Citrus greening is hurting orange growers in Florida
Citrus greening was first reported in Asia during the late 1800s, and it has no cure. It isn’t a threat to humans or animals, but it has ruined many acres of citrus crops throughout the world, including the United States.
“It’s been problematic and it’s pretty much spread throughout the entire industry now,” says Mark Wheeler, a third-generation orange grower and CFO of Wheeler Farms in Lake Placid, Florida.
Wheeler says that although they’re seeing elevated fruit prices, the production has been diminished per acre because of the disease.
“It’s all a grower by grower situation and how impacted they are by the disease,” says Wheeler. “A grower who is producing 300 to 400 boxes per acre is doing well, but a grower who is producing 200 boxes per acre is struggling to stay in business.”
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