Kyle Peveto

Citrus has been grown in Louisiana for more than three centuries, ever since a Jesuit missionary planted a fruit tree south of present-day New Orleans in 1712.

For decades citrus groves thrived in coastal St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes, where producers harvested satsumas, navel oranges and a few other varieties of citrus fruits.

In the past 20 years, disease, insects and hurricanes have battered these groves, and the Louisiana citrus industry has shrunk.

“It's just gotten a lot harder to grow citrus,” said Anna Timmerman, an assistant extension agent in Jefferson Parish who works closely with citrus growers. “Back in the day, you could just plant it and forget about it until it was time to pick. And you definitely cannot do that now.”

Challenges for Citrus Farmers

According to the Agricultural Summary prepared by the LSU AgCenter, citrus was grown on 884 acres and generated $9.6 million for producers in Louisiana in 2018, the latest year for which records are available. Navel oranges amounted to 72,300 bushels, and satsuma production totaled 183,408 bushels.

This accounts for about half of what the Louisiana citrus industry produced in the 1940s, said Timmerman, who is studying the industry for her master’s degree.

Two diseases, citrus greening and citrus canker, have ravaged citrus groves. The Asian citrus psyllid spreads citrus greening, and the canker is spread by bacteria that can move with storms. Hurricanes, including Katrina in 2005, Isaac in 2012 and Zeta in 2020, have damaged trees and crops.

Growing citrus in Louisiana is much more challenging than the “good old days” of the mid-to-late 20^th century, Timmerman said.

“We still have growers that remember those days and think those days are still here, and they're not, unfortunately,” she said. “You do have to spray several times a year, and it's a lot of management.”

To remain sustainable, Louisiana citrus continues to move north of the traditional coastal growing grounds, farther from the land loss and soil subsidence that have caused the southernmost citrus groves to disappear, Timmerman said. Owari satsumas, a popular variety because of its easy-to-peel rinds and sweet fruit, already tolerate slightly colder temperatures better than navel oranges, she said.

Future for Louisiana Citrus?

The long-term future of Louisiana citrus may lie east of New Orleans in Violet on the Meraux Foundation’s Docville Farm. The Center for Louisiana Citrus Innovation and Research, a partnership between the LSU AgCenter and the Arlene and Joseph Meraux Charitable Foundation, is beginning to test new ways citrus producers can grow fruit. The Meraux Foundation also has established a $320,000 endowment to create four professorships to support citrus and commercial horticulture research that will take place at the Docville farm.

At the center researchers will study an idea developed by Jeb Fields, the state extension commercial horticulture specialist based at the AgCenter Hammond Research Station. Fields hypothesizes that citrus can grow in less ideal climates if grown in a protected setting.

The facility at Docville will include a structure made of “microscreens” similar to fine mesh nets that let in some wind and allow temperatures to rise and fall a bit. However, the mesh is small enough that insects cannot enter, and water cannot get out, creating a sterile, clean environment, Fields said. Fields plans to grow small citrus trees in containers and test how well they will produce fruit inside the facility. Similar growing methods, which are called “protected agriculture,” have worked for strawberries and blueberries, he said.

“Over the last 20 to 30 years, protected agriculture has become very important across all crops across the country and really the world,” Fields said. “We have to produce more food, produce more crops with less resources and a smaller footprint, so we have to become more efficient, more sustainable.”

Because the protected environment would use smaller trees than a traditional citrus grove and, therefore, produce less fruit per tree, the smaller trees must be grown in a more densely packed area. The hope is that the new growing method can produce even more fruit per acre.

“I think it could be revolutionary,” Fields said.

Studying his hypothesis could take some time. He wants to find a growing media that will allow the trees to stay in containers for at least 15 years to be commercially viable.

Fields has experience on both sides of the project. He grew up around the citrus industry in Florida and worked at a citrus experiment station after graduating from the University of Florida. Much of his research in his master’s and doctoral studies since then have focused on commercial horticulture and developing soilless media for container plants.

Fields recognizes that his idea represents a radical departure from the traditional citrus industry, but successful Louisiana citrus farmers have become used to change.

“Our growers in Louisiana are really progressive and have had the citrus industry shrinking over time, and those growers that remain successful have to be progressive and are willing to adapt to remain relevant,” he said.

The Center for Louisiana Citrus Innovation and Research will also house a genetic repository for a few dozen of the most common citrus varieties in the state. The center will keep young seedlings and other materials so growers can take cuttings and reproduce these varieties in their groves. Fields calls it a “Noah’s ark” for citrus.

This repository would create a living record of older varieties that may be less common on the commercial market but are still good and viable, Fields said.

“Sometimes we move away from some really good materials just because we're always looking for what's new,” Fields said. “But there's always the good tried-and-true plants that will always be good.”

While ambitious, the protected environment research is encouraging. Early-stage studies in Florida and California look promising, Fields said.

“The real kicker is going to be if you can get the price for the fruit to justify the cost of the structure,” said Timmerman, who is working with Fields on the project. “That's what my growers are kind of waiting to see.”

Kyle Peveto is an assistant communications specialist with LSU AgCenter Communications and assistant editor of Louisiana Agriculture.

(This article appears in the winter 2021 issue of Louisiana Agriculture.)

Bill Haines, a member of the Mereaux Foundation Board of Directors, left, tours a new Center for Louisiana Citrus Innovation and Research at Docville Farm in Violet, Louisiana, with Anna Timmerman, a Jefferson Parish horticulture agent. The growing facility, which is designed to test a new way to grow citrus trees, is covered with a fine mesh to prevent disease and pests from harming trees. Photo by Olivia McClure

The exterior of the greenhouse at the new Center for Louisiana Citrus Innovation and Research at Docville Farm, Violet, Louisiana. Photo by Olivia McClure

The interior of the greenhouse at the new Center for Louisiana Citrus Innovation and Research at Docville Farm, Violet, Louisiana. Photo by Olivia McClure

A grove of Louisiana satsuma trees. Photo by Olivia McClure