A Look at the History of the Citrus Industry in Polk County

ORIGINS & EARLY GROWTH (1500S–LATE 1800S)

Oranges were first planted in Florida by early Spanish explorers (near St. Augustine) and over centuries citrus spread across the peninsula; commercial-scale production expanded after the Civil War when railroads enabled shipping to northern markets.

Central Florida — including Polk County — became a major citrus-growing region in the late 19th century as settlers planted groves and rail links allowed crate shipments (many of the decorative crate labels you still see were part of that marketing era).

CATASTROPHE AND RESILIENCE: THE GREAT FREEZE (1894–1895)

The Great Freeze (December 1894 and February 1895) devastated citrus across much of Florida, killing fruit and trees and forcing many growers to move south. Polk County was hard hit, but the region and the industry gradually recovered and re-planted in lower-risk areas while retaining a large citrus presence in Central Florida.

INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT AND SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH (1910S ONWARD)

Polk County growers helped establish the University of Florida’s Citrus Experiment Station in Lake Alfred in 1917 (today the Citrus Research and Education Center, CREC). CREC became — and remains — one of the world’s largest citrus research facilities, central to disease, breeding, and production research for Florida citrus.

20TH-CENTURY EXPANSION AND MID-CENTURY PEAK

Through the mid-1900s, Florida citrus production expanded dramatically (hundreds of millions of boxes by mid-century), with Polk County often among the top producing counties due to its favorable soils and infrastructure. Marketing, processing (juice plants), packinghouses, and an entire local economy grew up around citrus.

DISEASE OUTBREAKS, REGULATION, AND NEW THREATS (1910S–2000S)

Citrus canker: an early-introduced bacterial disease (first recorded introductions in the early 1900s, with later outbreaks in the late 20th century) led to eradication and regulatory programs that sometimes required removal of healthy trees near infected sites — a major social and economic issue when outbreaks recurred.

Hurricanes: repeated hurricanes (notably in the 2000s and 2010s) periodically damaged groves, packinghouses and infrastructure in Polk and surrounding counties, compounding stresses on growers.

THE CITRUS-GREENING (HLB) ERA AND DECLINE (2005–PRESENT) HLB

(Huanglongbing/citrus greening) was first detected in Florida in the mid-2000s and is now the single greatest biological threat the industry has faced. The bacterium (spread by the Asian citrus psyllid) causes progressive tree decline and very poor fruit; there is no simple cure at scale. Polk County, historically one of the largest citrus counties, has seen dramatic reductions in productive acreage and yields because of HLB plus storm losses and land-use change.

Acreage and production numbers have fallen sharply since the early 2000s; many groves have been abandoned, converted to development, or consolidated by remaining growers. This contraction has affected local employment, processing infrastructure, and ancillary businesses.

Sources stated that statewide, the industry that used to produce as many as 220 million boxes of citrus will realize less than 15 million boxes in 2025.

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS & RESPONSES (RESEARCH, BIOTECH, LAND USE)

Research & mitigation: CREC, UF/IFAS, and federal/ state programs have focused on HLB research (vector control, resistant/rootstock breeding, tree injections, and novel approaches like gene-editing). Some growers are experimenting with protected (screened) production, intensive vector control, or testing new rootstocks/varieties.

Land-use change: rapid population growth and development pressure in Polk County mean some former groves are being sold for housing and commercial uses; this accelerates the reduction in citrus acreage even when disease impact is managed locally.

Primary sources for this summary:

• 1 University of Florida / CREC — history and research updates on citrus and HLB.

• 2 Florida Citrus Industry historical overview (Florida Citrus Federation / state archives). Recent reporting on industry decline, weather impacts and development pressures (AP, The Guardian, regional outlets)