Frost Damage Hits Navel And Mandarin Orange
By: Tania Francois
Updated: February 19, 2012
(Exeter, CA) -- More than two-dozen nights of freezing temperatures in December and January have taken their toll on the citrus crop in California's Central Valley.
The farmers' trade group California Citrus Mutual announced that some 35-percent of the mandarin orange crop has suffered frost damage, while about 15-percent of the navel orange crop has been lost.
CCM attributes the difference to the smaller oranges' greater sensitivity to cold.
Growers says consumers could see higher prices in grocery stores, especially for mandarins.
Still, with 70-percent of oranges still on the tree, CCM officials say most of this year's 84-million carton crop is "in excellent shape."
(Copyright 2012 by VERTEXNews/Newsroom Solutions)
The farmers' trade group California Citrus Mutual announced that some 35-percent of the mandarin orange crop has suffered frost damage, while about 15-percent of the navel orange crop has been lost.
CCM attributes the difference to the smaller oranges' greater sensitivity to cold.
Growers says consumers could see higher prices in grocery stores, especially for mandarins.
Still, with 70-percent of oranges still on the tree, CCM officials say most of this year's 84-million carton crop is "in excellent shape."
(Copyright 2012 by VERTEXNews/Newsroom Solutions)
