Citrus greening is spreading through Florida and is now reported in 37 of the state’s 67 counties. The disease which is spread by an insect called a citrus psyllid causes yellowing, leaf drop, and fruit damage and malformation, and kills citrus trees within five years. Over the past two decades Florida citrus growers have abandoned 135,000 acres due to the disease and last year 20% of the expected harvest was lost because of it. Currently there is no cure for greening but there are methods that are being developed that will keep infected trees alive longer until a cure can be found. Tenting infected trees and heating them to 128 degrees Fahrenheit extends the producing life of a tree for between five and ten years, and disease-resistant root stocks are showing promise. Some antibiotics have also been shown to slow the progress of the disease but none of these methods are a final solution to the problem. The new U.S. farm bill includes $125 million allocated to research to find a cure to help save the $9 billion industry but a cure may still be years away.
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