{"id":17493,"date":"2020-03-19T20:11:39","date_gmt":"2020-03-19T23:11:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lawnstarter.com\/blog\/?p=17493"},"modified":"2025-04-04T13:47:03","modified_gmt":"2025-04-04T16:47:03","slug":"how-save-tampa-palm-trees-lethal-bronzing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lawnstarter.com\/blog\/florida\/tampa-fl\/how-save-tampa-palm-trees-lethal-bronzing\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Save Your Tampa Palm Trees From Lethal Bronzing"},"content":{"rendered":"

No tree says Florida like the palm tree, especially\u00a0the state tree,<\/a>\u00a0the sabal palm. But lethal bronzing disease threatens dozens of palm tree species across the state, including the sabal palm. And the organism causing it is on the move. Lethal bronzing disease can kill a tree in less than a year from the time the phytoplasma first infects it, and if not checked, it will spread to any other palm trees you have, or to your neighbor’s trees. Here’s how to save your Tampa area palms trees from lethal bronzing.<\/p>

What to Look for<\/h2>

Lethal bronzing’s\u00a0first noticeable symptom<\/a>, according to the University of Florida IFAS Extension, is premature fruit drop. From there, the tree\u2019s oldest leaves will turn brown. Finally, the central spear leaf will collapse, a symptom that the heart of the palm has died. Once that happens, there’s no chance to save the tree. All this can take less than a year \u2014 and in the meantime, the organism that causes it will have jumped to new, unaffected trees.<\/p>

\"Dr.
Dr. Brian Bahder<\/figcaption><\/figure>

“It\u2019s on the move within the state for sure, but it seems to be most prevalent in the central part of the state,” said Dr. Brian Bahder, an assistant professor in the entomology department at the University of Florida\u2019s Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center. Dr. Bahder is Florida\u2019s foremost researcher on lethal bronzing. “At this point, the economic loss \u2014 we don\u2019t have an exact dollar value, but I can say it\u2019s easily in the millions.”<\/p>

The Culprit<\/h2>

The pest behind lethal bronzing disease has an unremarkable name:\u00a016SrIV-D phytoplasma<\/a>. A phytoplasma is a bacterium without a cell wall. So far, this one has killed palm trees in Florida, Louisiana, and Texas. Dr. Bahder believes an insect transmits the bacteria from tree to tree. Initially, the disease’s first U.S. name was Texas Phoenix Palm Decline because it first affected trees in Texas in the\u00a0Phoenix genus of palms<\/a>. It got renamed when it spread beyond Texas and to more palm species.<\/p>

It first spread in Florida along the same path as 2005\u2019s immensely powerful Hurricane Wilma. That leads scientists to speculate it may have\u00a0hitchhiked to Florida<\/a>\u00a0in the saliva glands of some rugged Wilma-tossed insects. Lethal bronzing hit Tampa Bay in 2006.<\/p>

What to Do<\/h2>

If you suspect lethal bronzing disease, don\u2019t procrastinate. The longer the disease goes, the worse it gets. It takes just months for a tree to go from newly infected to dead. First, you have to test it to confirm lethal bronzing disease is the culprit. Contact the University of Florida IFAS Extension<\/a>\u00a0office for your county agent,\u00a0prepare a trunk sample<\/a>\u00a0and send it in. That test will either be done at Dr. Bahder\u2019s lab, or a lab in Gainesville.<\/p>

\u201cOnce a palm shows symptoms and tests positive, there\u2019s nothing to do. The best thing to do is to remove it immediately to try and prevent further spread of the disease to nearby, healthy palms,\u201d said Bahder. He encourages testing and sampling, so infected trees can be destroyed immediately. But there is a glimmer of hope \u2014 an antibiotic. \u201cIf the palm tests negative and looks healthy, we\u2019re fine with recommending using the antibiotic (oxytetracycline HCI<\/a>) as a preventive treatment,\u201d he said. It remains to be seen if the antibiotic might be able to cure the tree. \u201cWe\u2019re actively doing research to try and determine if there\u2019s an amount of antibiotic that we can use that will reverse symptoms once a palm has become infected.\u201d<\/p>

Best Practices<\/h2>

The best practice right now is to test your palms for lethal bronzing disease, even if they look healthy. Those that test positive and show symptoms should be removed right away. \u00a0Those testing negative can receive the drug, which could save them. But the antibiotics are just a bandage on a problem that has spread to 33 Florida counties since 2006. The solution comes not at the hands of homeowners, but\u00a0tree care professionals<\/a>, growers, and researchers.<\/p>

\u201cWe\u2019re trying simultaneously to stop the spread of the disease in the nursery, which is where most of it, I believe, is occurring,\u201d said Dr. Bahder. \u201c I\u2019m hoping if we can control the vector in the nursery and slow the spread there, that will have a trickle-down effect into the urban environment.\u201d<\/p>

The goal is fewer infections and more healthy palm trees swaying in the Tampa Bay breeze.<\/p>

Dr. Brian Bahder<\/a> is an assistant professor of entomology at UF\/IFAS (University of Florida\/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences). He specializes in insect vector ecology, and his research interests include the epidemiology of phytoplasmas infecting palms and other tropical ornamental plants.<\/p>

Main Image Credit: TriggerPhoto<\/a> \/ Canva Pro \/ License<\/a><\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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