Friday, May 10, 2013
Florida Orange Juice, It may not be for breakfast any more
That is if the current plague upon the citrus growers continues without a remedy.
Florida’s citrus industry is grappling with the most serious threat in its history: a bacterial disease with no cure that has infected all 32 of the state’s citrus-growing counties.Hopefully there is enough science left in this country to combat this menace.
Although the disease, citrus greening, was first spotted in Florida in 2005, this year’s losses from it are by far the most extensive. While the bacteria, which causes fruit to turn bitter and drop from the trees when still unripe, affects all citrus fruits, it has been most devastating to oranges, the largest crop. So many have been affected that the United States Department of Agriculture has downgraded its crop estimates five months in a row, an extraordinary move, analysts said.
With the harvest not yet over, orange production has already decreased 10 percent from the initial estimate, a major swing, they said.
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