Citrus Greening in Florida: The Disease Destroying the Citrus Industry in 2025

What Is Citrus Greening (Huanglongbing) and Why Is It a Crisis in Florida?

Citrus greening, also known as Huanglongbing (HLB), is a bacterial disease spread by the Asian citrus psyllid, a tiny insect that feeds on citrus trees. First detected in Florida in 2005, HLB has become the most devastating threat to the Florida citrus industry, leading to a staggering 90% decline in orange production over the past two decades. In 2025, the crisis continues to deepen, with major growers like Alico Inc. exiting the industry after a 73% production drop over the past decade.

Florida’s citrus industry, a once-thriving symbol of the state’s agricultural might, is crumbling under the weight of citrus greening (Huanglongbing or HLB), a bacterial disease that has slashed orange production by 90% over the past three decades. While the Florida Citrus Commission (FCC), Florida Department of Citrus (FDOC), and Florida Citrus Mutual (FCM) claim to support the industry, their actions—or lack thereof—have left small, family-owned groves fighting for survival. Meanwhile, the Save Florida Citrus Groves Foundation has emerged as a lifeline, offering real support to these struggling growers in 2025.

The disease causes trees to produce bitter, misshapen fruit, reduces yields, and eventually kills the tree. With no known cure, citrus greening has infected nearly 80% of Florida’s citrus trees by 2019, leaving growers and researchers scrambling for solutions. The Florida citrus industry, once a $9 billion economic powerhouse, contributed $6.935 billion in 2020-2021 despite these challenges, but the future remains uncertain.

The Impact of Citrus Greening on Florida’s Citrus Industry in 2025

The numbers tell a grim story. At its peak in 1998, Florida produced 244 million boxes of oranges and 50 million boxes of grapefruit. By the 2024-2025 season, the U.S. Department of Agriculture projected just 12 million boxes of oranges and 1.2 million boxes of grapefruit—a 95% drop. Citrus acreage has also plummeted, from 832,000 acres in 2000 to 275,000 acres in 2024, as groves are sold for residential development or abandoned.

Citrus greening, spread by the Asian citrus psyllid, has been a menace since its arrival in Florida in 2005. By 2019, 80% of citrus trees were infected, producing bitter, misshapen fruit and dying within years. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that Florida’s orange production dropped from 244 million boxes in 1998 to a projected 12 million boxes in the 2024-2025 season—a 95% decline. Grapefruit production fares no better, falling to 1.2 million boxes from 50 million. Citrus acreage has shrunk from 832,000 acres in 2000 to 275,000 in 2024, with groves increasingly sold for residential development or abandoned.

Small farmers are hit even harder. Fifth-generation grower Ned Hancock, a former Florida Citrus Commission chairman, saw his acreage drop from 3,200 to less than half due to greening. “It’s staggering to me what the overall acreage loss in this industry has been,” Hancock said, reflecting the frustration of many growers who feel abandoned by the lack of effective solutions.

Major players like Alico Inc., which managed 53,371 acres, announced in January 2025 that they were exiting citrus production, citing citrus greening and hurricanes like Milton in 2024 as insurmountable challenges. Alico’s president, John Kiernan, stated, “The long-term production trend and the cost needed to combat citrus greening disease no longer supports our expectations for a recovery.” This decision alone removed 12% of Florida’s citrus acres, impacting processors like Tropicana, which relied on Alico’s fruit.

Efforts to Combat Citrus Greening: Research and Innovations in 2025

The University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) has been at the forefront, testing solutions like the Citrus Under Protective Screens (CUPS) system. Since 2014, UF/IFAS scientist Dr. Arnold Schumann has led efforts to grow HLB-free citrus in psyllid-excluding screen houses. “The CUPS system protects citrus trees from stormy weather, creating a healthier environment for the trees to thrive,” Schumann explained. By 2025, over 1,200 acres of HLB-free citrus have been produced using CUPS, yielding $20 million annually in grapefruit revenue.

Another promising development is the use of oxytetracycline (OTC) injections. Introduced by TJ BioTech in 2022, OTC suppresses the HLB bacterium, reducing fruit drop and improving tree health. However, Rick Dantzler of the Citrus Research and Development Foundation warns, “Sooner or later, that bacterium is going to become resistant to OTC. We’re going to have to have something to take its place.” Researchers are also exploring genetically modified trees, with lab technicians like Jacklyn Peterson at UF/IFAS working to develop resistant varieties.

In April 2025, a Science Magazine study highlighted a new breakthrough: therapeutic peptides that could save infected trees, addressing a disease causing $10 billion in annual global crop damage. These efforts offer hope, but time is running out for many small citrus growers.

The Florida Citrus Commission, Florida Department of Citrus, and Florida Citrus Mutual have been complicit in the decline of small growers, prioritizing corporate interests over the backbone of the industry. Since the 1930s, the FCC has enforced outdated standards like the "Better Fruit Program," which set strict quality requirements such as minimum Brix levels. Earl Hartt, a member of the first citrus commission, wrote in 1936, “I am hopeful that under the leadership of the commission, the industry will unite in a program to improve and standardize our cultural packing and handling practices.” But by 2023, citrus farmer John Barben, Hartt’s grandson, called these standards obsolete: “It is no longer applicable in this day and age.” Small growers, already crippled by greening, can’t afford the investments needed to meet these rules, while large corporations like Alico Inc. could—until they, too, exited citrus production in January 2025.

The FDOC’s policies have been equally devastating. In 2008, FDOC-backed legislation forced small nursery owner Gary Mahon to destroy 160,000 citrus plants not grown in greenhouses, costing him his livelihood. Mahon won a $1.2 million judgment against the Florida Department of Agriculture in 2022, with his attorney Alexander Clem stating, “While the Florida Legislature and Department of Agriculture meant well by passing and enforcing this law, it had a catastrophic impact on citrus nursery growers.” The FDOC’s suggestion that Mahon should have invested in greenhouses was a cruel joke for a small operation already on the edge.

Florida Citrus Mutual, despite its claim to represent all growers, has pushed research funding that benefits large operations. In 2024-2025, FCM secured $29 million for research, much of which supported costly methods like Citrus Under Protective Screens (CUPS)—a solution small farmers like Wayne Simmons of Labelle Fruit Company can’t afford. Simmons, a fifth-generation grower, told Gulfshore Business in 2024, “Our livelihood is in the land. We’re stewards of it.” Yet, FCM’s focus on big growers has left Simmons and others watching their groves vanish, replaced by housing developments.

The FCC’s box taxes—5 cents for fresh oranges and 12 cents for processed in 2023—further burden small growers. Brantley Schirard, Jr., a Fort Pierce farmer, noted in 2023, “You’ve got every little group that’s ever been put together focused on one thing because without an answer to greening, none of it matters.” These taxes fund research and marketing that often exclude small farmers, who can’t keep up with the financial strain while corporations pivot to other ventures.

The Economic and Cultural Toll on Florida

Citrus is synonymous with Florida’s identity—orange juice is the state beverage, the orange is the state fruit, and the orange blossom is the state flower. The industry supports 32,542 jobs and contributes $6.8 billion to $6.9 billion annually, including benefits like aquifer recharge and wildlife habitat, as noted by Florida Citrus Mutual CEO Matt Joyner. “Losing the citrus industry is not an option,” Joyner told lawmakers in 2025, urging continued funding for research.

Yet, the cultural loss is palpable. Growers like Wayne Simmons of Labelle Fruit Company lament, “It won’t feel like Florida anymore.” As groves are replaced by housing developments and solar farms, the state’s citrus heritage is fading, leaving a void in rural communities where citrus has been a way of life for generations.