State orange crop grows

The latest estimate of Florida's orange crop rose by 2 million boxes since the May projection, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The June estimate is 159.6 million boxes for the 2008-09 crop.

 

That would put this season's crop below the 2007-08 crop of 170.2 million boxes.

The increase of 2 million boxes came almost entirely from Valencias. The USDA estimates 75 million boxes of Valencia oranges will be harvested.

 

Early and mid-season varieties are at 84.6 million boxes and the estimate is not expected to change.

 

Other varieties such as specialty fruit remained unchanged in the latest estimate. The USDA says tangelos should yield 1.15 million boxes and the tangerine crop should bring 3.9 million boxes.

 

While oranges showed a slight boost, the agriculture department lowered its estimate of the grapefruit crop to 21.8 million boxes, a reduction of 700,000 boxes.