H.C.R. No. 42 HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1-1 WHEREAS, The Legislature of the State of Texas takes great 1-2 pride in recognizing January 23, 1995, as Grapefruit Day in Texas; 1-3 and 1-4 WHEREAS, Grapefruit is a valuable cash crop that plays a 1-5 large role in the Texas economy; and 1-6 WHEREAS, It is an enjoyable source of nutrition that is rich 1-7 in vitamin C and low in calories and that boosts iron absorption; 1-8 and 1-9 WHEREAS, The earliest recorded plantings of citrus in the 1-10 Lower Rio Grande Valley can be traced to the early 1800s; the 1-11 practice of grading citrus and the standard packing of citrus began 1-12 in the 1920s; and 1-13 WHEREAS, Grapefruit was first introduced to Texas in 1929, 1-14 and our state became famous for its production of the finest 1-15 grapefruit of all--the Ruby Red; and 1-16 WHEREAS, New varieties of this delicious, sweet, and juicy 1-17 fruit were later developed; during the 1960s, the Star Ruby was 1-18 introduced, and in 1984, the Rio Red was released to growers; today 1-19 Texas groves are about 80 percent dominated by the Star Ruby and 1-20 Rio Red; and 1-21 WHEREAS, According to a Texas Citrus Tree Inventory of 1993, 1-22 the Texas citrus industry is growing, and the grapefruit acreage at 1-23 that time totaled 18,100; and 1-24 WHEREAS, The grapefruits of Texas are appreciated nationwide, 2-1 and this outstanding food resource is an important part of the 2-2 Texas landscape, history, and culture; now, therefore, be it 2-3 RESOLVED, That the 74th Legislature of the State of Texas 2-4 hereby designate January 23, 1995, as Grapefruit Day in Texas, and 2-5 commend the grapefruit growers of Texas and extend best wishes to 2-6 people across the state for a celebratory Grapefruit Day in Texas.