Officials in Florida have warned that it will be difficult to form a comprehensive strategy for fighting any citrus black spot outbreaks in the state until the fungal disease has been studied for a year.
The first Florida black spot find was only made in March before being verified in April by the US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health InspectionService (APHIS), meaning that growers and researchers have very little experience in dealing with the disease.
Since the first two black spot cases were confirmed, a further nine instances of the disease have been found in Collier County, with one outbreak uncovered in a Hendry County grove some 14 miles from the initial discovery.
'I don't know how big this will get. We'll have to wait until next year,' Megan Dewdney of the Citrus Research and Education Centre in Lake Alfred told a gathering of nearly 300 people in a teleconference.
Local publication The Ledger revealed that the state had surveyed all groves within a seven-mile radius of the original Immokalee find, with a similar survey now underway in Hendry, with surveys conducted along the US 27 corridor in southern Polk, Glades and Highlands counties turning up no further black spot finds.
'We are working in collaboration with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the University of Florida's Citrus Research and Education Centre and the citrus industry to limit the spread and impact of this disease through swift regulatory actions, education and informed compliance,' Rebecca Bech, deputy administrator for APHIS plant protection and quarantine, said in April.
Black spot, which causes surface lesions on the fruit meaning they cannot be sold as fresh produce, occurs in sub-tropical regions of the world with summer rainfall, and has been found in a number of countries including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, Indonesia, Japan, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Peru, Philippines, Swaziland, areas of South Africawith summer rainfall, Taiwan, Uruguay, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.
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