The decrease in production in Florida could be due to climate change. It could also not be. I'm pointing out that the article provides no proof and am asking what evidence there is.

Using the same logic the author used and applying it to the USDA report, do you then believe climate change has lead to an increase in production in China? Would you welcome articles praising climate change for giving us more Chinese citrus?

> Using the same logic the author used and applying it to the USDA report, do you then believe climate change has lead to an increase in production in China

That may or may not be the case. Climate change is not homogeneous, and affects different regions differently. Even if it were homogeneous, there are plenty of places on earth that would benefit, agriculturally, from a warmer climate. I dont know whether or not portions of China fall in that category.

That being said, I think the longer summers are exacerbating the problem with the disease that is the core driver of collapse of citrus in Florida, but climate change itself is probably not a direct contributor.

Citrus fruit are native to Southern China, it's fair to assume they are adopted to the climate here. "Summers" are almost the entire year with the exception of maybe three months when it gets cooler. It's subtropical climate. I have not been to Florida but Wikipedia describes it as "humid subtropical", which would be exactly identical to places like Guangdong.

>Climate change is not homogeneous, and affects different regions differently.

That's true. So has it gotten cooler or hotter in Southern China over recent decades? We should look at that: Temperatures have increased here also. So what leads to an increase in production in one place leads to a collapse in the other? All I'm asking is have you considered the possibility that it may not be related to climate at all, not even indirectly? Because disease can be caused by other factors, if that's the actual culprit. Another user has suggested simple economics, which is more often the real cause for abandoned farms.

> So what leads to an increase in production in one place leads to a collapse in the other?

As noted, the disease benefits from warmer weather. Plants probably do as well, but that's moot when a disease is killing them.