WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013<\/strong>\u00a0U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) today introduced legislation to help Florida\u2019s citrus industry rebound from the effects of a deadly citrus disease threatening to wipe out the state\u2019s nearly $11 billion citrus industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Citrus greening has been blamed for killing crops across the country including more than 130,000 acres in Florida since 2005. \u00a0Nelson\u2019s legislation would encourage growers to replant groves lost to greening by allowing them to immediately deduct the full cost of planting new trees, instead of over a 14-year period as required under the current law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf we don\u2019t start replanting some of the trees we\u2019ve already lost, we may not have a citrus industry in Florida much longer,\u201d said Nelson. \u201cThis bill will encourage growers to plant the new trees we need by allowing them deduct the full cost immediately, instead of slowly over time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n While Florida\u2019s citrus industry accounts for about 65 percent of the total citrus production in the U.S., its annual crop production has continued to decline over the last four years, with this year\u2019s crop estimated to be the smallest in nearly half a century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nelson\u2019s bill would encourage growers to start the process of planting some of the nearly 20 million new trees experts say will be needed to get Florida\u2019s citrus production back to the level it had reached nearly 10 years ago, before the citrus greening disease began to ravage the state.\u00a0 It will be a companion to a House bill introduced recently by some members of the Florida congressional delegation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n