{"id":6198,"date":"2022-11-28T16:52:23","date_gmt":"2022-11-28T16:52:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unclematts.com\/?p=6198"},"modified":"2022-11-28T16:52:23","modified_gmt":"2022-11-28T16:52:23","slug":"citrus-greening-a-positive-outlook-despite-mother-natures-setbacks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unclematts.com\/citrus-greening-a-positive-outlook-despite-mother-natures-setbacks\/","title":{"rendered":"Citrus Greening: A positive outlook despite Mother Nature\u2019s setbacks"},"content":{"rendered":"

While the Citrus Greening epidemic throughout Florida is ongoing, widespread and currently, no cure has been found, Ben McLean III, Uncle Matt\u2019s Head of Research and Development (and Uncle Matt\u2019s older brother!) is continuously working to find a solution to the state\u2019s Greening problem.<\/p>\n

To recap, Citrus Greening is the result of the invasion of the Asian Citrus Psyllid, a small insect that originated in China. The psyllid carries a bacteria and feeds on the leaves of citrus trees. When the psyllid feeds on a tree, it leaves behind the bacteria that causes Greening. The bacterial infection is highly contagious and can quickly spread throughout a grove. The infection makes it difficult for the tree to absorb nutrients \u2013 even from the soil. This causes the fruit to green and drop off early due to lack of nutrients. An infected tree will eventually die.<\/p>\n

As Greening research continues, Ben McLean has taken part in several field trials to find a treatment for the disease. The latest update: he\u2019s seeing encouraging results in our local organic grove! According to Ben, there are four key practices that are contributing to healthier trees and a stronger fight against Greening.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Multi-species cover cropping.<\/strong> Planting a variety of cover crops such as Sunn Hemp, Cowpeas, rye, millet, buckwheat and barley has resulted in healthier, nutrient dense soil. Cover crops — and in this case a diverse set of cover crops all within the same grove — create complex root systems and a symbiotic relationship between the crops and citrus trees.<\/li>\n
  2. Improved genetics.<\/strong> The University of Florida and the USDA partner in traditional breeding methods to provide organic rootstock and scion varieties of a type of citrus called the Sugar Belle. These non-GMO trees and resulting fruit crops are showing stronger resistance to Greening.<\/li>\n
  3. Nutritional program.<\/strong> The organic grove is regularly treated with well-balanced organic nutrient sprays to keep the trees healthy. The focus is on working towards an optimal micronutrient level to maximize health benefits.<\/li>\n
  4. Biological control program. <\/strong>Neem oil, a botanical spray, is used as a natural deterrent to the Asian Citrus Psyllid within the grove. Releasing Tamarixia wasps is another method used to manage psyllid populations. These natural predators of the Asian Citrus Psyllid are provided by the University of Florida and are released weekly into the groves.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Further Greening research is needed to find a cure for already-infected citrus trees; however, a combination of the treatments above have shown positive steps towards enabling non-infected trees to survive and thrive. While this might not sound like the best news for Florida\u2019s existing groves, these are valuable findings considering the toll Greening has taken on the state\u2019s citrus production in total. The Florida Department of Citrus<\/a> reports a continuous decline in the state\u2019s citrus production year-over-year as a direct result of Greening. Add in the devastating impacts of recent major weather systems, and it\u2019s safe to say Florida\u2019s citrus industry is in a precarious situation.<\/p>\n

    In just five short weeks this fall, hurricanes Ian and Nicole wreaked havoc on Florida, bringing about further concerns for citrus, especially in areas heavily impacted by these storms. We feared for the worst for our organic groves after all the positive momentum these trees have shown in resisting Greening. Fortunately, our groves saw minimal damage due to our location within Central Florida. We only lost about 5% of the fruit due to wind, and only a few trees suffered physical damage. Unfortunately, not all citrus groves in these storms\u2019 paths fared as well.<\/p>\n

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    TIP: If you have a backyard citrus tree that is leaning from high winds, we recommend propping the tree back upright as much as possible.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

    Recovery efforts are underway to ensure our groves are healthy and strong following these weather events. Following these natural disasters, we\u2019re right back to actively managing a regularly scheduled organic nutritional spray program. For folks at home, we suggest nourishing your tree with organic compost to help your tree regain its strength with all the micronutrients it needs for healthy growth. We\u2019re also incorporating an organic recovery spray within the grove consisting of Magna Bon\u2122 CS Copper and Keyplex 350 OR\u2122 to reduce any potential spread of citrus canker, a common infection after hurricanes and other major storms.<\/p>\n

    We still have a long way to go to recover from the effects of greening. Here at Uncle Matt\u2019s Organic, we\u2019re committed to fighting heroically against Citrus Greening and other pathogens on behalf of our broader industry. It\u2019s our number one mission to find a long-term solution to Greening organically. We\u2019re encouraged by the positive results we\u2019ve seen in our trials, and we\u2019re confident that we can work towards growing a sustainable, organic citrus crop in Florida for future generations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    While the Citrus Greening epidemic throughout Florida is ongoing, widespread and currently, no cure has been found, Ben McLean III,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6199,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[155],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unclematts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6198"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unclematts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unclematts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unclematts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unclematts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6198"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.unclematts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6198\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6200,"href":"https:\/\/www.unclematts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6198\/revisions\/6200"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unclematts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6199"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unclematts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6198"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unclematts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6198"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unclematts.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}