TITLE:
Assessing the Profitability of Avocado Production in South Florida in the Presence of Laurel Wilt
AUTHORS:
Mauricio Mosquera, Edward A. Evans, Randy Ploetz
KEYWORDS:
Avocado Production, Laurel Wilt, Profitability
JOURNAL NAME:
Theoretical Economics Letters,
Vol.5 No.2,
April
29,
2015
ABSTRACT: Laurel wilt (LW) is a lethal disease of trees in the
Lauraceae plant family, including the economic significant commercial crop
avocado, Persea americana. To date,
an estimated one-half billion native trees have been destroyed by the disease
in the southeastern United States, including the loss of significant and
diverse taxa in the Everglades. In the US state of Florida, laurel wilt has
spread rapidly throughout the South Florida commercial avocado production area.
Since its arrival in 2011, LW has been responsible for the death of about 7000
trees or 1% of the production area. Given the destructive nature of this
disease, there are major concerns over the future of the Florida avocado
industry. Cost-effective management of LW remains an elusive goal, and current
recommendations rely heavily on the early detection and destruction of affected
trees (sanitation) in an effort to slow the spread of the disease. An empirical
economic model is used to determine when all trees in an orchard affected by LW
would need to be destroyed due to negative net returns.