UPDATE 1- Florida citrus crop so far escapes freeze damage

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MIAMI Jan 5 (Reuters) - Florida's citrus crop appears to have escaped damage so far from several nights of freezing weather during its peak harvest period, but growers are bracing for expected lower temperatures overnight Tuesday to Wednesday, the state's main citrus growers group said on Tuesday.

For the third consecutive day, Florida Citrus Mutual, which represents around 8,000 growers, said it had received no reports so far of freeze damage to fruit.

Florida's $9.3 billion citrus industry produces more than three-quarters of the U.S. orange crop, most of which is processed for juice.

"We came through, we haven't had any reports of damage, it didn't get cold enough last night," spokesman Andrew Meadows told Reuters.

But he added many growers would be applying freeze protection measures, such as running irrigation, during the night of Tuesday to Wednesday, when temperatures were expected to be lower. "It's supposed to be a few degrees cooler ... tonight's going to be right there in the red zone," he said.

The state's growers of citrus, along with producers of strawberries, were anxiously monitoring their crops during the frigid period that came at the height of the harvest season.

"It's pretty much peak season right now, you can see trucks loaded with oranges going to the processing plants all over the place," Meadows said.

Typically, citrus crops get damaged if temperatures fall to 28 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 2 degrees Celsius) or below for four hours or longer.

But Meadows said that as long as this did not happen, the days of cooler weather could actually help the development of the fruit and its quality.

"So if we can make it through without getting below 28 degrees for four hours, some of this cold weather will be beneficial to us," he said. (Reporting by Pascal Fletcher; Editing by Marguerita Choy) (Miami newsroom + 1 305 810 2688)