Installation Guide

Bison Soil Organic Biochar for Increased Yields and Citrus Greening Disease

Citrus greening is a bacterial disease that attacks the vascular system of plants. Once infected there is no cure for a tree

with citrus greening disease. Citrus trees decline and die within a few years and may never produce usable fruit. In Flori-

da, greening disease is widespread. The response of many citrus growers is to stop planting citrus trees.

Biochar has been shown to be effective in treating greening disease as well as increase yields. Pioneering work by IFAS

at the University of Florida has shown beneﬁts in citrus yield and soil quality from biochar additions to soils. Schumann

and Spann (2012 found that 4-yr old citrus trees had 67% more canopy volume than trees grown in adjacent un-amended

soil. Tree canopy volume is a rapid method to estimate tree size, which in citrus, is positively correlated with citrus fruit

yield. Thus, the 4-yr old trees grown in biochar should have a greater fruit yield.

They also found that the soil amended with biochar had a cation exchange capacity (CEC) that was 4.5 times greater

than the un-amended soils. Copper in the grove soils was found to be high (139 lb/acre) due to its use as a fungicide;

however, where biochar was added to the soils the levels in the soil were negligible (0.4 lb/acre)(Schumann and Spann

2012).

More Information on Greening Disease: Citrus greening is considered to be one of the most serious citrus diseases in the world.

It is a bacterial disease of citrus that greatly reduces production, destroys the economic value of the fruit and can kill

trees. Citrus greening is a disease vectored by two species of citrus psyllid (Diaphorina citri Kuwayama and Trioza ery-

treae (del Guercio). Asian citrus psyllids cause economic damage to citrus in groves and nurseries by direct feeding and,

potentially, by transmitting a serious bacterial disease. Both adults and nymphs feed on young foliage, depleting the sap

and causing galling or curling of leaves. High populations feeding ona citrus shoot can kill the growing tip. More impor-

tantly, this psyllid is able to transmit an endocellular, phloem-restricted bacterium, Liberobacter asiaticum, that causes

the greening disease. The bacteria are phloem-limited and cause yellow shoots, blotchy mottling and chlorosis, reduced

foliage, and tip dieback of citrus plants.

Description of Bison Soil Organic Biochar

Bison Soil Organic Biochar for the citrus industry is sold by Bison Soil and optimized for superior performance to enhance

plant growth by retaining nutrients and water; to improve soil physical, chemical and biological properties; to enhance

crop growth with less agronomic inputs; and to increase beneﬁcial microbial colonization. This Bison Soil Organic Biochar

is manufactured from clean wood biomass to maximize its ability to improve soils and fruit production.

Bison Soil Organic Biochar lasts for hundreds of years, so it stays in the soil providing beneﬁts to the trees for years and

years. Bison Soil Organic Biochar is not only good for citrus, but it is also good for the planet because it is a natural,

USDA Certiﬁed Biobased soil amendment that is derived from plant biomass that would otherwise be a waste product in

a landﬁll.

Products Information

Bison Soil Organic Biochar

for Citrus Tree Agriculture

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Products Information Bison Soil Organic Biochar for Citrus Tree Agriculture Bison Soil Organic Biochar for Increased Yields and Citrus Greening Disease Citrus greening is a bacterial disease that attacks the vascular system of plants. Once infected there is no cure for a tree with citrus greening disease. Citrus trees decline and die within a few years and may never produce usable fruit. In Florida, greening disease is widespread. The response of many citrus growers is to stop planting citrus trees.
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Application Rates for Bison Soil Organic Biochar With its ability to improve soil, plant production and fruit yield, Bison Soil Organic Biochar is ideally suited for use in citrus groves. Bison Soil Organic Biochar is particularly effective on sandy soils, much like those that are found throughout Florida. The rates below are based on University research and provide general guidance for the use of Bison Soil Organic Biochar.