High wind speeds were prevalent when Hurricane Debby passed through the North Florida region last week. Perry, Florida, received the brunt of those winds.
According to Lisa Strange, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension agent in Taylor County, wind speeds were recorded at 80 miles per hour. It led to some citrus trees toppling over. Others reported similar damage throughout the cold-hardy citrus region.
“We had a few limbs that broke off, but they’re more on the east side where the prevailing winds were. It was quite minimal,” Strange said. “Two of the citrus producers reported about 10% (tree damage), and it was mostly Shiranui. They were 3-year-old trees that just fell over.”
Strange said the growers hope to salvage the downed trees by standing them up. However, it will be some time before it is known if the up-righting attempts are deemed successful.
In contrast to the citrus groves, wind damage was not as bad on citrus greenhouses.
“It’s very minimal destruction compared to Hurricane Idalia. All of these are nurseries except for one is a greenhouse, and the greenhouse nursery is in pretty good shape,” Strange said. “They have a few small holes that need to be fixed, and the whole plastic itself within the year is going to have to be replaced on that particular greenhouse citrus nursery.”
Growers that retained many of their trees and were able to access their fields shortly after Debby’s arrival started disease management strategies. Many of the trees were left vulnerable, however, from the combination of winds and excessive rainfall.
Strange reported that two growers started spraying immediately with copper fungicides to protected against canker and other diseases. She added that all area groves appeared to have good drainage with no standing water.
“Everybody’s in pretty good shape,” she concluded.
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