Pongamia tree (pictured) is replacing the Florida citrus tree – Courtesy: Shutterstock – Image by Pics Man24
In Florida, an old tree from India is growing in groves where citrus trees once thrived, and it may contribute to the country’s renewable energy supply.
Two deadly diseases, citrus canker and greening, have virtually destroyed much of the Sunshine State’s once-famous citrus industry over the past 20 years. As a result, some farmers are turning to the pongamia tree, a climate-resilient tree that has the potential to produce plant-based proteins and a sustainable biofuel.
Pongamia has been utilized for shade trees for many years; the result is legumes, which are little brown beans that are so bitter that even wild hogs refuse to eat them.
Pongamia trees, however, require little care, in contrast to the orange and grapefruit trees that have long inhabited these rustic Florida groves northwest of West Palm Beach.
Furthermore, pogamia trees don’t require pesticides or fertilizer. When it rains or is dry, they thrive. Additionally, they don’t need groups of workers to harvest the beans. When the beans are ready to be harvested, a machine just shakes the tiny beans from the trees.
Terviva is a San Francisco-based startup that was created in 2010 by Naveen Sikka. The beans are then appropriate for food production since the biopesticides that generate the bitter taste are eliminated using a patented procedure.
“For both Terviva and former citrus farmers, Florida presents a unique opportunity. Farmers now lack a crop that can be grown effectively on hundreds of thousands of acres due to the historical demise of the citrus sector. “There needs to be a very scalable replacement, very soon,” Sikka told The Associated Press. “Pongamia is the ideal match.”
The pongamia tree: what is it?
Native to Australia, Southeast Asia, and India, pongamia trees grow wild.
These days, the bean is utilized to make a number of goods, such as protein flour, Kona protein bars, and Ponova table oil.
Additionally, the legumes yield oil that can be used as biofuel, mostly for aviation, and has a very low carbon footprint, according to Ron Edwards, a longtime citrus grower in Florida and chairman of Terviva’s board of directors.
It hasn’t been simple to domesticate a wild tree, according to Edwards.
Since no one else has ever completed it, he added, “there are no books to read on it, either.”
According to Edwards, pongamia blooms are a feast for bees and other pollinators, which promotes biodiversity in the area. He said that an acre of the trees might yield as much oil as four acres of soy beans.
“A very high-grade protein that can be used as a substitute in baking and smoothies and all kinds of other plant-based protein products” is what’s left over after the pongamia bean’s oil is removed, according to Edwards. “Both the oil and petroleum industries and the food industry have a lot of potential.”
Florida: Why?
“We are aware that pongamia grows well in Florida, and there are huge end markets for the oil and protein that the pongamia beans produce, including feed, biofuel, and food ingredients,” Sikka stated. As a result, farmers are now able to lower their expenses and better align with cutting-edge sustainable agricultural techniques.
In order to guarantee that Terviva’s trees retain the mother tree’s genetic makeup and desirable traits, pongamia grafting experts at a nursery close to Fort Pierce attach a part of the mother tree to a pongamia rootstock.
Citrus versus pogamia
For many years, citrus was Florida’s most important crop until disease took hold of it in the 1990s, first with citrus canker and then greening.
Humans cannot contract citrus canker, a bacterial disease that creates sores on fruit, stems, and leaves. It eventually renders the trees fruitless.
Citrus greening, or Huanglongbing, as the U.S. Department of Agriculture calls it, progressively destroys trees and deteriorates fruit. Since 2005, greening has expanded throughout Florida, destroying countless groves and resulting in a 75 percent decrease in citrus production. Texas, California, and Louisiana have all been affected by the disease.
In September 2023, Hurricane Ian devastated Florida’s agriculture, causing damages estimated at $1.8 billion. The citrus industry was particularly hard struck, as it was just starting its growth season.
Disease and climate-related concerns have also impacted the majority of the world’s leading citrus-producing nations. For example, Fundecitrus, a Sao Paulo state-based group that represents citrus growers, predicts that this year’s harvest in Brazil, the country that exports the most orange juice globally, would be the worst in 36 years as a result of flooding and drought.
However, according to company executives, pongamia trees are not particularly affected by disease or the climate.
Edwards remarked, “It’s just tough, a jungle-tested tree.” “It requires very little maintenance and can withstand a lot of abuse.”
Hawaii is another place where pogamia grows well; there, it currently occupies area that was once planted to sugarcane.
What do growers of citrus say?
Circle O Ranch, west of Fort Pierce, is owned by John Olson, who planted 215 acres (87.01 hectares) of pongamia trees in place of his grapefruit plantations.
Olson stated, “We experienced all the highs and lows of citrus and ultimately gave up on citrus production due to greening.” “The citrus industry in Florida has largely died.”
Although the grapefruit grove was small, Olson said that in the 1980s and 1990s, it was typical for a grove of that size to be profitable.
According to Edwards, farmers sprayed different areas to eliminate the disease-spreading insect. The expense of caring for citrus trees eventually grew too high.
That’s when he made the decision to take a different path.
The ability of pongamia to repurpose citrus fallow land that is currently inactive is what drew him to the plant, he explained. “It is highly appealing from an ecological standpoint because it can substitute some of the oils and vegetable proteins that are currently produced by things like palm oil, which is a far more harmful crop to the environment.”
How about biofuel?
Terviva and Mitsubishi Corporation inked a contract in December 2023 for Terviva to supply feedstock for biofuel that can be turned into renewable diesel or biodiesel.
“We’re off to a great start with Mitsubishi,” Sikka remarked, adding that the two companies work closely together on product development, sales, and tree plantings. “Mitsubishi’s global leadership and expertise in all areas of Terviva’s business has accelerated Terviva’s progress.”
Which food items are produced by pongamia?
Although the research is still in progress, Edwards stated that in addition to the table oil and other plant-based protein items like flour and protein bars, they have also produced some really excellent graham crackers.
If you don’t want your protein to come from meat, pongamia provides an alternative to soybean and yellow pea protein, the speaker stated.
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Born and raised in South Florida, Krystal is a recent graduate from the University of Miami with professional writing experience at the collegiate and national news outlet levels. She’s a foodie who loves all things travel, the beach, & visiting new places throughout Florida.