Citrus Greening inevitable for North Florida and South Georgia

Citrus greening disease will most certainly become an issue for North Florida and South Georgia citrus growers. Fred Gmitter, a University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences citrus breeder, believes the disease’s impact in both areas is inevitable.

“Everywhere I’ve traveled in the world where the (Asian citrus) psyllid has been, I’ve seen greening,” Gmitter said. “One of the common psychological responses that people have is denial. I’ve been in places, China for example, where they told me, ‘We don’t have greening.’ I’m looking at 25% of the trees with greening. They say it’s something else, but sure enough, three years, four years, 10 years later, the industry in that area is down the tubes.”

“I don’t think there’s anything particularly special about North Florida and South Georgia that’s going to prevent this from being a problem there. I hope I’m wrong. I would love to be wrong on this.”

According to an article on citrusindustry.net, Gmitter could not give a timeframe on when the disease would make its way northward but said it will depend on how proactive producers are.