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Fun Facts ...
- Roughly 40 percent of the grapefruit harvested
each season are used for juice while 60 percent
are sold as fresh grapefruit.
- In one day, a processing plant can squeeze
millions of pounds of grapefruits.5
- The whole grapefruit is used during the juicing
process. After juicing, the grapefruit skins
can be used to make essential oils and essences
or can be converted to molasses for cattle feed.
- The United States produced 1.23 million tons
of grapefruit in 2006. 6
- Florida is the world’s largest grower
of grapefruit and exports grapefruit all over
the world.7
- Harvesters use picking sacks which hold 85
pounds of grapefruit which is equal to one standard
box.
- Grapefruit
are hand-picked, no mechanical harvesting is
used.
- Groves vary in size and can be anywhere from
five acres to 2,000 acres with roughly 100 trees
per acre.
- One acre of a grove can produce some 400-700
boxes of grapefruit. 700 boxes of grapefruit
equals almost 60,000 pounds.
- Grapefruit begins to bear fruit four to six
years after planting and can produce up to 30
or 40 fruits on a single branch. A single tree,
in a productive year, can generate 1,300 to 1,500
pounds of fruit. 8
- Grapefruit trees can produce for 30-40 years.
- Groves are supported by woodland areas including
wetlands, uplands, flatlands, coastal areas and
sandy ridges in the non-coastal areas. Wildlife
in the grove regions includes Florida panthers
and eagles.
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5,7 Florida Dept.
of Citrus
6 United States Dept. of Agriculture, http://www.nass.usda.gov/Charts_and_Maps/Citrus_Fruits/grapft10.asp
8 http://www.vegparadise.com/highestperch63.html
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