DR1 Daily News - Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic’s Lime Cluster (Clúster Limón) has issued an urgent public warning, demanding that the Ministry of Agriculture halt massive lime imports, particularly from countries confirmed to harbor serious agricultural pests and diseases that do not currently exist in the nation, as reported in Hoy.

National lime producers fear that a surge in foreign fruit could jeopardize the hard-won recovery of the Dominican citrus industry and devastate other staple crops like plantains and bananas.

The cluster is primarily concerned about the potential introduction of several specific threats, including the Mediterranean fruit fly, thrips of the marvels, leprosis, black spot, and, most critically, Fusarium Tropical Race 4 (TR4). This last pathogen, a soil-borne fungus, is described as a mortal threat to the country’s extensive plantain and banana plantations.

The group specifically alerted authorities to imports from nations such as Colombia, Peru, Brazil, and Chile...