ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- A major grower said this week it was abandoning its citrus growing operations, reflecting the headwinds Florida's signature crops are facing following a series of hurricanes and tree diseases.

Alico Inc. announced Monday that it planned to wind down its citrus operations after the current crop is harvested later this year. About 3,400 citrus acres (1,376 hectares) will be managed by third-party caretakers for another season through 2026.

The Fort Myers-based company owns 53,371 acres (21,598.5 hectares) across eight counties in Florida and 48,700 acres (19,708 hectares) of oil, gas and mineral rights in the state. About a quarter of its land holdings will now be slotted for potentially developing commercial or residential projects in the near and long term future, the company said in a news release.

The company said its citrus production had declined by 73% over the past decade. The impact of Hurricanes Irma in 2017,Ian in 2022 and Milton in 2024 on trees already weakened from years of citrus greening disease "has led Alico to conclude that growing citrus is no longer economically viable for us in Florida," said John Kiernan, Alico's president and CEO.

Alico expected to reduce its workforce by up to 172 employees and has notified juice producer Tropicana about its decision, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

Florida's citrus production has been declining for the past two decades because of citrus disease and some growers have been looking for alternative uses of their land.

Last month, agriculture officials said Florida's orange production forecast for the 2024-2025 season had dropped 20% from the previous one in October, reflecting damage from Hurricane Milton. If the 12 million-box prediction holds, it will be 33% less than last season's final production.

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