Overcoming the bacterial disease, citrus greening, remains the citrus industry’s most pressing challenge, but there’s growing optimism among growers in Southwest Florida. That was the main message from the Gulf Citrus Growers Association’s 29th annual meeting in Immokalee June 3.
The Gulf Citrus Growers Association represents citrus operations in Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry and Lee counties. Some nurseries are struggling to keep up with demand as citrus growers work to replant groves.
“At one time we had close to 200,000 acres of citrus here in the five county region, and now we’re down to about 125,000 so our goal is to start bringing those numbers up,” said Association Vice President and General Manager Ron Hamel.
“I don’t know that we’ll ever reach that higher number, but we’re certainly going to be able to enhance our industry going forward.”
Crop yields have been reduced by nearly half over the past decade due to the disease’s devastation. Hamel said Southwest Florida growers are now working together more closely to manage greening.
“In our region, we’ve been able to closely work together through our citrus health management areas to spray for these psyllids, these little insects that are basically spreading this disease. So by having larger contiguous blocks of citrus in Southwest Florida, we’re able to work closer together to fight those.”
Better water management and the right nutrient loads provided to trees is also helping improve the health of groves, according to Hamel.
“We found out that when a tree is infected with greening disease, about half of its root system has been deteriorated and it’s very difficult for the tree to absorb nutrients like it would with a full root system. So, that was a very important discovery and one growers have been focusing on.”
There’s still some Valencia oranges to be harvested, but for the most part, this year’s harvest is over and processing facilities are looking to shut down for summer. Southwest Florida groves account for 25-30% of the state’s $9 billion citrus industry.
