According to Florida’s Agriculture Statistics Services, there were more than 69.5 million citrus trees spread over 531,500 acres in the state in 2012. With a climate conducive to growth, there’s no doubt the citrus industry is one of the Sunshine State’s biggest. And homeowners in Palm Harbor, Florida, also love growing a variety of citrus trees, including orange, lime and lemon.

As great as the citrus trees in Florida are at producing fresh fruits, they also face common problems like pests, nutritional deficiencies and diseases. To ensure you’re able to grow a healthy citrus tree in your backyard, you must familiarize yourself with the visual symptoms associated with diseases that can affect the quality of your fruits and how many your trees produce.

How to Prevent Citrus Greening in an Orange Tree

Considered one the most threatening and widespread citrus plant diseases, citrus greening has killed millions of orange trees in the southeastern U.S. in recent time. Spread by an infected insect, citrus greening produces oranges that are green, irregularly shaped and bitter. What’s worse, there isn’t a cure for this disease. To prevent your other trees from getting infected, remove the diseased orange tree as soon as you see signs of citrus greening.

How to Prevent Pests in a Lime Tree

Of all the citrus trees, lime trees are actually the easiest to grow and have the least number of serious diseases. In fact, the biggest threat to lime trees is the pests that attack it – leaf miners, citrus mites and aphids. In addition to tree trimming and strong blasts of water to deter pests from invading, it’s also best to spray your lime trees with insecticidal soaps and organic neem oil sprays.

How to Prevent Citrus Canker in a Lemon Tree

Citrus canker, one of the most common diseases known to lemon trees, is a highly contagious bacteria infection that causes yellow lesions on the leaves, twigs and fruit of the tree. The disease spreads through the air. To help prevent it, you should spray liquid copper fungicide on your lemon tree. Unfortunately, if citrus canker has already infected it, there’s nothing you can do to cure it. At that point, it’s best to invest in tree removal to avoid widespread contamination.

For more information about how tree trimming and immediate tree removal can save your yard from becoming disease infested, check out this blog post or contact us at 727-478-2864.