Orange production this year will likely be almost half of what it was in 2004 because of citrus greening attacking orchards. As production decreases, production costs have increased 400% of what they were 10-12 years ago. Although still in its infancy, peaches are gaining popularity in the state’s citrus belt – or rather one type of peach. Some in the industry believe that within three to four years Florida growers could be planting hundreds or thousands of acres of peaches per year, developing what could become a $100 million industry. Stone fruit need extended periods of temperatures below 45?F known as “chill hours” in order to blossom and produce fruit. But about six years ago a new variety of peach was developed through cross-breeding by the University of Florida’s Horticultural Sciences Department that is adapted to Florida’s warm winter needing only 100-200 chill hours per year. Citrus growers can use existing groves and irrigation systems when switching to peaches, and peach trees yield market-ready fruit in a year compared to seven years for citrus. Production costs are marginally higher for peaches because of the manual labor involved with pruning but Florida peaches sell for $3.99 per pound compared to .99 cents for citrus and markets for peaches are expanding with market demand currently exceeding supply.
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