The persimmon (Diospyros kaki), Chinese in origin, is a wonderful fruit which unfortunately has had a reputation for doing poorly in southern Florida. Most of us think of persimmon as a California crop. After all, it was introduced there in the mid-19th century. However, its popularity has led to the creation of more than 2,000…
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Richard Lyons’ Nursery for some time has been warning consumers of the dangers of citrus greening, the prime cause of the decline in Florida’s signature fruit crop. There is still no known cure for the disease. The first federal citrus crop forecast for 2016-17 is not an optimistic one for Florida. The National Agriculture Statistics…
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Richard Lyons’ Nursery has been reporting in this space for quite some time that the citrus industry in Florida is under assault. The primary threat is citrus greening, a disease for which a dependable cure has not yet been developed. This week there is another round of discouraging news. Attached below is a February 10…
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“It’s essentially in free fall.” That’s what Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam had to say about the state’s citrus industry this week when the USDA reported it had adjusted the orange-harvest forecast for Florida downward for the second straight month. The newest prediction by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) is that 69 million 90-lb.…
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Richard Lyons’ Nursery has tried to keep readers abreast of developments with respect to the health of citrus in Florida. We’re sorry to report that the latest information from the state’s Department of Agriculture, as well as industry sources, is not encouraging. On November 12, the Florida Senate Agriculture Committee met in Sebring to discuss…
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