From the Archives: Traveling Citrus in Europe

For five weeks in 1982, Professor Mack, along with six students, toured the common markets in Europe. The goal of this adventure was to see firsthand how citrus, among other fruits, was handled and marketed in major importing hubs in Europe. They visited a total of 7 countries including England, Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, and France. 

While in England, they had the opportunity to see how apples were grown, produced, and sent out all over the continent. During their 4 week-long road trip across Europe, they spoke with buyers, marketers, and importers of Florida citrus specifically. They had the unique experience of seeing how these markets work behind the scenes. 

The goal of traveling to Spain was to observe the citrus growing styles and the research that was being done on citrus. Today, Spain is the leader in citrus production making up 56% of citrus production in Europe. Spain is well suited for citrus growth for a multitude of reasons, especially the climate as they have hot dry summers. However, this is paired with relatively cold winters, low humidity, and little rainfall, making irrigation a necessity. Although irrigation may be difficult, they are still able to produce large amounts of fresh fruit every year. 

This trip was not only spent learning about produce and how it is grown or marketed. Students had down time to learn more about the cultures and see historical land sites and monuments. In 1983, Mack orchestrated another tour of Europe; however, this one was not nearly as detailed as the tour the year before had been. Both tours gave students memories that most people can only dream of, and the memories they gained will hopefully last a lifetime. 

 

 

Written by Tanzy Zviitwah, Florida Citrus Hall of Fame Fellow
In partnership with Florida Southern College’s McKay Archives Center
Spring 2024

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Sources:
 

Díaz, Sergio. “Citrus Fruit: A Leading Sector Despite the Complicated Context.” CaixaBank Research, October 4, 2022. https://www.caixabankresearch.com/en/sector-analysis/agrifood/citrus-fruit-leading-sector-despite-complicated-context.

 

Mack, Thomas B. History of the Citrus Institute, Florida Southern College, 1947-1993. Lakeland, Florida: Florida Southern College, 1993.

 

From the Archives: Traveling Citrus in Mexico

Dr. Rubert Prevatt and Professor Tom Mack spent a month in Texas in the 1980s. During this time, they crossed the border into Mexico to learn more about one of the world's top citrus producers. The goal of this trip was to observe how they were combating the different obstacles they faced due to the climate in Mexico.  They visited the Campo Agricola Experimental Station where they were able to view all the experiments that were currently being practiced.

The regions where citrus is grown are notoriously arid, extremely dry, and to combat this, they use flood irrigation. This is an extremely wasteful irrigation style as it uses significantly more water than other irrigation methods. During flood irrigation, the land flood gates are opened allowing a large body of water to flow into the area this creates several disadvantages: 80% of the water is being lost as run off or evaporation, all sections of land do not receive the same amounts of water, which may cause anaerobic conditions in the soil. Because the soil is over saturated with water, this can cut off access to oxygen making respiration difficult for plants. Plants are only able to take up oxygen through their roots, but if there is no oxygen in the soil, the plant becomes void of oxygen.

The farmers at Campo Agricola were working on implementing a different irrigation system that would be more cautious of how they used the available resources. Their main focuses were seeing if they could use less water during the flooding and if they could use sprinkling or drip irrigation; as you can imagine, this method uses significantly less water than flood irrigation. With all the issues they face, one would not expect the Mexican citrus industry to be as big as it is. Mack comments on how he foresees the industry continuing to improve as the years pass. Mack was correct in his views, citrus production in Mexico has been steadily increasing over the years. Currently, Mexico produces 7.7% of the world's citrus.

Written by Tanzy Zviitwah, Florida Citrus Hall of Fame Fellow
In partnership with Florida Southern College’s McKay Archives Center
Spring 2024

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Source:

Mack, Thomas B. History of the Citrus Institute, Florida Southern College, 1947-1993. Lakeland, Florida: Florida Southern College, 1993.

From the Archives: Traveling Citrus in New Zealand

Florida Southern College’s Citrus Institute aimed to give students not only an exceptional in-classroom education, but also a hands-on experience; with citrus groves planted all around campus, students had a learning experience unlike any other. The faculty were also well versed in the different techniques used all over the world thanks to their own hands on learning. Professor Tom Mack spent time in New Zealand in 1982 and spent his time abroad learning more about their citrus culture.
 
New Zealand is located on the limit for citrus culture and only on the northern and north eastern sections of the north island can citrus be feasibly grown. Ideal conditions for citrus include warm and sunny positions and temperature ranging from 50-55 degrees Fahrenheit; anything below 45 could possibly kill the plants. Upon hearing this, one can understand why Florida is the ideal place for citrus production. The lack of sunshine during the summers in New Zealand results in small, slow growing fruits, usually with poor yield.

During his time in New Zealand, Mack was able to see several similarities and differences in planting habits. The country is known for its strong winds in an effort to protect citrus cultures; they plant windbreakers which have been effective in sheltering the plants up to a specific distance. They also grew citrus crops on significantly smaller areas in order to grow more plants per the area to secure a reasonable income for the grower. They did not have significant issues with pests or diseases killing crops, but they continue to take precautions to ensure that this remains the reality. Mack remarks on the fumigation process that takes place the moment an airplane lands in the country.

New Zealand is far from being one of the world's top producers in citrus, but they are well on their way in kiwifruit. Growers in different parts of the country were seen to be growing kiwifruit in between the citrus plantings in the hopes of cutting down the citrus trees once the kiwifruit has matured. Mack ends his account commenting on how the New Zealand citrus industry will never be a threat to the Florida citrus grower. Currently,  New Zealand makes up about 0.05% of the world's citrus production. Safe to say, Professor Mack was right in his conclusion.

Written by Tanzy Zviitwah, Florida Citrus Hall of Fame Fellow
In partnership with Florida Southern College’s McKay Archives Center
Fall 2023

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Source:

Mack, Thomas B. History of the Citrus Institute, Florida Southern College, 1947-1993. Lakeland, Florida: Florida Southern College, 1993.

From the Archives: FSC Citrus Institute Chimeras

In History of the Citrus Institute, Professor Thomas B. Mack talks about how the citrus department was always trying to expand their audience past citrus majors and hit all sectors of campus life while engaging all students in one way or another. In the 1960s to 1980s, the citrus department created a “Plant of the Day” display that was placed between the citrus and physics wings. Chimeras were one of the most popular sites on display because of their humorous appearance. The citrus department created this display as an attempt to reach out and connect to the larger student body that were not involved with the citrus department.

A chimera is a mutant that results from an organism that has cells where two different genes are present causing them to both be expressed in the cell. This can be seen in a variety of organisms; for example, a rose can be half red and half white because it has both genes that are coding for the color white and for the color red being expressed.

A chimera is also different from a hybrid because of how the cells are oriented. A hybrid is an organism that has genes from two different species coexisting within one cell while a chimera has genes from two different species existing in separate cells. This means the tissue, the body of the cells, in a chimera are made from genes of two different organisms.

A specific chimera collected in the citrus department had an usually large section making it resemble a cantaloupe. As an April Fool’s prank, the department decided to name it the Orange-A-Loupe and convinced non-citrus majors they had created a cross between an orange and a cantaloupe, an impossible feat. Along with the Orange-A-Loupe, there were several other humorous chimeras placed on display for all of campus to see. 

 

Written by Tanzy Zviitwah, Florida Citrus Hall of Fame Fellow
In partnership with Florida Southern College’s McKay Archives Center
Fall 2023

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Source: 

Mack, Thomas B. History of the Citrus Institute, Florida Southern College, 1947-1993. Lakeland, Florida: Florida Southern College, 1993.

From the Archives: Citrifacts!

The “From the Archives'' series is back! In these blogs, we will be discussing the history of Florida Southern College’s Citrus Institute as well as some of Professor Tom Mack’s personal endeavors.

 

To start us off, we will be discussing Citrifacts. In September 1983, Prof. Mack wrote the first Citrifact column in the Citrus Industry magazine. This column was seen monthly in the magazine from 1983 until 1999. This column continued to be seen in the magazine as space permitted under the title “It’s a Citrifact,” referencing the original Citrifact column from the ‘80s. It presumably ceased to be published in 2004 following the death of Prof. Mack. This column was used to give some piece of information on citrus whether it was background on an existing system or new information that was recently published. The first Citrifact was about the origin of citrus concentrate in 1920. This article explains how Dr. J. E. Crump, a veterinarian and citrus grower, was the first to produce citrus concentrate in an ice cream freezer. 

 

Citrus concentrate is a powdered juice that can be used to make things taste like citrus. The production of citrus concentrate was a game changer for the citrus industry because this allowed growers the ability to sell citrus year-round. As the citrus industry grew larger and larger, growers began to look for more ways to store excess crops; this is where concentrate comes into the picture. 

 

Creating concentrate is a multi-step process. After harvesting, the fruits are juiced, and the juice is collected. The juice is then strained leaving a clear liquid and is evaporated to remove any water from the solution. This liquid is then deoxygenated meaning all dissolved oxygen is removed from solution; this is done to prevent oxidation from taking place because oxidation can cause rotting. The product then goes through another round of evaporation; it is then cooled and packed away in storage for later use. When it is time to use, the concentrate can be rehydrated by the addition of water.

 

 

Written by Tanzy Zviitwah, Florida Citrus Hall of Fame Fellow
In partnership with Florida Southern College’s McKay Archives Center
Fall 2023

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Sources:
 

Mack, Thomas B. Citrifacts. Bartow, Florida: Associated Publications Corporation, 1992.

 

Powers, John Robert and Robert Sidney Moore, Barry Jay Anderson, Galen Edward Downton, Judith Ann Kennedy, Donald Raymond Kearney, and David Arthur Strang. 1983. Process for Preparing Citrus Juice Concentrate. European Patent EP0110638A2, filed November 18, 1983, and issued June 13, 1984. https://patents.google.com/patent/EP0110638A2/en.

From the Archives: O.J. the Jumping Frog

In California during May 1965, an event would take place that would forge the story of an unlikely star. This event, referred to as the Calaveras County Frog Jump contest, was to be held on the 19th of the month to try and find the “jumpingest” frog in the world. This was where a star was born. Captured the Monday before his big event, Polk County’s champion was pampered at Dick Pope Sr.’s Cypress Garden by water skiers in an attempt to train him to hop over water. These skiers also wanted to build up the ego of the frog, so that he would have the confidence required to bring home the gold medal. To inflate his amphibious ego further, he gained sponsorship from the Florida Citrus Commission who planned to keep him pampered and fresh. After his intense training, the frog was airlifted from Tampa to Sacramento to take place in his jump. Dubbed the name O.J., for it was claimed he was trained on orange juice that increased his advantage by 500%, the frog that was unknown just 24 hours before had the fate of Polk County’s fame relying on his giant legs. The day of the event came, and through over half the event, it seemed as though O.J.’s name would go down in frog history. Steadily moving towards the top of the ranking, everything was going his way. Sadly, however, his 9 foot, 1¾ inch leap was not enough, for a few frogs beat him out for spots in the international competition. Even with the loss, it was thought O.J. would win the honor of longest traveled frog to compete, but an amphibian hailing from Africa would claim that prize. Even though he fell short of his ultimate goal, that he learned of a mere 48 hours before, O.J. could still be proud that he was the “jumpingest” frog in the history of Polk County. With that honor, O.J. retired. His inspiring and legendary career was over after just two short days. O.J. settled down in Angel’s Camp, California and planned to live out the rest of his days in seclusion, but the limelight was not yet done with the superstar jumper. Scandal arose from Angel’s Camp as rumors about O.J. being romantically involved with California frogs hit the papers. His jockey, Mrs. Hildred Cooper, reported that O.J.’s decision to step away from jumping had more to do with the Californian succubi of frogs O.J. had been around than retiring for the peace of it. With that news leaked to the press, the Florida Citrus Commission launched a probe into the private life of O.J. the frog. When reached out to by The Ledger frog editor, who spoke the native tongue of the frog, O.J. only had one thing to say about the rumors: “Nothin’ to it, nothin’ to it at all. I just shared a few flies with them. What’sa matter anyway? You don’t trust me or somethin’?” With the scandal put down and his name restored, O.J. lived the rest of his life in the peace he desired.

 

Written by Blake Hale, Florida Citrus Hall of Fame Fellow
In partnership with Florida Southern College’s McKay Archives Center
May 2023

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Source:
Frog Contest, 1965, James A. Haley Papers, 1948-1977, Box 123 Folder 13, Sarah D. and L. Kirk McKay, Jr. Archives Center, Florida Southern College, Lakeland, Florida.

Exciting New Exhibition!

October 15th was an exciting day for the Florida Citrus Community. The Exhibition: Plant City and the Agriculture, Food Processing, and Supermarket Revolution; 1939 - 1975, opened to the public with a flourish. The exhibition dictates the changes in Plant City agriculture and has several unique exhibits. The exhibition has a lot of interesting information regarding all-things agriculture, specifically citrus distribution, scientific experimentation, and even how super markets came to be the way they are today. Sponsored by Publix Super Markets, this exhibition is running until November 4th, 2018.

Below is a photo from the ribbon cutting ceremony which took place on October 15th, 2018. In the background is the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame Exhibit and prominently displayed within this exhibit are numerous citrus crate labels.

If are interested in attending this exhibit, here is a link to the Plant City Chamber of Commerce website where you can find more information. Feel free to send us any photos you take while attending the event, and it just may get featured on our social media.

Written By: Emma Morton

Student Fellow at the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame

In partnership with Florida Southern College’s McKay Archives Center