Posted on 08/25/2005 7:08:09 AM PDT by mac_truck
FORT PIERCE, Fla. — For more than 40 years, grapefruit grew juicy and ripe on this 1,200-acre grove inland from the Atlantic. Now there is little left but the jagged branches of torn-up trees, and spicy smoke fills the hot midday air as one by one, they are burned to powdery ash.
Last year's hurricanes dropped a bacteriological bomb on Florida's already sorely challenged citrus industry, widely dispersing a virulently contagious germ that causes citrus canker — a disease harmless to humans and animals but ruinous to oranges and grapefruit. Florida officials say the possibility that hurricanes could further scatter the bacteria has created the most serious threat in decades to the state's signature crops.
No chemical has been found that can destroy the germs without harming the trees. So last month, Florida's Department of Agriculture announced a mammoth smash-and-burn effort to rid commercial groves of tainted or at-risk trees. It is the equivalent of destroying every tree in an area the size of Miami.
Until last summer, canker had been virtually eliminated in Florida except in two southeastern counties. The rain droplets borne by the shrieking winds of Hurricanes Charley, Frances and Jeanne carried the bacteria into 13 other counties, including prime commercial citrus-growing areas north of Fort Myers on the Gulf of Mexico and here on the Eastern seaboard about 120 miles north of Miami.
If nothing is done to combat the Xanthomonas axonopodis bacterium — so tiny that 25,000 laid end-to-end would measure 1 inch — it could doom Florida's citrus industry, said Mark Fagan, a spokesman for the state Department of Agriculture's canker eradication program.
"With the multitude of hosts out there, the thousands of acres, it's got plenty of opportunity to spread," Fagan said. "Eventually, it would devastate, wipe out, a $9-billion industry."
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
One silver lining --- now that global warming is upon us, perhaps grapefruit can be successfully grown somewhere else.
"This calls for higher taxe...ah... revenue enhancement!"
Herbicides don't kill bacteria. Effective antibiotics and/or bacteriocides are limited. The disease has a long latent phase. This is a political, not just epidemiological, hot potato in FL.
The story is about Florida, and judging from your use of the word herbicide, a bomb could go off in your room without alarming you.
Have some coffee before posting.
I suggest you read the article before making such an uninformed comment.
Please see post #6, and BTW it is 10:32 Eastern Standard Time. I've been at work since 5:30 AM. That's work, W O R K.
O.K. I'll give you that. I have put on my flame retardant 'britches' and made a few calls. The Griffin's, Sweets, Kings and Hunt brothers inform me that this is an issue, but only to some already weakened and destitute groves in the SE Florida area already under tabs for development. Remember, the canker scare cost the state and federal government millions or even billions to date. They don't want to make that mistake again. I have some links coming in from some major land owners and will post after lunch. Are you a citrus grove owner? Please educate me. I've called off the fire department for now.
No problem. Have some coffee.
I would be happy to hear that it's only old groves that are being destroyed. But then older trees produce more fruit, up to a point.
I have half a dozen lemon and key lime trees. Most of them have something that curls the leaves. I've been told it is incyrable, but it doesn't seem to slow the trees down.
I will probably have about 300 lemons this year. The Meyers and Bears, the size of grocery store oranges.
"Most of them have something that curls the leaves."
If it leaves a trail before curling, leaf minors. 'Surefine' oil will take care of it... and you'll be PC with the tree huggers.
"One silver lining --- now that global warming is upon us, perhaps grapefruit can be successfully grown somewhere else."
The Iowa Citrus Growers Association envisions that many acres of corn and soybeans may be turned over in the next few years.
We want to be the Sun Belt of the Midwest.
Sorry I couldn't resist, the above information is satire.
The whole premise of the article is that recent huricane activity is spreading the bacteria northwards. Now, take a look at the byline of the article and tell me if you think Ft. Pierce is in SE Florida. -btw if you have verifiable evidence that this bacteria attacks only weak and abandoned citrus groves, I'd like to see it.
His work shows that global climate change will produce a complex pattern of winners and losers, and challenges the idea that climate change will be uniformly harmful.
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