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Ida's salty water, sludge sickened Plaquemines citrus trees; wind-blown satsumas rot
Worth $4.7 million in 2019, Plaquemines' celebrated citrus industry has flourished in southeast Louisiana's soil and temperate climate since the 1800s. But the farmland and the parish's 23,000 residents have grown increasingly vulnerable as Louisiana's coastline retreats and stronger hurricanes fueled by global warming become more common. The 2018 value was $6.4 million.
Louisiana's citrus hub has struggled with hurricanes, erosion, aging farmers; What's next? Louisiana's citrus hub has struggled with hurricanes, erosion, aging farmers; What's next? Farmers across the region are still assessing what's left after Ida, but Timmerman said preliminary estimates suggest 4,000 to 8,000 citrus trees were lost out of an estimated 48,400 in the parish. Upriver near Belle Chasse, where fields avoided flooding, she said, smaller fruits such as satsumas and kumquats might have managed to hang onto their branches. But in lower Plaquemines, where the wind was stiffer and the water lingered on the fields, losses range from 80% to 100%.
Gwen Becnel hopes that a third of her family's 40-acre crop survived. But she said that estimate is generous. The salty water and mud that Ida washed in from Barataria Bay smothered their trees and poisoned the soil even as the storm's gales stripped them of their leaves and fruit.
Satellite imagery seems to indicate Hurricane Ida caused significant damage to parts of Louisiana’s coast
Satellite imagery from the European Space Agency seems to indicate Hurricane Ida caused significant damage to parts of coastal Louisiana, especially to shorelines in the Mid-Barataria basin.
Before and after images indicate areas of marsh were lost near Lake Salvador south of metro New Orleans.