Florida Agricultural Experiment Station


excessive moisture, high winds, and cold should be given more
consideration in the general care of the grove and provided for
as any other operation in connection with the production of
citrus fruit. This is especially true of disease control, which is
one of the serious problems that the citrus grower must help to
solve. Diseases are not apt to become less numerous in the grove
or to disappear unless proper control measures are undertaken.
On the contrary, if diseases are allowed to follow their natural
course, they may be expected to become more abundant and
destructive. Certain citrus diseases are already so thoroughly
established in the groves that they are considered permanently
destructive agencies which require control measures at certain
periods each year. Various diseases are responsible each year
for heavy losses in fruit and trees. Such losses are largely pre-
ventable by the use of timely and effective control measures.
 As a rule, very little thought or attention is given to a disease
until it is well established in the grove and the damage caused
by it becomes distinctly evident. In the control of any disease
there is generally a period during which preventive or remedial
measures can be applied most effectively and economically. A
delay of a few days or a few weeks may render such measures
ineffective toward preventing injury or checking the disease.
 In order to handle intelligently the disease situation in any
citrus grove it is first necessary to understand something of the
nature and causes of diseases, the conditions under which they
develop, the identity and the importance of the particular dis-
eases to be combatted, and the methods most effective for their
control. A similar knowledge should be had of the more common
and destructive insects because the control of the two often goes
hand in hand.
 Growers will do well to familiarize themselves with the soil
and soil moisture conditions of their groves and to inspect their
trees periodically for diseases and conditions that need correct-
ing. An annual or semi-annual inspection of the trees is of the
utmost importance in locating cases of bark diseases, such as
foot rot, mushroom root rot, gummosis, and psorosis, so that
they can be treated before the life of the trees becomes threaten-
ed. With a moderate amount of study and observation, growers
may be informed of their most common diseases and the relative
damage caused by each one. They will then be in position to map
out a program for the most effective and economical control of