Citrus Greening Dog. Courtesy, F1 K9
Of course, when in doubt or facing certain doom, it’s often dogs that come to the rescue! Those with dogs just know this to be so true. And so it is with Florida’s citrus groves, which have been under attack for nearly 15 years from Huanglongbing or HLB for short, a bacteria that prevents fruit from ripening, killing it. It seems dogs have a nose for the stuff.
We shared in a recent newsletter how a variety of citrus diseases has reduced the number of Florida citrus farmers from more than 7,000 in 2004, to about 2,000 today. Now comes an entrepreneurial firm out of Perry, Florida, F1 K9, that provides dogs trained to sniff out the bacteria from affected orange trees. The dogs walk along groves and when they sniff a tree with the bacteria, they sit down to alert the farmer.
Early detection by the K-9 detectives means the trees can be immediately removed, preventing further spread and saving the grove. Studies show the pooches are 99% accurate, too! You can learn more in this wonderful tale of tails from the Washington Post.
Have a terrific week!
Lisa
LMA Newsletter of 1-20-20
