In May 2022, we planted our first crop of Ruby Red grapefruit in a 13-acre CUPS (Citrus Under Protective Screen) structure at our Groveland location. The CUPS structure is a tightly woven mesh screen that is 16 feet tall and enclosed on all sides, with a roof to protect the citrus crops from greening, a condition caused by the HLB bacteria carried by the citrus psyllid pest. We planted 3,290 Ruby Red grapefruit trees using high density plantings, bringing the total to 12.1 planted acres. These trees will produce fruit for juicing in about three years, with the first commercial fresh fruit market crop expected to be ready for harvest in five years.

CUPS provides a controlled environment for growing citrus, allowing us to produce fruit in a greening-free environment. It also offers additional benefits such as higher pack-outs due to reduced wind scarring and larger fruit size, more vigorous tree growth, and new opportunities for automation in production and harvesting. We expect that, at maturity, CUPS will yield 800-1,000 field boxes per acre, which is 4-5 times more than current yields in traditional open-air groves.

This initial CUPS project is intended to be a prototype for us to learn more about the production system and the engineering and construction of the structure. Our goal is to expand our CUPS program over time to increase our supply of grapefruit and diversify our production risk. The next phase of the project will be a 22-acre structure south of our first phase, where we will experiment with higher densities of 400 trees per acre and a small trial of super high density (SHD) up to 800 trees per acre. 

This initial CUPS project is intended to be a prototype for us to learn more about the production system and the engineering and construction of the structure. Our goal is to expand our CUPS program over time to increase our supply of grapefruit and diversify our production risk. The next phase of the project will be a 22-acre structure south of our first phase, where we will experiment with higher densities of 400 trees per acre and a small trial of super high density (SHD) up to 800 trees per acre. 

Our initial CUPS approach involves planting crops at a higher density in a greening free environment to accelerate their growth and bring them to production faster. The irrigation and nutrition program is designed to promote tree growth in an ideal environment, while also prioritizing responsible management practices.

We will also be testing four different rootstocks, including dwarfing rootstocks, to help optimize tree size for this unique growing environment.

The primary risk in this production model is hurricane winds, which can potentially damage the structure and result in significant repair costs and a breach in psyllid protection. To mitigate this risk, we plan to select sites in the central part of the state where hurricane force winds are least likely to occur. We will also improve the design and construction of the structure to further reduce hurricane risk.

So far, we are pleased with the results of our first phase. We have experienced two hurricanes and a major freeze in 2022, which have helped us learn about the CUPS system and given us confidence that it can be scaled. Our ultimate goal is to develop a significant CUPS program of 400 acres over the next 10 years, which could yield up to 400,000 field boxes per year, a 45% increase to our current grapefruit production company-wide. We are working to secure a property in Marion County for this purpose.

This article was written with contributions from Clint Updike, Groves Maintenance Supervisor, IMG Citrus.