Citrus inspectors

[Alice In TX/MO]

Hubby is home in south Texas, and today two gentlemen came to the door because we have citrus trees visible from the road. (Note: We live on a two lane farm-to-market road.) They said they were from the Rio Grande River Valley, looking for orange tree pests and disease in other areas of Texas.

Hubby didn't ask if they were USDA inspectors.

He showed them our trees. They took leaf samples and examined the foliage on the trees with magnifying glasses.

They said they would be coming through every six weeks.

I want to know who is paying their gasoline bill and expenses.

Probably the state of Texas. Citrus is a major commercial crop in the southern end of the state.

Florida now has canker, citrus greening, and black spot thanks to poor bio-security. The citrus producing states that don't yet have these diseases would sure like to keep them out if they possibly can. Greening at least has the potential to eliminate the citrus industry in Florida if we can't find a way to manage, treat, or prevent it.

[suzyhomemaker09]

*Nods*
In South Florida you may come home one day to see the dreaded mark on your backyard citrus tree...then they come cut it down.

[Alice In TX/MO]

SEE!!>!??!! That's what I'm afraid of.

That's what everyone is afraid of.

But if your tree has greening you may as well cut it down yourself because it's dead. It just takes a couple of years to expire and maybe by then it'll have passed it on to every other tree for a few miles around.

[Alice In TX/MO]

I found this.
http://www.agr.state.tx.us/Agricultu...03_0_0,00.html

All our trees are healthy, despite the battering from the hail storm.

Off to google the disease and learn some more about it.