Arrktrees, just like all apples are Malus domestica, all bananas are the same Musa species. (Not including one edible species grown only in the South Pacific). Just like you can have Golden Delicious, Granny Smith and Rome apples, you have small pink bananas, big white ones and plantains all from basically the same genome. In my parent's day, the variety was called Gros Michele, "Big Mike". The last load was imported into the U.S. in 1962, but the dying of bananas had been on-going and had inspired the song "Yes, we have no bananas". Since then, almost all dessert bananas are Cavendish. The reason is a disease that wiped out almost all Gros Michele. The reason for the quintessentially British name Cavendish is that when looking for a banana tree that was immune to the fungal disease, one was found in the greenhouses of Lord Cavendish. This single clone is that basis for the whole dessert banana trade. Now, there is a new threat, another fungus. The industry has already moved from countries like Honduras to Ecuador, the new #1 source of bananas to the US. The fungus has infected trees in South China, and recently was found in Queensland, Australia. When it comes to the New World, you will read it in the mainstream media. While you and I may think of bananas as an accessory to breakfast, places like Uganda and that region use bananas like we do potatoes, wheat and rice. This variety, a plantain type, is also killed by the new fungus. When it ravages East Africa, you can imagine what will happen when it hits there, imagine taking everything with rice, wheat or potato off your menu. Anyways, there is a process going on to try to find a resistant banana. Every banana is an ancient seedless (natural?) hybrid. However, have you ever noticed small brown specks at the blossom end of a banana? Those are vestigial seeds. For every about 100 thousand bananas, one will have seeds that can be made to grow. For every 1000 ones that grow, one will make it to maturity. For this reason, the Country of Honduras has a project where bananas are mashed through a sieve to recover those 'seeds'. They are sent to the U. of Louvain in Belgium where they do the growing. As they get plants, they multiply them and give them to people in India, Africa, South America etc. It is hoped on of these will show resistance to the new fungus. I'll stop this long post, there is so much more to say. For more info, look for info on Tropical Race Four.

Dawgone, sorry if there has been a misunderstanding. I never insinuated, in any way, that you were calling me loony, nor that I thought you were loony. You're reading that into something that is not there. So please don't accuse me of reading between any lines -- that's precisely what you are doing. Rather, I was saying the idea that it is a person's individual right to do something (anything) that could do billions of dollars in damage to others, was a loony idea. I think 99.9999% of all thinking people would agree that that is the case; it would be insane not to. If I lived next door to you and decided it was my personal right to keep cobras in the back yard, without cages, I doubt that you'd agree that I had that right. We have kind of the same issue here. One person could endanger the livelihood of thousands. That is not acceptable in a civilized society, and so we deal with such situations with laws. As for the money issue, You are utterly wrong there. Money, big business, etc., are/were NOT in any way involved in these laws. If you believe that, fine; you are wrong. In many cases, the big growers don't like the laws as they stand, but they, too, have to abide by them. As for the propagation arguments -- Under strong Federal pressure (with good reason, I might add), the State has made the rule that all trees must be propagated under certified conditions -- where they can be inspected and tested regularly. No, the "big money guys" can't propagate plants outdoors either; EVERYONE, without exception, must use a certified, psyllid-proof, positive-pressure greenhouse system, which is the only know way to prevent the spread of greening. Now that I think of it, it really is not illegal for a back-yard gardener to propagate his own citrus; you do have the right to apply and become licensed as a citrus nursery. You have the right, then, to build such a greenhouse (at your own expense -- there are no subsidies for them), and you have the right to allow the State inspectors to arrive any time, unannounced, to inspect. Under those conditions, yes, you too could propagate citrus in your back yard. Nobody, no matter how rich or politically connected, has the right to propagate citrus by any other means. So you'd be right in there with the big guys. Why are we talking tristeza? It's not an issue at all, and has nothing to do with these laws. Greening and Canker are the problems here. Tristeza is not involved. And if you let home gardeners get certified budwood from the State to propagate at home, who, exactly, will pay to have those trees inspected every couple months as are all the nurseries' trees? Who will pay for all the book-keeping for potentially thousands of "nurseries" in back yards? Yet the state is fully expected (by those same home owners) to protect them from these very diseases. As for Home Depot and Lowes -- aphids are of no concern. Psyllids are. Trees being legally sold at Home Depot or Lowes were greening-free when delivered, and they almost certainly have been treated with a long-term systemic insecticide. We're lucky, here, in that psyllids are unusually stupid insects. They tend not to recognize trees enclosed by a wall or with a screened roof, etc. And most Lowes stores are not next to orange groves. So those factors lower the probability of spread. However, you are right that there could be a problem there -- the only solution may be to ban all public retail sales of citrus. (No, I'm not putting those words into what you've said; but if you consider Lowe's a problem, that is the only solution). As for your last paragraph -- that's quite astonishing. You talk about people getting mad and throwing verbal abuse, and in the next sentence, suggest that I'm in the pay of the dirty money you claim is operating here! Fascinating. So far, I have not accused you of corruption. Please explain how I am NOT being so-accused here??? I think, indeed, there are very hard feelings there. I'm not sure where the big chip on your shoulder came from, but I can tell you, as a Floridian (with citrus trees in my back yard), I am grateful that the State is trying to protect my trees and those of the industry. It is annoying to have to have tough laws, but those are not new or different; the USA is free of screw worm, brucellosis, and other agricultural diseases precisely because of such laws. Also in most States, kids don't go to school without a proper round of immunizations. Yes, there are those who fight that, and say it's their right not to vaccinate their kids; but wisdom concerning the common good tends to prevail in such cases. When it does not, people get hurt. I don't see any significant difference here.

LITH and all others too~~ Thanks for thinking of me....it seems like an eternity since my beloved was taken home, but I am doing as well as can be expected, I guess~~ There is always something I want to tell him, and look at his empty chairs and wish I could talk to him one more time...but then there would never be enough time~~ As for the house....I was told yesterday that I have a "low ball" offer coming in.....$255,000 on it listed at an already lowered $299,900...I am hoping they will counter, but the realtor thought they were pretty set in their price. This afternoon, I am showing it to a husband and wife doctor team who are coming here....and I live only 1 1/2 blocks from their offices/hospital....so I am anxious to see if anything becomes of that. They wanted out by the big lake, but they have to live so they can be at the hospital in 20 minutes and I don't think they can get here that fast from the lake......oh who knows, but on the brighter side~~~~~ I was talking to one of the guys who live in a 4 plex, just south of my lot on the lake, and he said that he didn't know when it would happen, but the south unit of the 4 plex was coming up for sale. It is not as large as the middle units, but still a 2/2 and looks out on "my" lake~~~~ I called about it and she was driving, so I need to call her again this afternoon. The HOA fees there are $224.00 a mo., but they include the taxes, insurance, lawn care, snow removal and the dues. I could probably build a duplex for not too much more than that unit would cost, but heck, it is already built and I would not have the hassle of moving twice and the headaches of building by myself~~ I have not seen the inside yet, and if he was a smoker, it is out...I have a terrible allergy to smoke. Thanks again for your good thoughts....keep them coming...I read these posts regularly to keep up with you fine people who post on this forum.

Just saw ur post and I know it's been a couple years since u posted it but just wanted to weigh in so others could see this. I too live just north of tampa, backed up next to a big orange grove. I have been here 16 years and about 10 years ago I started feeling very tired and slow. I had always been a very strong go getter workaholic. I thought for a few years that this must be part of getting older. Well as the years rolled on I became more and more sick. I have been from doctor to doctor with no diagnosis. Til finally I came across a doctor that asked me if I was possibly being exposed to large amounts of pesticides. I quickly recalled the image in my mind of the trucks constantly driving up and down the rows of orange trees blowing a cloud of pesticides over the entire area. My cars are covered with it every time they spray(which seems to be a lot). I thought for a moment and told him of my location and the close proximity to the grove. He hit his hand on the desk and loudly stated "that's it"! Well sadly there is no easy fix for this and I'm not in a financial position to relocate immediately. So I remain very sick and brain scans show lesions on my brain. So my advice to anyone out there looking to move to the "country" is to stay as far away from agricultural property as possible. We eat pesticides in our food and that's really bad but adding it to our everyday environment where it's sprayed on everything we touch, the air we breathe and even the water we drink from our wells is clearly more than the human body can take. If I could turn back time, I would never have bought this property and maybe today I wouldn't be struggling every day of my life to survive.