Pongamia may have a future in Florida 

If Florida citrus growers are forced by disease or other pressures to cut back acreage on their first love, what other crops can serve as alternatives?

Florida grower George Hamner said one little-known alternative to citrus is pongamia.

The pongamia tree is a climate-resistant tree that grows in very similar conditions to citrus trees and produces protein and oil-rich legumes.

One company involved with pongamia tree production is called Terviva. The company is based in California but has nurseries and test plantings in Florida.

Hamner said pongamia trees produce a seed that looks a lot like a lima bean and acts like a soybean. The seeds are pressed to produce an oil that has a bactericide that can be sprayed on organic commodities for crop protection. The bactericide can be removed from the oil, which allows the oil to be used in food applications.

“I think it's pretty exciting,” he said, though he noted it was not catching on with growers as quickly as he thought it might, “only because the guys that are left in citrus are really dedicated to citrus, including me."

One of the challenges of the crop, grown in India, is that it blooms at different times, making efficient harvest difficult.

The challenge for Terviva and other proponents of pongamia trees is trying to get them to bloom at the same time, and researchers have been working on finding varieties that do bloom at the same time, Hamner said.

That would allow mechanical shakers to efficiently harvest the crop.

Blueberries and peaches

Peaches and blueberries have been two alternative crops for growers looking for other options beyond citrus, Hamner said.

“The problem in Florida is, we have a tight [marketing] window,” he said.

“The blueberries are in a tight window, and the peaches are great-eating, but they're not big, and there's a tight three- or four-week window.”