Greening fear clouds future of Manatee citrus groves

MANATEE -- Less than 10 years ago, the greatest threat in the history of the Florida citrus industry made its beachhead in Homestead. Within months, it began spreading statewide.

Citrus greening, a bacterium that kills the tree and is spread by a tiny insect, the Asian citrus psyllid, probably arrived in Manatee County in late 2005. Greening is now found in every commercial grove in Manatee County and statewide.

Greening and the encroachment of development helped sharply reduce the size of the citrus industry and forced growers to work harder than ever to preserve their livelihood.

Greening cost growers $2.9 billion in revenues between 2006-07 and 2013-14, according to a report released in December by the Florida Citrus Commission. Florida citrus's annual economic impact is estimated at $9 billion.

Manatee County ranks ninth in the state in citrus production with 18,000 acres in groves producing $39 million in annual revenue, Manatee County Extension Director Samantha Kennedy said.

One of Manatee County's largest growers, SMR Farms, has about 1,000 acres planted in citrus. SMR Farms has been able to sustain its citrus production by increased spraying to control psyllids while "spoon feeding" fertilizer to plants all year, said Steven John, SMR citrus production manager.

It's the same amount of fertilizer used in the past, but now it's more carefully doled out throughout the growing cycle, John said.

Smaller growers such as Hugh Taylor, who has about 60 acres in groves, said they have felt the impact of greening, too.

"We have lost maybe 30 percent from our peak production," Taylor said.

Even with steeply higher costs for psyllid control and plant nutrition, Taylor remains cautiously optimistic about the future.

He believes the multipronged approach scientists are taking to fight the disease offers the best hope for the future. Those steps include suppression of pysllids, genetically engineering an insect unable to spread the greening bacterium and developing a more disease-resistant tree.

Early on, most growers tried to destroy trees infected by greening. At SMR Farms, the focus is now on getting production from trees while intensifying efforts to keep them healthy. Fruit from infected trees remains edible.

Growers say they have their backs to the wall as they fight to save their industry. They are looking for answers from science and production methods.

"I am cautiously optimistic. Citrus is a big economic engine for the state and for Florida agriculture," Taylor said. "There are only so many places we can plant citrus. We can't replace trees every five years. We have to find a disease-resistant tree."

Gary Russ says he has been relatively lucky in maintaining his production.

"We are very proactive. We have reset most of my groves and they are just now coming back into production," Russ said.

The threat presented by greening is a "moving target," Russ said of the efforts needed to save 400 acres of groves he owns and the 500 acres he manages.

"We are adapting daily. I am working harder than ever while our expenses have quadrupled," Russ said. "I have to be optimistic. I don't want to sell my property to development."

State and local government, and growers have spent more than $230 million over the past decade to support greening research.

In January, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam asked for increased state funding to fight greening.

"I've requested an additional $18 million from the state this year to continue in-depth research, grow clean citrus stock and replant where diseased trees have been removed," Putnam said in a press release.

In its most recent forecast, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said 103 million boxes of oranges will be produced in the 2014-15 harvest season -- down 4.6 percent from the previous forecast of 108 million boxes and a 60 percent decline from the peak year of 1997-1998 when Florida growers produced 254 million boxes.

Juice maker Tropicana, one of Bradenton's largest employers, has a stake in the battle against greening. The company offered a statement Friday: "Tropicana only sources the best oranges and we're confident in our ability to deliver consumers a reliable supply of nutritious, great-tasting orange juice, despite the challenges facing Florida citrus.

"We take citrus greening seriously and we are actively supporting efforts of the Citrus Research & Development Foundation and the University of Florida Citrus Research and Education Center to find sustainable solutions. For more than 65 years, Tropicana has been committed to the Florida citrus community -- and we will continue to be a champion for Florida citrus."

James A. Jones Jr., East Manatee reporter, can be contacted at 941-745-7053 or on Twitter@jajones1.

This story was originally published February 1, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Greening fear clouds future of Manatee citrus groves."