On January 16 of this year we published the State of Florida’s updated, discouraging outlook for citrus production. Unfortunately, that pessimism has only deepened since then. State agriculture commissioner Adam Putnam, in a message distributed this week and reprinted below, reports that Florida’s orange harvest will be its lowest in 50 years. The cause is citrus greening, a disease for which…
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We have previously addressed the grave threat to the avocado industry in Florida. Laurel Wilt Disease is being spread by an insect vector, and a cure has eluded plant scientists. But recently a ray of hope has surfaced, and CBS News sent a reporter to southern Florida to find out more about it. Here is…
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On November 14, 2014, Richard Lyons’ Nursery posted an article on its website entitled, “Why This Nursery Doesn’t Recommend Citrus or Avocado Trees.” It reported that citrus greening disease was primarily responsible last year for the state’s poor orange production, 104 million boxes. Unfortunately, new information shows that things are getting even worse. On January 12 the…
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Recently Florida’s Commissioner of Agriculture, Adam Putnam, distributed a story that had been reported on a Tampa-area television station. It quoted some fairly astonishing statistics regarding citrus production in Florida: The most recent growing season yielded 104 million boxes of oranges. Only 11 years ago, 243 million boxes were picked! Some of the difference was…
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As just about everyone knows, southern Florida’s climate permits homeowners to grow a vast and impressive array of fruit trees. But the lower end of the peninsula is also a sitting duck for the introduction of diseases and detrimental insects. Lamentably, Richard Lyons’ Nursery must now recommend that you no longer plant citrus and avocado trees…
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