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Image via Wikipedia Until you have tasted honeybell oranges, you can never know a fruit that is so sweet and juicy. Its unique taste combined with its shape and limited availability makes it a very popular choice among those who have the good fortune to taste honeybell oranges. Unlike ordinary oranges, honeybell oranges are actually a hybrid fruit that is a cross between a tangerine and grapefruit. Both the Duncan grapefruit and Dancy tangerine that make up honeybell oranges are well known for both sweetness and juiciness. In fact, in spite of the fact that both grapefruit and tangerines have…

Image via Wikipedia Sweet oranges are the most popular species of citrus fruit on the planet. Most historians believe that they were first cultivated in Northern India several hundred years ago. But the western world did not encounter the orange until the Age of Exploration. Famous explorers like Columbus brought orange seeds with him on his voyages and spread them around the globe. We know for certain that it was Spanish explorers who brought the orange to the New World. In fact, many historians believe that it was Ponce del Leon himself who brought oranges to Florida in the sixteenth…

Image via Wikipedia The orange came to Texas sometime in the late nineteenth century. It was brought by Spanish missionaries who also delivered grapefruit seeds to local farmers. This was indeed a blessing, since the state was in desperate need of new agricultural products. Unfortunately, the orange had a less than auspicious start in the Lone Star State. In fact, all of the early crops that were planted in the 1880s died. Farmers were flummoxed, but they continued to experiment with Texas oranges and grapefruit. Years later, they discovered that the problem was the rootstock they were using. Shortly thereafter,…

Image by Houstonian via Flickr Oranges first came to Texas at the end of the nineteenth-century. Since that time, citrus fruit crops have been cultivated in one relatively small section of the state. The region is known as the Rio Grande Valley and it is located in South Texas. Because it has a subtropical climate and fertile soil, this region is perfect for growing citrus fruits like Texas oranges and grapefruit. In this article we are going to discuss the Texas citrus industry. Why grow oranges in Texas? Compared to Florida, Texas farmland is far more affordable. Not to mention…