History - Canker War I and II

 

Contents:

This page provides information on the attempts to eradicate citrus canker prior to Canker War III, which began in 1995.

Citrus canker has existed in Florida for over 100 years. It is impossible to know the first introduction of citrus canker. However, there were 3 freezes, with the last one in 1905. Therefore, it is possible that the re-stocking of seedlings in nurseries lead to the first major outbreak of citrus canker.

Canker War I (1915 to 1933) was focused on eradication of canker in Florida primarily through the destruction of nurseries. Approximately 3.3 million citrus trees were destroyed. Both healthy and infected trees were destroyed in the nurseries, as they were generally burned down. In the groves, only trees showing canker symptoms were destroyed. Trees in residential areas were not inspected or destroyed.

In 1984, a disease thought to be citrus canker was discovered on the west coast of Florida. For 5 years (1984 to 1989), millions of citrus trees in groves and nurseries were destroyed, before the disease was recognized as citrus bacterial spot, an uniquely different pathogen. In my book, this is called the False Canker War.

Canker War II (1986 to 1994) attempted to eradicate canker on the west coast of Florida. Some articles consider the eradication efforts began in 1984, but this was not "true" canker, but citrus bacterial spot, which today is recognized as a different disease.

Eradication efforts ended in 1992, and in 1994, the Commissioner of Agriculture declared Florida was canker free. However 22 months later, it was re-discovered in the Sweetwater area of Miami-Dade County. In October 1995, Canker War III began.

In my book, Canker War III is subdivided into Part 1, from Sept 1995 to Dec 1999, when cutting was limited to 125' radius and Part 1, from January 2000 to January 2006, when cutting radius was extended to 1900-ft.

A common theme to all these programs, was that citrus canker could ravage groves, causing severe economic damage to Florida. Thus, the term "killer canker" was used in Canker Wars I and II, and later termed "devastating and deadly canker" during Canker War III.

Related Chapters: Chapter 1, 2

Short Notes:

SN 2.1 Additional Notes on Canker War I

 

Links for Canker War I

1982, 0USDA Assessment (Fact Sheet)

Taylor, J.C., The Citrus Canker, Historical Museum of Southern Florida.

Citrus canker distribution in Florida,. 1915

The policy of the Department in the 1980's seemed to be they were the final arbiters of what was citrus canker, and what constituted sufficient exposure to canker, to warrant the destruction of nurseries. Finally, the Department considered all trees they destroyed were either exposed to or infected with canker, and therefore worthless.

The Department was sued by Polk's nursery, and won a 1.6 million dollar verdict. The answer brief as provided below, was filed on behalf of Polk nursery in reply to the Department's appeal of the verdict.

Answer brief in the Polk Case

The article by Dr. Schubert and other scientists from FDACS/DPI, USDA/ARS and UF/IFAS provided some background of the prior attempts to eradicate citrus canker:

Schubert, et al., Meeting the Challenges of Eradicating Citrus Canker in Florida- Again.

It is possible that citrus canker came to Florida as a result of imports from Japan following the great freeze from 1894 to 1895. Similarly, the outbreak in the 1980's may have been the result of the freezes and subsequent replanting of citrus in central Florida.

The devastation caused by Hurricane Andrew in 1992 likely resulted in the importation of a number of citrus diseases and pests. The insects appearing after 1992 include the Asian citrus psyllid (vector of citrus greening), citrus leafminer and the brown citrus aphid. In addition, there were outbreaks of Medflies about 5 miles west of Miami International Airport in 1995.

It is possible that the outbreak of citrus canker beginning in south Florida in 1995, was the result of importation of infected seedlings. Canker was not detected because there was no visible symptoms on these plants..

The Great Freeze (1894- 1895)

Response of Florida Citus Growers to the Freezes of the 1980's

This is discussed in Chapter 2 of my book.

Articles by Dr. J. O. Whiteside and response from FDACS:

Dr. Jack .O. Whiteside cited numerous problems with the concept of full eradication of citrus canker from Florida. He wrote about Canker War 1, False Canker War and Canker War II.

Canker Threat, How Serious a Threat Canker is to Florida Citrus Production, Citrus Industry, 1985.

The History and Rediscovery of Citrus Canker in Florida, Citrus and Vegetable Magazine, April 1988.

Citrus Canker: Some Facts, Speculations and Myths about this Highly Dramatized Bacterial Disease, Citrus and Vegetable Magazine, Sept 1986.

Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services review of articles by Dr. Whiteside as posted on their website, April 2001.

Dr. Whiteside Letters

Memorandum to Dr. G.L. Zachariah, Vice President Agricultural Affairs, University of Florida/ IFAS, October 4, 1989 (Posted with permission)

Dr. Whiteside was an expert witness in Broward Court case 1. Parts of his testimony are provided on the legal webpage.

Dr. Whiteside Court Deposition

Nov 2000 Broward Court Dr. Whiteside's Deposition