FLORIDA IS KNOWN for its white sandy beaches, world-class attractions, and (my personal favorite) citrus. Look no further than Florida’s official license plate, with its image of two oranges and an orange blossom, as proof of its place in our history and culture. Florida has been synonymous with citrus for most of our 500-year history …
TWO MONTHS AGO, the topic for this column was the optimism that pervades the Florida citrus industry about an eventual victory over the citrus greening (HLB) disease.
| Growers dig deep as greening takes its toll | Early fruit drop jarred the citrus industry this season as growers battle the bacterial disease citrus greening, also known as Huanglongbing (HLB). “We were all caught off guard and quite honestly shocked at the devastation,” says Mike Sparks, executive vice president and chief executive officer …
Combatting disease with faith, science, and determination Read More »
For most of Florida’s 500-year history, Florida has been synonymous with citrus. Introduced to Florida in 1565 by Spanish settlers, citrus found Florida to provide the ideal environment for production. Today, there are more than 70 million citrus trees in Florida on 473,000 acres. The citrus industry employs 76,000 Floridians and has a $9 billion …
Commissioner’s AgriCorner: The importance of continued research for citrus greening Read More »
Scientists Get Creative to Come up with Manageable Solutions to Citrus Disease There’s no cure yet for citrus greening, or Huanglongbing (HLB), but researchers are learning a lot more about managing the disease spread by the Asian psyllid. “We really don’t have a solution as of yet. We have some great management tools,” says Dr. …
HLB Report: Attacking the Problem on Three Fronts Read More »
Jerry Newlin has weathered many disease outbreaks in the citrus industry, from canker to Tristeza and Blossom Blight, but citrus greening has proven the worst outbreak he’s seen, and the worst the Florida citrus industry has had to face. Newlin is vice president of citrus operations for Orange-Co, a citrus grove near Arcadia that, like …
The Green Monster: At War with a Potentially Devastating Citrus Disease Read More »
