AVON PARK -- Although there were no reports of major damage, the extent of crop loss was difficult to determine Monday afternoon, said Casey Pace, a spokeswoman for Florida Citrus Mutual in Lakeland, the state's largest growers' representative with about 11,000 members.

Growers were reluctant to go into the groves while they were still wet from Hurricane Wilma because of the fear of spreading canker, she said. That's more of a concern from this storm than crop damage.

Canker is a bacterial disease characterized by the lesions it leaves on citrus trees and fruit.

Florida citrus industry officials blame last year's hurricanes for the widespread outbreak of the disease during the past year.

In the nine years before Hurricane Charley on Aug. 13, 2004, the federal-state Citrus Canker Eradication program had destroyed about 16,000 commercial grove acres because of canker.

Since then, it has or will destroy more than 70,000 acres.

The canker lesions literally erupt with bacteria when wet, and the wind and rain from a hurricane can spread the organism more than 20 miles.

Growers fear picking up the bacteria on clothing or equipment if they go into the grove too soon after the hurricane.

In Southeast Florida, the damage from Wilma appears slight compared with the aftermath of Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne in September 2004, said Doug Bournique, the executive director of the Indian River Citrus League, which represents the world's largest grapefruit growing region.

"The storm had a little more kick than anybody predicted, but it was still nowhere near Frances or Jeanne," said Bournique, who estimated wind gusts in the area reached 100 mph.

But growers won't know the extent of damages until today because the area was still experiencing the back end of Wilma during the afternoon, he said.

Because of their size, grapefruit are the most vulnerable citrus variety to being blown off the tree.

Last year's hurricanes blew off an estimated 75 percent of the crop, which finished at 12.8 million boxes, the lowest production in Florida since the 1930s.

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