Historic San Jose orange orchard threatened by fruit fly

(KRON) -- Before San Jose became part of Silicon Valley and a home to tech giants, the region was known for its sprawling orchards of fruit trees.

One of San Jose's last orchards standing, Giant Orange Orchard, has been growing oranges and other crops for more than a century. Today, there are about 1,500 naval orange trees growing on the farm that are 40 years old.

Fruit farmers Andrew Tower and Amanda Fein-Tower wrote, "Our harvest is a true family affair -- from our eldest at 74, to our youngest harvester at just 5." Giant Orange Orchard harvested its last orange crop for commercial use in 2017. Since then, the orchard donates all of its harvests to Second Harvest of Silicon Valley, according to a verified GoFundMe page.

Last spring, nearly 350 volunteers picked over 115,000 pounds of