What is citrus greening and why should I care?
It’s a real disease that is driving the Florida citrus crop into the ground. Once a tree is infected with the disease, there is no cure. Most trees die within a few years.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture, while the disease poses no threat to humans, it could wipe out a variety of fruit trees, such as grapefruit, lemon, lime, orange and tangerine, to name just a few.
Can you imagine what it would be like to no longer have oranges at the grocery store? And it isn’t just Florida. The disease has been found in California, Georgia, Louisiana, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Texas and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
There is hope, however. And it involves biotechnology.
According to Kevin Folta, a professor and chairman of the horticultural sciences department at the University of Florida, a gene from spinach moved to citrus trees seems to allow the trees to tolerate the disease.
Listen to Folta’s Talking Biotech podcast on citrus greening here: Solutions for Citrus Greening
Folta was also a speaker at the American Farm Bureau Federation 99th Annual Convention in Nashville, Tenn. Listen to this podcast from Texas Farm Bureau about Folta’s talk at the convention.
While biotechnology is a long-term solution, there are also a few short-term solutions that are showing promise.
So the next time someone tells you nothing good can come from GMOs or food technology, remind them that biotech could just be the solution needed to keep oranges and other citrus fruits on your table!