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WITH THE KILLERS hiding in the trees, heat-sensing drones are launched into the air. When their whereabouts are narrowed, the dogs are sent in. When it comes to protecting the world’s supply of guacamole, no weapon can be spared.
On subtropical farmland in South Florida, researchers are doing battle with the deadly fungus, laurel wilt, which is spread by a tiny beetle and has the potential to decimate Florida’s avocado crop. The hashtag they have adopted for their mission: #savetheguac.
“This is probably the biggest threat to the Florida avocado that’s ever been seen” said Jonathan H. Crane, a tropical fruit crop specialist at the University of Florida.
Laurel wilt is spread by the ambrosia beetle, an invasive species from Asia. It first appeared in the US in Georgia in 2002, and has spread around the Southeast, mostly in redbay laurel trees. Avocados are in the same laurel tree family, and once infected by the fungus the tree can be dead within six weeks.
Researchers and farmers are fighting to halt the fungus before it advances to California, where the avocado is king.
Avocados are Florida’s second-biggest fruit crop, behind citrus. The larger, smooth-skinned avocados in the Sunshine State differ from the smaller, rough-rined California Haas avocados. California produces nearly 90% of the nation’s avocado crop and it’s worth about $400 million (€367 million) annually — which is why it’s essential to stop laurel wilt’s spread.
Deep in Miami-Dade County’s southern agricultural enclaves, researchers are testing methods to do just that. Florida avocados are harvested beginning in early June.
On a recent day, scientists from Florida International University and the University of Florida, along with the owners of a drone company and a canine detection team converged on a ranch under a blistering sun.
Part of the challenge of fighting laurel wilt is that by the time a farmer sees evidence of the disease — thin, hair-like prongs sticking out from tree trunks and limbs that are really the sawdust residue left behind by the burrowing beetle — it’s too late to save the tree. But if farmers can catch the disease in its infancy, before symptoms emerge, there’s hope of saving the tree with fungicide.
The first step is finding which part of the grove is infected. That’s where the drone comes in. According to Ty Rozier, owner of Elevated Horizons, a Miami-based drone company, the vehicle carries a thermal digital imaging camera as it soars over the groves in lawnmower patterns.
Researchers analyse the images and videos to find the stressed trees. Then, they send in the dogs.
“It’s almost like cancer detection,” said Ken Furton, an FIU provost and professor of chemistry. “Multiple dogs have alerted on (infected) trees that show no signs of infection.”
The dogs currently used are two Belgian Malinois and two shelter dogs.
Once the dogs key in on an infected tree, farmers can remove and burn it, then inject nearby trees with fungicide in hopes of saving them or staving off the disease.
It’s too costly to try to eradicate the ambrosia beetle, said Crane. The beetle works quickly, sometimes moving 50 to 80 kilometres a day through redbay laurel trees. Those varieties are found in Texas and “from there it’s not a stretch to California or Mexico”, Crane said. It’s impossible to stop in those wild trees, but farmers must try to contain the disease in the avocado crops. He said;
You can see the potential ecologic and economic devastation.
Since first detected on the edge of Miami’s western suburbs in 2011, laurel wilt has killed swamp bay trees scattered across 330,000 acres of the Everglades. Hundreds of millions of redbay trees have succumbed across six Southeastern states since 2002.
And some avocado trees in Florida have been felled as well. About a mile from where researchers were testing the drones and dogs, acres of sick avocado trees were spindly, brown and dead. One researcher said it was likely the farmer couldn’t afford to rip up and burn the trees, or treat the healthier ones.
This two-pronged detection system of drones and dogs could be adapted to other crop diseases, such as citrus greening, Furton said.
A $148,000 (€135,000) state grant is funding the study involving the drones and dogs.
“Florida’s warm climate makes our state a hotbed for invasive species and diseases,” said Adam Putnam, Florida’s agriculture commissioner.
Florida’s avocado industry has a $64 million economic impact in our state, and we will continue to aggressively protect our agriculture industry with cutting-edge research and technology.
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Monsters in the making….
Is could have been another James bulger case
Lucky escape from these demons !
Name and shame them .. Never mind this protecting them malarkey .. If they want to do an adult crime then they should do adult time
They aren’t adults though. Do you not see how that works?
A cautionary tale of the demonic temptations that lurk on the internet. Evil ideas and suggestions can easily attack the minds of young and old people.
Porn is not to blame for bad behaviour. The science shows porn is NOT harmful. If you’re of the feminist persuasion and believe it’s derogatory etc. then fair enough but the facts are… Michael Castleman M.A. Michael Castleman M.A. All About Sex Does Pornography Cause Social Harm? Porn causes no measurable social harm. Posted Apr 27, 2009 Many people feel offended by pornography. Those who find it odious have every right to their opinion. But some porn-haters declare that X-rated material does more than just disgust them. They contend that it contributes to significant social harm. In The Porn Trap (2008), psychotherapists Wendy and Larry Maltz assert that it’s a significant factor in sexual irresponsibility and divorce. Advertisement The late feminist activist, Andrea Dworkin, argued that by depicting women as men’s willing sexual playthings, porn contributes to rape. Her disciple, Robert Jensen, writes: “pornography alone doesn’t make men rape…[but] it may activate coercive tendencies.” And porn critic Diana Russell argues that porn undermines men’s inhibitions against rape and spurs some to commit it. Strong accusations. But are they true? The advent of Internet porn provides surprising answers. The Internet became a major force in everyday life in the late 1990s. Before then, porn was available in adult stores, through X-rated video rentals, and on some newsstands. But with the arrival of the Internet, porn availability exploded. It was just a click away 24-7 for free in tens of millions of homes and offices. In 1997, 16 percent of American adults used the Internet regularly. By 2005, the figure had quadrupled to 65 percent. The Internet has also made porn much more available to impressionable kids. How many kids, ages 10 to 17, have viewed Internet porn? According to a recent report in the journal Pediatrics, 42 percent. Advertisement If porn is a significant contributor to social harm, we would expect to see substantial increases in sexual irresponsibility, divorce, and rape since the late 1990s when the Internet suddenly made X-rated material much more available to those who might instigate sexual mayhem, overwhelmingly men. Guess what. Since the arrival of Internet porn: * Sexual irresponsibility has declined. Standard measures include rates of abortion and sexually transmitted infections. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), since 1990, the nation’s abortion rate has fallen 41 percent. The syphilis rate has plummeted 74 percent. And the gonorrhea rate has plunged 57 percent. * Teen sex has declined. The CDC says that since 1991, the proportion of teens who have had intercourse has decreased 7 percent. Teen condom use has increased 16 percent. And the teen birth rate has fallen 33 percent. * Divorce has declined. Since 1990, the divorce rate has decreased 23 percent. * Rape has declined. According to the Justice Department’s National Crime Victimization Survey, since 1995, the sexual assault rate has fallen 44 percent. Taken from Psychology Today 2009
Genuinely did not mean to post that whole thing. Point still stands.
@ TG My short post doesn’t specify porn, but mentions ‘evil ideas and suggestions’ on the internet as luring young and old people into temptation. A schoolgirl in rural Ireland a couple of years ago was hurtfully ‘trolled’ on a chat site and took her own life.
Porn is an interesting topic, suited to a different thread perhaps.
Conor, that is just excusing what they did. That child had a very narrow escape. Would you be so quick to pass it off as youthful confusion if the child had not been rescued safely? Would torture, rape or possibly murder also be explained away? Their plan was evil and depraved and some day these teens will be adults. Where is the magic light bulb that will suddenly turn on revealing to them the horror of what they were planning to do?
Those girls were 13 and 14 and knew better , James Bulgers murderes were only 10 and able to plot and plan what they did . That child was blessed and those girls should be locked up for ever
Gareth, maybe read up about Mary Bell – well before ‘evil internet’
In fairness Mary Bell was subjected to some pretty harmful things growing up.
They should never be allowed have kids or be around kids its sick – no matter what age you are to want to hurt a child – evil monsters !!!
Control your mind (brain) or it will control you!!! There is a perfect example!!
Jesus, it’s Jamie Bulger all over again. That child could have met a frightening end..
I did realise kidnapping was frowned upon by 13 Vincent, hence I’m not the topic of a journal article. These kids will be punished and re educated, clearly necessary. But they’re not demons. Or monsters. Or even evil. That sort of rhetoric leads to dehumanisation, something we’re all accusing them of. You need a clear head to deal with the situation, not a pitch fork. It’s an emotive subject and clearly I won’t be winning this one. Online commentary is fun but perhaps not the arena for debating key aspects of psychology and rehabilitation! After all these kids ARE going to get out.
I wonder if these girls parents are being investigated in some way? That these girls were going to abuse a child they way they had been?
They’re 13 yrs old. Not evil. Just totally confused, misled kids. You’d never suspect two young girls though. Anyone’s capable of going completely wrong I suppose.
We’re the two boys involved in the Jamie Bulger case just confused? No, I don’t think so. This is no different just because they were girls. The things they were researching before hand does not suggest they just wanted to mind her and play with her. They wanted to hurt her. That’s some form of evil.
Did you not no by 13 or 14 it was wrong to go out and try kidnap toddlers?
See that’s just the thing isn’t it, nobody would suspect two young girls. But psychosis knows no gender. Nobody would have suspected two young boys either before the Jamie Bulger case.
Conor
So what age is it exactly that evil kicks in at
At Jeanniejampots, yes the two ten year olds that killed little Jamie Bolger were deeply confused. That’s exactly what they were. What else is there?! Exorcism?! They are 10 year old children, completely incapable of making rational decisions on life and death. That part of the brain doesn’t even begin to develop until late teens, getting more robust in your 20′s. Hence you recruit young kids to fight wars (or believe in religion) not older more rational people. It’s why rational societies have different and far tougher penalties for adults.
One of the Jamie Bulger killers was arrested for having child pornography recently. Some people are broken from the start and it isnt all nurture issues. I wouldnt call it evil but plain dangerous.
Confused? In 2010 Venables clearly still very confused about right and wrong, was sent back to prison charged with downloading child pornography depicting children as young as two years og age being raped by adults. Well he certainly is a reformed character.
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