Louisiana Residents Weathering Impact of Saltwater In Low-Flowing Mississippi River

One veteran citrus grower keeps a wary eye on situation amid threat of saline’s toxic effects on his plants.

Fifth-generation citrus grower Ricky Becnel tests the salinity of the Mississippi River that feeds his 20-acre nursery in Belle Chasse, La., on Oct. 13, 2023. Allan Stein/The Epoch Times

BELLE CHASSE, La.—Overlooking the winding banks of the lower Mississippi River, there’s a man-made levee that protects Ricky Becnel’s citrus plant nursery from catastrophic flooding under most circumstances.

Saxon Becnel & Sons in Belle Chasse, Louisiana, has been in his family for more than a century, just as the river has sustained the fruits of their labor with fresh river water for six generations.