Florida commissioner of agriculture Adam Putnam has called for increased funding to fight citrus greening, which is threatening to decimate Florida's famed citrus crop.
The call came after the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) revised its estimate for the 2014/15 season to 103m boxes of oranges, a decline from the forecast released in 2014.
“Now is the time to put all the resources we can toward fighting citrus greening,” said Putnam. “We must do what we can to save Florida's signature crop, an industry that generates US$9bn in annual economic impact and supports 76,000 jobs for Floridians.”
The USDA announcement estimated 103m boxes of oranges will be harvested this season, down from the forecast of 108m boxes announced in 2014, and also a decline from the 104m boxes produced in 2014 – the lowest on record.
This represents a total decline of 60 per cent since the peak of citrus production of 254m boxes in 1997/98.
“State and federal governments, along with Florida's citrus growers, have dedicated more than US$230m to support research over the past decade, and there are some promising leads,” added Putnam. “I've requested an additional US$18m from the state this year to continue in-depth research, grow clean citrus stock, and replant where diseased trees have been removed.”
