Florida Citrus Will Beat HLB [Opinion]
September 20, 2015 
When I first heard about HLB, I thought — how bad could it be? Like many other pest and disease complexes, I figured growers and researchers would quickly learn how to vanquish the problem and keep on producing without missing nearly a beat.
But, in October 2005, when HLB came in with a roar to Florida, scientists in the know warned that this is not just any other disease. Boy, were they right. In short order, the disease spread across the state, and here we sit 10 years later coming off the smallest crop in 50 years, while our costs have more than doubled.
Yes, it’s not the rosiest of pictures, but the industry is still here, and some predicted that wouldn’t even be the case. And, if I asked you to raise your hand if you have become a better grower because of HLB, how many of you would raise yours? I bet a lot, because this disease has forced you to adapt and improvise.
As we observe what is happening now in California with a psyllid found here and an infected tree found in some back yard there, it was different in Florida. On Oct. 25, 2005, USDA confirmed 268 HLB-positive trees in residential and commercial grove locations. It was the proverbial “Houston, we have a problem.” moment.
As the significance of the threat further sunk in, Florida growers and the scientific community didn’t just sit back and let fate fall where it may. Growers began tinkering with new production techniques like enhanced nutrition programs and began worrying about things that had never mattered before. Think managing bicarbonate levels, spoon feeding fertilizer, planting higher densities, and overall reducing tree stress at every turn.
Loading ...We can’t forget costs and the economic viability of all these measures, but surely they are curbing the losses.
Scientist dove in as well, first just doing the basic research about the interaction between the pathogen, vector, and disease. With much learned, they are now looking at interventions like thermal therapy, antimicrobials, GMO trees, and much more.
So, while the crop has been declining, just imagine where we would be if growers and the research community had not been doing all those things over the past decade? Those death sentence predictions might have been right.
Consider Cuba, for example. Recently, I saw a presentation about the trade implications on Florida due to the potential of normalized relations with Cuba given by Bill Messina, who is an ag economist with UF/IFAS. He noted the recent release of Cuba’s ag statics for 2014. That report showed a stunning decline in citrus production of 42% from 2013. Nearly half the crop in one season.
This follows a general production decline that has been under way for — you guessed it — the past decade. There are several reasons for the decline, but a lot of it can be attributed to HLB. Farmers in Cuba are not implementing the practices you are here to mitigate the effects of the disease.
Take heart. All the steps you’ve taken to hang on have made a difference and the researchers are closing in on more permanent answers to HLB. Most folks believe we have not hit bottom yet, but this past season’s decline in production was 8% compared to 14% the previous year. Hopefully, it is a hint we are beginning to bottom out and all of these mitigation efforts and new plantings are beginning to make a positive difference.
When we convene to mark 20 years since HLB’s entry into Florida, I predict a celebration of a past triumph over this disease on the backs of grower tenacity and scientific breakthroughs.
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