 0.0 0.4 0.3 2.9 0.1 1977 0.0 189.0 1.6 3.0 0.0 0.0 1.0 0.3 3.4 0.6 1978 0.0 172.2 1.7 4.6 0.0 0.0 0.8 0.4 1.6 0.7 1979 0.0 173.8 2.9 3.3 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.2 21.7 1.7 1980 0.0 91.4 2.5 3.3 0.0 3.9 1.9 0.5 18.5 0.2 1981 0.0 181.1 7.2 7.5 0.0 7.6 1.8 0.1 9.8 4.8 1982 0.0 221.8 4.1 5.3 0.0 7.0 1.1 0.2 4.1 1.5 1983 0.0 242.4 9.7 16.8 0.0 14.5 1.1 0.6 22.7 5.0 1984 0.0 251.7 6.3 15.4 0.0 20.4 2.0 0.3 10.0 1.8 1985 0.0 90.8 2.2 13.3 0.0 16.4 3.3 1.3 30.0 4.0 1986 0.0 228.1 19.9 44.9 0.0 34.1 7.6 3.9 30.9 7.6 1987 0.0 538.5 17.6 101.0 1.6 125.8 11.1 5.1 57.7 19.2 1988 0.0 637.4 18.8 132.4 3.2 183.9 22.0 11.8 57.7 22.5 1989 0.0 1,059.6 35.4 105.7 44.6 197.1 23.4 3.4 95.5 15.5 1990 0.0 976.6 9.7 118.6 75.4 203.7 16.9 3.0 109.4 23.8 1991 0.0 1,091.3 17.8 140.0 71.4 334.6 27.9 2.8 76.5 19.1 1992 0.0 1,137.1 19.9 130.7 93.7 318.8 17.4 6.1 163.3 61.1 1993 0.0 643.2 19.5 74.1 169.3 208.8 50.0 0.8 174.1 79.3 1994 0.1 303.5 29.7 34.5 40.5 40.8 8.1 0.5 111.3 97.6 1995 0.5 264.7 26.6 23.4 12.5 31.1 11.3 0.1 80.8 30.8 1996 1.9 216.7 11.4 34.9 12.1 36.0 1.0 0.3 74.0 44.8 Bearing 2.6 12,204.1 649.0 1,382.2 524.3 1,784.5 232.3 65.1 1,336.4 487.6 1997 31.2 165.0 11.7 22.3 11.8 21.9 2.3 0.5 62.2 12.8 1998 31.9 188.2 18.0 11.1 6.7 15.1 0.2 0.0 68.4 4.1 1999 25.8 111.3 7.8 6.2 11.5 10.4 1.2 0.0 40.2 2.2 Non-bearing 88.9 464.5 37.5 39.6 30.0 47.4 3.7 0.5 170.8 19.1 Total 91.5 12,668.6 686.5 1,421.8 554.3 1,831.9 236.0 65.6 1,507.2 506.7 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2000 Florida Commercial Citrus Inventory All citrus, number of acres, by variety and year set County 1994 1996 1998 2000 1994 1996 1998 2000 ACRES 1,000 TREES Brevard 11,663 11,569 10,715 10,045 1,219.4 1,197.4 1,114.3 1,054.2 Broward 246 108 99 58 18.9 9.4 9.5 5.2 Charlotte 19,995 21,183 21,522 21,756 2,695.2 3,062.4 3,171.8 3,201.3 Citrus 233 242 258 247 24.2 25.1 26.5 26.1 Collier 36,534 36,583 35,655 35,302 5,310.0 5,331.6 5,251.0 5,208.7 1/ Dade 1,668 2,618 2,792 1,000 290.4 440.8 470.9 1/ 173.3 DeSoto 62,407 66,182 67,192 71,781 7,975.5 8,541.7 8,752.4 9,369.6 Glades 9,270 9,402 10,776 10,506 1,326.0 1,422.6 1,683.8 1,691.7 Hardee 54,211 52,578 52,340 53,115 5,879.1 5,838.9 5,928.7 6,116.5 Hendry 98,604 99,770 100,124 99,437 14,964.0 15,353.1 15,408.5 15,324.9 Hernando 1,109 1,114 1,101 1,105 133.3 135.0 133.7 134.1 Highlands 74,035 76,586 75,909 78,132 9,085.7 9,862.9 9,949.3 10,354.5 Hillsborough 27,739 28,236 27,428 26,223 2,814.4 2,970.4 2,918.1 2,828.9 Indian River 69,240 66,561 64,138 60,293 7,145.0 7,145.1 6,945.6 6,583.6 Lake 21,053 21,468 20,864 20,101 2,776.1 2,862.0 2,815.0 2,736.5 Lee 12,238 12,155 11,871 11,594 1,602.4 1,641.3 1,649.2 1,625.8 Manatee 23,940 24,200 23,807 23,254 2,775.7 2,865.5 2,876.5 2,841.4 Marion 1,138 1,147 1,181 1,245 139.2 141.4 147.9 154.8 Martin 48,221 47,090 46,439 44,746 6,232.7 6,365.7 6,323.1 6,191.2 Okeechobee 11,270 12,206 12,244 12,170 1,261.1 1,459.9 1,487.6 1,487.1 Orange 10,402 10,029 9,188 8,095 1,202.4 1,180.6 1,101.1 989.3 Osceola 15,654 15,404 15,535 15,273 1,638.5 1,647.6 1,696.6 1,695.8 Palm Beach 12,885 12,746 10,617 10,090 1,629.8 1,674.7 1,418.2 1,361.2 Pasco 11,555 11,567 11,360 10,897 1,484.2 1,506.0 1,488.5 1,435.4 Pinellas 248 211 168 50 20.7 17.7 15.1 5.6 Polk 104,007 103,884102,457 101,484 11,290.3 11,527.7 11,620.6 11,666.7 Putnam 122 123 191 212 21.0 21.1 31.6 36.0 St. Lucie 108,448 107,224103,894 98,899 12,196.9 12,275.0 12,109.7 11,837.8 Sarasota 2,516 2,414 2,332 2,321 272.7 263.4 253.9 254.5 Seminole 1,462 1,412 1,411 1,378 145.6 141.5 142.5 142.5 Volusia 1,453 1,502 1,477 1,430 137.2 144.9 144.4 139.9 Other Counties 2/ 176 173 175 36 24.8 24.4 24.6 4.6 Total 853,742 857,687845,260 832,275 103,732.4 107,096.8107,110.2 106,678.7 1/ Dade Lime data as of August 1, 2000. 2/ Flagler and Sumter for 1994-1998. Sumter only 2000. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2000 Florida Commercial Citrus Inventory All citrus, number of acres, by variety and year set Variety 1994 1996 1998 2000 1994 1996 1998 2000 ACRES 1,000 TREES ORANGES: Hamlin 211,705 216,157216,587 217,214 26,036.6 26,994.6 27,288.8 27,632.3 Navel 25,362 26,434 25,150 23,099 3,096.3 3,295.7 3,174.2 2,922.2 Ambersweet 15,041 15,704 13,314 8,050 2,158.6 2,283.0 1,928.3 1,117.9 Other early 19,001 19,886 19,520 18,934 2,306.1 2,522.7 2,521.3 2,480.4 Pineapple 58,217 55,616 53,266 50,397 6,745.6 6,594.9 6,380.1 6,128.4 Other mids 4,181 4,704 5,041 6,277 438.6 597.4 663.0 842.1 Valencia 300,704 307,878314,310 325,625 38,093.6 40,384.2 41,952.9 43,925.3 Unidentified 19,159 10,219 11,202 15,933 2,739.0 1,482.9 1,522.0 2,151.5 Total Oranges 653,370 656,598658,390 665,529 81,614.4 84,155.4 85,430.6 87,200.1 GRAPEFRUIT: Seedy 4,879 4,458 3,427 2,385 404.5 381.4 299.2 216.5 White seedless 56,320 55,802 51,641 44,485 5,275.1 5,419.2 5,127.3 4,483.9 Colored seedless 80,422 81,348 76,025 70,437 8,657.2 8,947.1 8,453.4 7,876.7 Unidentified 5,294 2,808 1,724 838 667.2 369.2 199.2 91.5 Total Grapefruit 146,915 144,416132,817 118,145 15,004.0 15,116.9 14,079.1 12,668.6 SPECIALTY: Temples 7,222 6,808 6,454 6,010 746.5 713.3 723.8 686.5 Orlando Tangelos 9,709 9,432 8,579 7,809 1,150.5 1,137.5 1,046.1 951.5 Minneola Tangelos 3,285 3,296 3,187 2,959 382.0 397.6 388.9 360.1 Other Tangelos 1,106 994 902 813 149.5 134.1 121.7 110.2 K-Early Citrus 353 279 212 42.9 34.8 27.7 Sunburst Tangerines 11,867 12,929 12,693 12,048 1,791.9 1,971.4 1,937.7 1,831.9 Robinson Tangerines 3,139 3,388 2,613 1,696 442.4 478.7 366.3 236.0 Dancy Tangerines 1,602 1,358 909 611 163.0 142.7 95.8 65.6 Honey Tangerines 7,838 8,976 9,533 10,037 1,109.8 1,340.4 1,435.6 1,507.2 Fallglo Tangerines 3,769 3,686 3,372 635.3 617.4 554.3 Limes 2,235 3,035 2,827 *1,018 344.1 483.3 476.4 176.3 True Lemons 536 1,029 968 904 89.5 172.4 166.4 155.0 Meyer Lemons 79 79 204 75 15.3 15.3 33.1 14.5 Other Citrus 4,839 1,227 1,219 1,037 729.5 159.6 156.5 133.2 Total Specialty 53,457 56,673 54,053 48,601 7,114.0 7,824.5 7,600.5 6,810.0 Total Citrus 853,742 857,687845,260 832,275 103,732.4 107,096.8107,110.2 106,678.7 *As of August 1, 2000. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Florida Commercial Citrus Inventory All citrus, number of acres, by area and year of inventory Specialty Area Oranges Grapefruit types Total 1998 2000 1998 2000 1998 2000 1998 2000 ACRES Indian 90,955 89,693 90,760 82,993 9,772 9,206 191,487 181,892 River Northern 37,526 35,808 1,803 1,627 7,105 6,606 46,434 44,041 Central 163,859 168,252 12,733 10,406 15,151 14,157 191,743 192,815 Western 161,139 166,033 5,399 4,597 6,729 6,114 173,267 176,744 Southern 204,911 205,743 22,122 18,522 15,296 12,518 242,329 236,783 Total 658,390 665,529 132,817 118,145 54,053 48,601 845,260 832,275 CITRUS INVENTORY PROCEDURES This biennial inventory, the eighteenth in a series which began in January 1966, was conducted using current aerial photography. Aerial photos of the 14,000 square miles covering virtually all of Florida's citrus were taken during a four month period beginning the first of November 1999. The inventory procedure starts with a complete mapping and indexing of all citrus plantings onto scaled photo enlargements from the previous census. Aided by stereoscopic viewing, the current aerial photos are compared with photos from the previous census to detect grove changes, tree removals and new tree plantings. Each change observed by the photo interpreter is followed by a visit and ground check which usually results in a revised tree count for the grove. The ground checks are performed by experienced field personnel. Acreages are measured from photo enlarge ments with a digital planimeter. Tree numbers are from actual tree counts of expansions from measured acreage. Block sizes are reduced as necessary for excessive counts of dead trees or empty spaces, as well as barnyards, turn rows, swale ditches and irrigation ponds. A record for each separate planting or block is maintained in the data system. A new record is created for each new planting, and records of plantings which no longer exist are removed. In non-freeze years, less than one-third of all blocks require a visit to complete the biennial census. Production areas were redesigned in 1986 to give greater efficiency for objective forecasting purposes. The principal change was to place all the northern freeze-prone regions in a single area. The Indian River Marketing District was set apart, as were the southern flatwoods plantings. This stratification provides greater homogeneity within each sampling stratum. The Division of Plant Industry assisted in completing this survey with six trained citrus technologists using four wheel-drive vehicles. [map: Florida citrus production areas] [count] Hits since July 1, 1998 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Return to the Table of Contents for Publications