A Zeal For Organic Citrus
by Joran Viers 
(This article is excerpted from Farming More Sustainable in the South, Vol II: More Farmers' Stories, published in 1996 by the Southern SAWG.). 
 
ARCADIA, Florida--Early morning fog hangs over miles of orange groves as Lynn Steward and I drive down one of the many sandy roads that bisect the planting. He pauses abruptly in mid-sentence, pointing up the road, "There's a bobcat up there....see the black?" I don't, but there are plenty of indications that wildlife is abundant in this part of the grove.

Lynn is a manager for a large citrus company in south central Florida overseeing about 3000 acres of trees. "We're all concerned about the environment. IPM (integrated pest management) is a very, very important tool," he says. "The more chemicals we use, the more money we spend." And money is the bottom line.

Economics will determine how Lynn's employer views the ongoing experiment that he is running on 20 of their acres. In the middle of his five sections sit 10 acres each of certified organic Valencia oranges and certified organic Ruby Red grapefruit.

Lynn began the experiment as part of a management incentive program that the company started. Each manager was given a bonus for coming up with something new, a management tool or practice that would benefit the company. Fortunately for Lynn and for organic consumers, his experiment is making money. 

From Swamp to Citrus  

Desoto County is low country, swampy and humid, with only about 17,000 citizens. Citrus and cattle drive the local economy. The soil in the grove, as in much of the county, is Myakka fine sand with a very high water table--an aquod, in soil terminology. Citrus trees grow in straight rows down the middle of long raised beds that are re-formed every other year with a three foot V disk.

It's been a wet summer in south Florida. Water stands in some interrows and drainage canals that form a grid through the grove. In one, I see three alligators, each less than two feet long. In this part of the state, too much water is more often the problem than not enough. Supplemental watering is used mostly for frost protection; water damage to roots is more of a problem than freeze damage to leaves, branches and fruit.

In the five years that he has worked in this grove, Lynn says he's seen an increase in the wildlife in his sections. He credits this to increased awareness about, and lowered use of, chemicals in this part of the grove. Most of these acres receive chemical applications, as the company's overall management policy requires. Within that framework though, Lynn has found a lot of room to improvise, using lower rates and less frequent but more precisely timed applications and avoiding long lasting residuals. His trees look as healthy and well tended as those in conventionally managed blocks.

His eyes light up when he talks about the organic block, though. Lynn obviously relishes the management challenges in converting to organics. He says, "The crew really likes working in the organic grove, too." For them, not having to wear the protective equipment required by federal worker's protection standards is a plus. 

At Home, Organically  

At home, Lynn is a more relaxed man, but his zeal for organic citrus production only increases. His house sits in the middle of 7-1/2 acres. In front, is a 2-1/2 acre grove of mixed grapefruit, tangerines and Minneola oranges. The Minneolas grow strong and look great, but he's not gotten any harvest from them yet. Even so, with one yearly manuring and minimal mowing, he makes a few hundred dollars a year from the grapefruit and tangerines that he sells under the label of Mr. Citrus Organics.

In back, behind the tractor barn and a proudly displayed "Certified Organic Grower" sign, grow 2-1/2 acres of Valencia oranges. These trees bear well, yielding considerably more than the grove out front. They also receive more manure and cultivation. Blackeyed peas grow in the ditches and up into the trees. These were planted for a green manure, but Lynn regularly harvests more than he, his wife Vicki, and their son Luke, when he's home from college, can eat.

A pig pen occupies the far corner of this grove. Lynn raises the hogs to sell and to eat. One of the pigs, a young female, is allowed to roam free in the grove, where she does a patchy but effective job of weeding.

"I'm thinking of expanding the pigs," Lynn says, pointing along one fence line, past the chicken pen. He is also considering putting in some rice in the lowest spot on his land, which he had been trying to use for a vegetable garden.

Vegetable gardening helped Lynn get interested in organic agriculture. When he worked for another grove and his young family lived on site, they always had a garden. An incident involving a well intentioned friend and some chlordane turned Vicki and Lynn away from chemicals and away from gardening within the grove. As their awareness of the potential dangers of agrichemicals evolved, so did an interest in alternatives. When they moved out to Arcadia, they decided not to use any synthetics in the trees around the house.  

Dealing With Weeds at Work  

Back at work, one of Lynn's crew is running the Hester In-N-Out hoe, weeding under the canopies of the organic Valencia oranges. The long rototiller on a sidearm reaches under the thickly leaved branches hung with still green fruit. As the tractor drives out of earshot, we walk through the rows, looking at the trees. Along the tree trunks snakes a line of microjets, supplying water from a twelve inch, 1400 foot deep well. Several of these wells are scattered within the grove.

"Weeds are the biggest thing," says Lynn, a view echoed by the results of a statewide survey of organic citrus growers conducted in 1993 by Dr. J. J. Ferguson from the University of Florida. In Lynn's groves, costs for manual labor in the organic blocks have gone up since the experiment started, while other costs have remained fairly stable. Hand hoeing around the trunks replaces the Roundup used on the conventionally grown trees. Guinea grass, goatweed and pigweed are the most common weed problems Lynn and his crew face.

In contrast to labor costs, manure costs have gone down. Lynn spreads composted chicken manure three times a year, using a Conabar manure spreader. Originally, he put out three tons per acre at each spreading; now he's found that he can use less. The trees are also sprayed twice each year with fish emulsion. In 1994 he added liquid Hume, Multi Plex, and Hi Cal to the list of inputs.

Weeds are not the only challenge. Citrus leaf miners attack young leaves, tunnel through the tissue and leave a twisted, stunted leaf behind. Other pests include rust mites, spidermites, scale, katydids, grasshoppers, and orange dogs, which are the caterpillar larvae of a species of swallowtail butterfly.

"At the turn of the century, the butterflies were such a problem that people would shoot them with 10 gauge shotguns," Lynn explains.

This year, populations of citrus rust mites have exploded all over the grove except in one area. The block of organic Valencias received no spraying with copper, a common and effective fungicide. Here, fungus attacked the mites, keeping them under control. This is an example of the kind of system that Lynn envisions and is working toward. By not spraying the oranges for fungal pathogens, like greasy spot and melanose, Lynn has opened the door for a natural, already present control to work against another pest. For the record, fungal infections were not more of a problem in these trees than in sprayed trees.  

Hope to Convert More Acres to Organic

"Site selection is very, very important," Lynn says, when considering which blocks to convert to organic methods. When choosing a site for the experiment, Lynn settled on a block adjacent to a natural swampy area, giving the populations of beneficial insects a refuge and reducing concerns about spray drift from other areas. Soil differences (mainly having to do with the height of the water table), past chemical use, and rootstocks are also factors. Some of the Valencias are on old lemon rootstock, which has not responded well to manuring. Lynn is hopeful that more acres can be converted into organic production, so he studies his blocks with these considerations in mind.

Marketing organic citrus has been relatively easy. As conventional yields increase and prices come down, there is a premium for organically grown fruit. Lynn estimates that it's possible to get about 15 percent more return on organic citrus. One buyer took all ten acres of grapefruit to use in baby food last season. It was not so much the "certified organic" label that sold the fruit, as it was the knowledge that the fruit was "clean" and hypo-allergenic. Lynn says he could have sold a lot more to the same buyer.

Lynn believes the best tool for good management is education, for himself and his crew. From 1980 to 1982, he took citrus classes from Polk Community College and continues to take extension classes when possible. He reads everything he can on citrus growing and on organic and sustainable agriculture. He's even a member of the Texas Organic Growers Association "...for the newsletter." Repeatedly, Lynn emphasizes the key role of education. Much of that education comes from experience in the field.

"This is a check with reality," he says, gazing at the trees in the organic block. "You're gonna make mistakes and you'll have to live with them."

Besides increasing the certified acreage at work, there are other things Lynn would like to try, such as using the interrows, especially in young groves, to grow onions and watermelons. He thinks this could help pay for the cost of putting in the trees.

Lynn's enthusiasm never wanes. "I really enjoy my job," he says, "and I really enjoy working for a large company because it keeps me in touch with cutting edge technologies and ideas. They're always trying new things to be more sustainable." Either at home as Mr. Citrus, or at work, Lynn keeps pushing towards his goal. "I got a plan," he laughs, "that I call my 100,000 gallon plan for organic juice!"