New Disease Endangers Florida's Already-Suffering Citrus Trees

摘要

Things are going from bad to worse for citrus glowers in Florida, the state that produces most of the oranges, grapefruit, and limes grown in the United States The 9 billion dollar industry has spent much of the past decade wrestling with an epidemicof canker that cut production by roughly a third In a long, drawn-out effort to eradicate the wind-borne bacteria, 127 million trees-among them 10% of Florida's commercial acreage-have been cut down at a cost of 600 million dollar including compensation. But in January, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) decided that eradicating canker was a lost cause and halted its efforts.