From the Tampa Tribune:
Citrus greening, the insidious disease that is laying waste to Florida's signature agricultural industry, marches on with insect soldiers the size of a freckle that pass the lethal bacteria from tree to tree. There is no cure for the scourge that takes about five years to kill off a healthy tree and now has been reported in 37 of Florida's 67 counties, including Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Polk.
Last year, citrus greening was blamed for a loss of about 20 percent of the expected harvest, industry observers say. More worrisome, it's causing more and more citrus farmers to pull part of their groves out of production of Florida's iconic fruit — or get out of the business entirely.
Agricultural researchers continue to work to come up with a cure, which isn't on the horizon, or at least a way to control citrus greening, which every day seems more likely.
Preliminary predictions say that next season's yield will be down dramatically from years past, though some industry analysts dispute that. Over the past two decades, citrus growers have abandoned 300,000 acres, leaving a total of about 60 million trees on 500,000 acres.
Of that 300,000 acres lost, about 135,000 acres were abandoned because of citrus greening, said Mike Sparks, executive director of the Lakeland-based Florida Citrus Mutual, the largest citrus industry advocate in the state.
To read the full article, visit the Tampa Tribune's website here.
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