Nearly 20 years after citrus greening appeared in Florida, exhausted farmers and researchers struggle to survive a disease destroying the state’s quintessential crop. José Chaparro gives it almost all his time and attention. The UF horticultural sciences professor has researched fruit breeding across the world, but he spends much of his time among the citrus trees, which include oranges, grapefruits and lemons.
Chaparro is part of a statewide research army that has fought for nearly two decades against citrus greening, a disease ravaging a signature Florida industry. Spread by bugs, the disease has pillaged thousands of groves and forced many farmers out of business.
UF’s shrinking orchard is an emblem of the statewide groves its researchers are trying to save. Last year, Florida citrus inventory stood at 361,656 acres of orange and grapefruit trees statewide. That’s less than half the 1996 acreage, when more than 800,000 acres of sweet-smelling trees stretched across the state.
Source: wusfnews.wusf.usf.edu