Florida oranges assaulted by greening plague
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Florida's multi-billion dollar citrus industry has enjoyed many of the financial benefits of the globalized economy, but now it looks like it's having to deal with some of the biological fallout. For the past few years, a foreign greening disease has been tearing its way through Florida's orange groves; the incurable strain kills plants within two years. The "yellow dragon disease" -- more properly known as Huanglongbing (HLB) -- was first discovered in China in the 1800's. Now, it's managed to spread its way over to the States. The first case of the yellow dragon disease in the US appeared in 1998, and wasted no time in spreading its misfortune across the plantations of south Florida. According to an industry official, groves in some of the southern counties have infection rates of 60%. That's very bad news for Florida's orange industry, which has been facing tougher competition and weakening demand over the past few years.
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