There were 6.59 hectares of citrus groves in Limone sul Garda by the second half of the 19th century. The first harvest of 1874 amounted to 76,000 lemons, the 1876 harvest was "just one sixth of what was harvested in 1875", and the 1878 harvest was "scarce and less than the previous year." The 1879 harvest was "50% that of an average harvest when the plants were not sick". An agricultural survey in 1879 estimated that production amounted to 550,000 lemons, 8,000 oranges, and 3 quintals of citrons.

At the turn of the 20th century, the citrus production in Limone at lake garda began to suffer from the crisis caused by competition from southern regions (whose production costs were extremely low), by the discovery of synthetic citric acid, and also by the "high maintenance costs" of the lemon houses. The demand for Limone lemons, which remained stable for decades, began to diminish. Due to their particular structure, it would also have been impossible to reconvert the lemon houses into more economically viable businesses unless local inhabitants changed their mentality and were willing to make additional investments.
The price of lemons dropped. Bettoni's "commercial" lemons went from 5.77 lire for 100 in 1892 to 2.31 lire in 1897 and 1.83 lire in 1908, while "bulk" lemons went from 2.94 lire to 1.39 lire and 1.554 lire. Clearly, the sector was in crisis!