Deadly citrus greening disease plaguing the Valley

[TexasTowelie]

The future of the Rio Red grapefruit among other citrus trees in the Rio Grande Valley are at risk, including commercial operations worth $150 million, said leaders of the Texas Citrus Pest and Disease Management Control Corp. during a Wednesday presentation.

More than 500 trees in commercial fields are now infected by a deadly citrus greening disease, known as Huanglongbing, since positive test results rolled in recently, with around 100 of which confirmed in the past few days.

Hundreds of trees have already been sprayed with pesticides and removed from properties across the Valley.

“We have a lot more infected trees out there than what we can show on a map,” said John Dale, program manager for the Texas Citrus Greening project, adding that residents should still spray first and then remove the tree, which costs about $40 per tree.

Read more: http://www.themonitor.com/news/local/deadly-citrus-greening-disease-plaguing-the-valley/article_05c61818-28e1-11e4-86f4-001a4bcf6878.html

[Gothmog]

1. I grew up in that part of Texas

This is a very serious issue for that part of the state