HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — A tree disease that's almost always deadly for palm trees continues to spread throughout our state. There's a way to protect those trees if you have them amidst your landscaping, but that treatment is not cheap.
- Lethal Bronzing carried by plant-hopper type of insect
- First case found in Hillsborough in 2006
- Antibiotic injection can be between $20-50 per shot
- More Science stories
Florida palm trees are built to last, which makes recent talk that a tiny bug is doing them in a little hard to believe.
"They can really withstand 100, 130 mph winds,” said Susan Haddock, a UF/IFAS Extension Agent in Hillsborough County.
But Haddock tells us a plant-hopper type of insect is a carrier for a tree disease called Lethal Bronzing.
"Very similar to a mosquito bite that might be carrying something like zika virus,” Haddock said. “When it bites you, some of that phytoplasma is injected into that tissue."
Once a palm tree is infected, its survival time is about five months.
The disease itself isn’t new. It was previously called Texas Phoenix Palm Decline.
Florida’s first case was found in Hillsborough County in 2006. Since then, it has spread throughout the state.
"This happens very suddenly,” Haddock said. “The entire frond turns bronze to brown at one time and then it moves on up the tree."
There is no cure for Lethal Bronzing, but Haddock said antibiotic injections can help prevent it.
"If you have susceptible species and you're concerned, get it tested and start those injections,” Haddock said.
The injections come with a price tag. Haddock said about $20 to $50 per shot.
For more information on Lethal Bronzing, visit https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/PP/PP16300.pdf.