Citrus greening disease has yet to find its footing in Georgia’s commercial citrus. But if it does, Georgia’s growers need a plan in place to manage the disease.
Lindy Savelle, executive director of the Georgia Citrus Association (GCA), emphasized that message during last week’s GCA annual meeting in Tifton.
“There is a very small amount of the disease in commercial citrus, but we don’t have a plan in the state of Georgia. We don’t have a program that says, ‘If we find this disease, this many acres, this is what we do,’” Savelle said. “The association and the leadership of Georgia citrus are trying to come up with a plan. By having speakers come and talk about what they’ve done in Brazil, what they’ve done in California and what they’ve done in Florida, we’re trying to listen to those who have worked in our shoes so we’re not too late to set up some sort of program that will help protect us.
“That’s all part of this ‘Securing a Resilient Future for Georgia Citrus,’ (which was the theme of the conference). We’ve got to have health management plans in place, and we’ve got to have a plan if we find more larger commercial groves that have psyllids in them and HLB.”
A pair of Brazilian citrus leaders spoke during the GCA conference about how their country’s citrus industry has continued to flourish even amid greening disease. They emphasized spray applications and tree removals.
“Obviously, they spray a lot more down there than we do here in the U.S., and that may be an issue for us here. I do think the removal of trees is something that we should be doing,” Savelle said. “That’s where it’s going to come down to convincing homeowners to let us take out that infected tree that’s a host for the psyllid and then replace it for them. That’s a step we’ve got to put together to make the whole puzzle fit.”
By Clint Thompson