The evolution of the rural workers and the agricultural techniques adopted in orange groves in the State of São Paulo, Brazil, was analyzed between 1988/89 and 1997/98. The data were drawn from a survey, which was carried out jointly with the Crops Forecast survey. Data concerned the area cultivated by means of animals and tractors, the manual process used for planting, tilling and harvest operations, and the labor employed in the production process, besides the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Results showed that only machines were utilized to plow and harrow the soil, whereas planting and harvesting were done manually. They also detected increase in the use of herbicides for the weed control. There was a small reduction in the use of chemical fertilizers, besides an increase in the use of insecticides. Even with the implementation of labor saving techniques, there was a stability in labor employment, due to an expansion in the crop area and the present impossibility of harvest mechanization.