http://www.am850.com/news/archives/2010/01/grove_damage_in_marion_county.asp

Grove Damage in Marion County

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

One of the northernmost producing citrus groves in Florida is still surveying damage from this weeks sub-freezing weather. The owner of the Orange Shop in Citra, Peter Spike says the cold has been one for the record books--and he's definitely going to have some major damage. But there were no fruit problems, because the fruit on his Marion county trees had already been harvested. He does own some groves in Indian River county, and they'll probably see some fruit loss there. Before the freeze, it had been a good season for fruit and business had been good. What has he had to do to save the trees? Spike has an elaborate irrigation spray system which keeps the trees wet and encased in ice when it gets so cold. Those steps keep the temperature from falling to the killing level. In the Indian river groves, damaged fruit will be picked as quickly as possible and processed into juice if possible. Now he's worried about the wether warming--new shoots coming out on the trees--and then another freeze that would kill that new growth.