With so many varieties of oranges, it can be hard to know where they have been grown. But the truth is some countries grow all sorts of varieties and thus making them the number one orange growing country. But which one is it? Let’s find out…
10 – South Africa – (Annual Production in Tonnes: 1,774,000)
Wiki Info: The orange (specifically, the sweet orange) is the fruit of the citrus species Citrus × sinensis in the family Rutaceae.
9 – Italy – (Annual Production in Tonnes: 1,499,000)
Wiki Info: The fruit of the Citrus × sinensis is considered a sweet orange, whereas the fruit of the Citrus × aurantium is considered a bitter orange. The sweet orange reproduces asexually (apomixis through nucellar embryony); varieties of sweet orange arise through mutations.
8 – Turkey – (Annual Production in Tonnes: 1,861,000)
Wiki Info: The orange is a hybrid, between pomelo (Citrus maxima) and mandarin (Citrus reticulata). It has genes that are ~25% pomelo and ~75% mandarin; however, it is not a simple backcrossed BC1 hybrid, but hybridised over multiple generations.
7 – Egypt – (Annual Production in Tonnes: 2,941,000)
Wiki Info: Sweet oranges were mentioned in Chinese literature in 314 BC. As of 1987, orange trees were found to be the most cultivated fruit tree in the world.
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6 – Spain – (Annual Production in Tonnes: 3,401,000)
Wiki Info: All citrus trees belong to the single genus Citrus and remain almost entirely interfertile. This includes grapefruits, lemons, limes, oranges, and various other types and hybrids. As the interfertility of oranges and other citrus has produced numerous hybrids and cultivars, and bud mutations have also been selected, their taxonomy is fairly controversial, confusing or inconsistent.
5 – Mexico – (Annual Production in Tonnes: 8,112,000)
Wiki Info: The word orange derives from the Sanskrit word for “orange tree”, which is probably of Dravidian origin. The Sanskrit word reached European languages through Persian nārang and its Arabic derivative nāranj.
4 – India – (Annual Production in Tonnes: 10,844,000)
Wiki Info: The word entered Late Middle English in the fourteenth century via Old French orenge (in the phrase pomme d’orenge). The French word, in turn, comes from Old Provençal auranja, based on Arabic nāranj.
3 – China – (Annual Production in Tonnes: 14,411,000)
Wiki Info: Common oranges (also called “white”, “round”, or “blond” oranges) constitute about two-thirds of all the orange production. The majority of this crop is used mostly for juice extraction.
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2 – United States – (Annual Production in Tonnes: 15,771,000)
Wiki Info: Being a citrus fruit, the orange is acidic: its pH levels range from 2.9 to 4.0
1 – Brazil – (Annual Production in Tonnes: 35,641,000)
Wiki Info: The orange is unknown in the wild state; it is assumed to have originated in southern China, northeastern India, and perhaps southeastern Asia and that they were first cultivated in China around 2500 BC.