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Tacogirl Belize blog Est. in 2007

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Saving Long Caye from Coconut Disease in the 90’s

by tacogirl 06/02/2012
written by tacogirl 06/02/2012
belize island

As promised in Last weeks Belize History and San Pedro Weather post, here is the coconut disease piece from Lucy Wallingford. I have really been enjoying reading about her and Cully’s history and the challenges they faced back in the day.

When my partner Cully Erdman and I were just getting started running Slickrock Adventures in Belize, we never dreamed the stuff we would eventually have to learn. Sure we knew how to kayak, and fix great meals, and we were learning the names of all of the fish. But the diversity of subjects required to create and operate a resort in Belize on a tiny remote island boggles the mind. And one of the strangest skills we have had to master is dealing with the coconut tree disease.

belize island

Long Caye Belize by Lucy Wallingford

When we first moved out to Glover’s Reef in 1991, no one had ever heard of a coconut tree disease. Our 13-acre island Long Caye was covered with something like 1500 coconut trees. We leased 1/2 of the island from an American businessman, who had recently bought it from a Belizean.

In 1997, rumors began floating around Belize about an approaching catastrophe: Yellow Leaf (YL) disease (also called Lethal Yellowing disease). It first arrived in Florida, and took something like 20 years to get to Belize. Everyone who owned palm trees, whether they had 10 or 2000, vigorously denied it was going to be a problem. But by mid-1998 there were reports of signs of YL at both islands and coastal towns throughout Belize.

coconut disease

Yellow leaf disease by Lucy Wallingford

Once the disease takes hold of a tree, the coconuts are shed from the tree, and it ceases to flower. Then the leaves turn yellow and as they die their stems break, leaving a characteristic signature of broken, hanging dead leaves. Eventually the crown rots and falls off the tree, leaving a dead trunk that can stand for years. YL disease is 95% fatal to most palm trees, in particular the Jamaican Tall variety which is the most common coconut palm found throughout the Caribbean. The disease spreads rapidly, and is found almost everywhere in the tropical latitudes of our hemisphere.

YL disease is caused by an organism that attacks the head of the palm tree where its growth is concentrated, and causes the tree to die when this part of the tree rots away. The organism is spread from tree to tree through the leaf hopper insect, which feeds on the leaves.

Belize was lucky in that the disease arrived first in southern Florida, where they had so many more resources than Belize

Yellow leaf disease treatment

Yellow leaf disease treatment by Lucy Wallingford

would ever have to figure out how protect palm forests. Horticulturalists in Florida studied the disease and developed a system to vaccinate the trees which prevents infection.

When we first started seeing our trees dying we told the owner of the island about it. He was back in the states. His answer was “I have a lot of palm trees.”We would say again “No really, it’s a major problem, you have to do something!”He would just say, “I can spare a few trees, no problem.” Just like everyone else, he was in complete denial.

But there was one person in Belize who confronted the problem head-on. Chris Berlin of Ambergris Caye, was running the dive shop at Victoria House. He heard the rumors like everyone else. But instead of denying it, he flew to Florida and found out how to treat the disease. He got the proper medications and equipment, and brought them back to Belize. He started out by treating Victoria House’s trees.

Yellow leaf disease treated

Coconut disease

We heard about him. By this time we were beginning to realize that if Long Caye trees were going to be saved, we were going to have to do it ourselves, even though we didn’t own the trees. We had already lost at least 50 trees. We hired Chris to come out and treat our trees on Long Caye. It takes days to treat that many trees (we have about 500 we are currently treating) and so Chris would have to cancel his whole life to come out to Glover’s Reef and do it. After two such trips out to Glover’s he said “Lucy, why don’t you do it yourselves?” So I flew to Ambergris Caye in March of 1999 (my first trip to San
Pedro!) and met with Chris and he taught me how to do it. I took copious notes, and got everything he told me to get. It’s an odd list of gear: golf tees, horse syringes, bullet casings (for a really fun time, try to get them past Homeland Security when flying from the states), and special tree medicine from Tree Savers in Florida.

Our island caretaker, Apolitico Salam, of Silk Grass Village, treats our trees 4 times a year. It’s easy to see the success of the treatment because we only treated the half of the island we were leasing and the trees on the other half all died. Several years later the owner finally visited the caye, and shortly thereafter agreed to sell us our part of the island. I believe  it was because we saved the trees that he decided to let us have it. The other half is still abandoned, it’s kind of hot down there. It’s really sad because there were originally many more trees down on that end than our end before the disease hit.

Since buying the island we have planted over 500 ‘hybrid’ palm trees that have been bred to be disease resistant. We bought these palm starts from the Belize government, which purchased the nuts from a facility in Jamaica. We even planted about 40 trees down on the other end of the island because it looked so pathetic. We don’t do any plantings anymore because there is no more room! These trees have grown very fast and have replaced those that we lost, so our end of the island is once again covered with a thick forest of palm trees.

When I think about this, I am always so grateful to Chris Berlin for NOT just saying-it-ain’t-so, and taking a proactive approach above and beyond what anyone else did. He saved our island.

Lucy Wallingford and Cully Erdman own Slickrock Adventures. They have a water sports center out on Long Caye at Glover’s Reef in Belize.

belise islands

Palms at Glovers Reef by Lucy Wallingford

Long Caye Belize

Long Caye Belize by Lucy Wallingford

Related

tacogirl

Laure Norton grew up dyslexic and was very challenged by the school. She never dreamed she would move to Belize and become a writer. A year after her move to Ambergris Caye, Laurie became an entrepreneur and professional writer starting tacogirl blog in 2007. Since then she has helped many people plan their vacations or move. She also has been published in Great Destinations Belize Guidebook, Moon Guide to Living in Belize, Insight Guides, Island Magazine several times and USA Today. Currently Laurie resides in downtown San Pedro and enjoys being a "city girl" on a tropical island.

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1 comment

Rebecca 06/02/2012 - 7:24 am

Wow. Interesting.

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Corey Holm
Corey Holm
04:38 25 Feb 20
I take the seniors from our academy to Belize every year for their senior trip. One of the first people I contact when... I start planning the trip is Laurie with TacoGirl Belize. She knows the island of San Pedro better than anyone else out there. Trust me, I have looked. If you are looking for the best restaurants, hang outs and shops then Laurie help plan your vacation.read more
Carol Taylor
Carol Taylor
15:53 24 Feb 20
Love Taco Girl Blog @LaurieNorton! I've been reading this blog since I started visiting Ambergris Caye in Belize almost... 10 years ago. It is filled with helpful up-to-date information and recommendations that I wouldn't necessarily find on my own. Laurie Norton's knowledge and extensive network on the island provides her with the ability to share perks/discounts/coupons with her readers, which come in handy year after year. Things on the island change daily - new businesses pop up constantly and LaurieNortonstays on top of these developments. Whenever I plan my return trip to the island, I always check her blog first - and I recommend you do the same. Trip Advisor ain't got nuttin' on Taco Girl!read more
Heidi
Heidi
20:01 20 Feb 20
Laurie's blog is my official “go to” source for tourist and local information on San Pedro. Of course, it’s always nice... to see her guides on “what to do” in San Pedro, but I also appreciate her “insider” advice and human interest stories on what it’s like living as a local on the island. There is so much information it's amazing! Thank you Laurie!!!read more
Nick Goodman
Nick Goodman
21:23 30 Nov 19
I am considering a move to Belize and I have serendipitously found tacogirl.....what a treasure! She is full of great... advice, helpful hints.....knows everybody on Ambergris Caye and has a thousand useful recommendations and suggestions. Whether you are planning a vacation or relocating, you should make use of the many services she has to offer…..read more
KellyDivePhotography
KellyDivePhotography
20:58 30 Nov 19
I’m so pleased to see tacogirl's blog on Google. Laurie's blog is my official “go to” source for tourist and local... information on San Pedro. Of course, it’s always nice to see her guides on “what to do” in San Pedro, but I also appreciate her “insider” advice and human interest stories on what it’s like living as a local on the island. I especially enjoy her guest articles, providing a different perspective of all things San Pedro. Her tipping quide is a classic, and don’t forget her Tropic Air flight code and on-island discounts. You’re not up-to-date with what’s going on in San Pedro if you’re not regularly reading tacogirl's blog.read more
Sandra Godfrey
Sandra Godfrey
15:58 23 Nov 19
I have known Laurie (Taco Girl) for several years. She has been a wealth of good information for me in all of my... pursuits in Belize. I highly recommend her for any services you may require.read more
William Jones
William Jones
13:39 06 May 19
Do yourself a favor. Read this BEFORE any trip to San Pedro - Ambergris Caye or Belize in general. Not saying “do what... everyone else says”, but Laurie has frank and honest info which will make your stay in country a little more fun, a little more informative, and often at a great cost savings. Best thing: it’s unbiased, honest, and factual. Personal note: thank you for your personal tailored help in answering mine (and my wife’s) questions.read more
Kimberly Robinson
Kimberly Robinson
18:28 03 May 19
Taco Girl (Laurie) is amazing. She has so much knowledge about Belize and has great connections with many of the... businesses in Belize. Because of her connections she is able to offer many perks and discounts that you wouldn't have been able to find otherwise. She is super responsive and I always go to her for all my travel needs. From golf cart rentals, to spas, to places to eat. She's got the inside scoop on all!read more
Michael Rieck
Michael Rieck
20:22 21 Apr 19
Since 2003, my wife and I have been to Ambergris at least once a year to experience the fantastic diving. About twelve... years ago we me Tacogirl on a blog giving us discounts on golf carts, local airfares, and restaurants. Over the years we have grown a friendship and I look forward to her weekly blogs about he changes on my favorite home away from home. The island changes every year, and she always shows you what to see, do, and eat.read more
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I took the plunge and moved to San Pedro Town on the Island of Ambergris Caye, off the coast of Belize, Central America. Originally from Canada, I made the life-changing move to escape winter for good (in 2006) after one three week vacation.

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3 childhood memories that shaped my desire to move to Belize from a young age.Sailing in the Virgin Islands, seeing a rainbow out the window of an island hopper as we flew from Virgin Islands to Puerto Rico, Christmas in Hawaii and many trips to Florida.

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