Florida Trend | Florida's Business Authority

Who Said That?

"We're fighting for the life of an industry."

-- Lake Alfred microbiologist Jim Graham

One of the best hopes to revive Florida's fast-fading citrus industry is a steam generator mounted on an old grove truck.

In a test plot at the University of Florida's Lake Alfred Citrus Research and Education Center last month, the truck lowered a plastic hood over a barren, dying orange tree. Hissing jets filled the enclosure with steam for 30 seconds, long enough to kill the citrus greening bacteria beneath the tree's bark and, probably, restore the tree's health within six months.

"The results have been pretty remarkable," said Reza Ehsani, the leader of the steam treatment project.

Read more at the Tampa Bay Times.