Dec. 4, 2007, 2:48PM
Report: La. Citrus Bouncing Back


Source: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/fn/5351198.html

BATON ROUGE, La. — Louisiana's citrus industry is bouncing back two years after hurricanes Katrina and Rita, LSU agricultural experts say.

LSU AgCenter county agents in the two main citrus-growing areas of the state _ Plaquemines Parish; and Lafourche, Terrebonne and St. Mary parishes _ said the 2007 crop looks good despite a decrease in producers and acreage.

Alan Vaughn, the LSU AgCenter's county agent in Plaquemines Parish, said in an AgCenter news release Tuesday that growers in his area harvested a bumper crop of satsumas during the past month.

Growers will continue harvesting satsumas through mid-December and have begun harvesting navel oranges, which will be available into the new year, Vaughn said.

"There's this perception that there is no citrus left in Plaquemines Parish, when in reality only the lower half of the parish lost trees," Vaughn said. "Where we had 200 growers on 1,000 acres before the storms; we now have 100 growers on 500 acres."

In Lafourche, Terrebonne and St. Mary parishes, about 50 growers with 165 acres of citrus orchards are also enjoying a good crop this year, said Dr. Bobby Fletcher, the LSU AgCenter area horticulture agent for the region.

"We are six weeks into the satsuma harvest, and some navels also are now being harvested," Fletcher said in the AgCenter release. "The satsuma harvest is 50 percent complete and should be finished by mid-December."

Fletcher said growers in his area have an opportunity to meet the citrus demand in the state since the storms only caused minimal damage compared to the losses sustained in Plaquemines Parish.

According to LSU AgCenter's Summary of Agriculture and Natural Resources for 2004, pre-Katrina and Rita, the state's citrus industry had a value of about $6.3 million _ with $5 million of that coming from Plaquemines Parish.

Statistics from the same report for 2005 show citrus value dropped to $4.5 million. More than 80 percent of the citrus acreage in Plaquemines Parish was damaged by Hurricane Katrina, which hit on Aug. 29, 2005.