Others, like Murphy, are sticking it out, hoping to survive until a bug-free tree or other options arrive to repel the disease or treat the trees. When Hurricane Irma blasted through the state’s orange belt in 2017, Florida’s signature crop already had been on a downward spiral for two decades because of the greening disease.

Florida orange production has fallen by some 90% in the past two decades in large part due to citrus greening, but growers hope a new tree designed by scientists to withstand the disease will help the industry recover.

Florida’s citrus industry faces an increasingly difficult future, contending with a range of ongoing challenges. From devastating hurricanes to the persistent threat of plant diseases, along with the rapid expansion of real estate development,