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Warning For Owners Of Abandoned Citrus Groves
Posted: 5:23 pm EST February 8, 2010Updated: 6:06 pm EST February 8, 2010
LAKE COUNTY, Fla. -- The number of citrus groves abandoned in Florida has doubled in just the past two years. Right now, there are 288,000 acres of groves going to waste in Florida. That means some of that fruit, that could have fed needy families, is being wasted.
Tons of it will never be picked. To make matters worse, some of the trees could be spreading a very serious citrus disease.
There are 4,600 acres of abandoned citrus trees in Lake County and some of the dying groves could be breeding grounds for disease.
They can act as 'typhoid Marys.' They can have infected trees in their groves, explained Ryan Atwood.
Atwood is with the county's agriculture extension office where there are growing concerns over greening, a disease that causes fruit to fall off the tree before it's ripe. It is spread by a tiny Asian fly.
I think the disease is becoming more prevalent in Central Florida, Atwood said.
Its so prevalent, the Department of Agriculture is inspecting abandoned groves all over the state. Officials will soon warn property owners to either kill the bugs or cut the trees down or risk losing their agriculture tax exemption.
Officials are also concerned that the growing number of abandoned groves leaves tons more fruit left to rot.
There's no fertilization, no spraying, no tending whatsoever of those trees, Atwood said. Sometimes, they don't even get picked."
Atwood said the chances of that happening are greater if the land is owned by a developer. If it belongs to a citrus grower, its a different story.
Typically, if there's fruit to be had, then they're going to pick it, because that's like money out there on the tree. Not too many people will do that, he said.
There's no accurate estimate of how much citrus is wasted every year. The amount in Florida picked, packed, processed and sold generates nearly $9 billion a year.
