By Emmy Powell
Communications Specialist

Texas citrus growers experienced large production losses during Winter Storm Uri in 2021, but the groves have rebounded and appear to be back on track, according to Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service experts.

Before the 2021 storm, Texas had nearly 27,000 acres of grapefruit and orange trees in production. Winter Storm Uri damaged or killed about 10% of the trees, leaving about 24,000 acres in production.

“We do know from grower input that 3,000-4,000 acres were lost or damaged, and I feel like that is a surprisingly low number because temperatures were down to 19 degrees in many areas,” Dr. Juan Anciso, AgriLife Extension horticulturist, said. “Maybe it wasn’t that cold long enough to do the damage I expected, but I was delighted to be wrong.”

Although trees are still recovering, the 2023 crop looks very good. But he noted some areas faced pest and disease pressure.

“Have they totally recovered? No,” he said. “But we are getting surprisingly good production from survivors, and fruit growth in some areas seem to be back on track with pre-storm production.”

After the storm, many growers were focused on removing dead wood to reduce the risk of disease. Melanose infestations, a fungal disease that can spread throughout a tree from young or dead twigs, is common following freezes and fueled by humid conditions.

An additional challenge facing citrus growers is water. Commercial citrus acres are irrigated, and water sources are running low.

Lake Amistad and Falcon Lake are at around 25% capacity, and water is cut off to agriculture when levels reach 17%.

Anciso said farmers are hoping for rain this fall to feed both reservoirs. Without rain or irrigation into the fall, he said fruit sizes may be smaller.

Other challenges facing growers are rising input costs and labor shortages.

Anciso estimates input costs are up about 30% compared to last year.

Labor costs continue to climb, as well. But a shortage of agricultural workers is a major hurdle for the citrus industry where the crop is harvested by hand.

Many growers turn to H-2A temporary agricultural workers from Mexico to help bring in their crops.

“H-2A workers are very costly to growers, and it’s a complex system, but they are finding that it is more efficient and a reliable way to avoid labor shortages at the most critical time,” Anciso said. “I think growers want to maintain this positive momentum. Some of those acres lost may never return to citrus, but I am pleasantly surprised by how fast we’ve rebounded.”

Growers hope to finish the season strong because the market has been good. The demand for Texas citrus is high, and supply has been low.

“Texas has the premium grapefruit in the U.S., and buyers know that it is important to have them on their shelves,” Anciso said.