- Author: Jeannette Warnert
UC Agriculture and Natural Resources scientists based at UC Riverside are honing in on odors that might lure Asian citrus psyllids into traps, and other odors that will keep them away from citrus trees, reported Mark Muckenfuss in the Riverside Press-Enterprise.
Anandasankar Ray, professor in the Department of Entomology at UCR, along with two other researchers, published results recently that Ray believes are promising enough they may soon be adapted for grower use.
Ray and his team tested three attractant odors in El Monte backyards using yellow sticky traps. More than twice the number of psyllids were found in the scented traps compared to unscented traps, the article said. In time the researchers will also test chemicals that can mask odors that are pleasant to Asian citrus psyllids and some that repel the insects.
Other research projects underway at UC Riverside to combat Asian citrus psyllid and the disease it can spread were also noted in the Press-Enterprise article. They are: biological controls, including a tiny wasp imported from Pakistan that feeds on the psyllids; insecticides; developing resistant strains of citrus trees; finding a way to kill the bacteria spread by psyllids once it is in the tree; and discovering ways to identify diseased trees earlier.
- Author: Ben Faber
Recently, I read an article in "Fresh Plaza" about the arrival of large amounts of 'Kinnow' mandarin fruit from Pakistan. http://www.freshplaza.com/article/117470/Discover-Pakistani-kinnow-mandarins-at-Fruit-Logistica-2014#SlideFrame_1
This is a country that is surrounded by countries with huanglongbing. It's also the country where Mark Hoddle, Biocontrol Specialist from UC Riverside, collected Tamarixia radiata , the tiny wasp that is helping control Asian Citrus Psyllid. Pakistan has invested heavily in juice plants just for this industry which was established with this selection that came out of the Citrus Research Station breeding program in the 1930's. It makes me wonder if there might be a significant tolerance to this citrus disease in this mandarin variety. There has been a lot of work by both USDA and U. of Florida evaluating citrus varieties for tolerance to HLB. A wide range of tolerances have been noted. Fred Gmitter along with others are involved with this work and find that under different climatic conditions, resistance can vary. In the 'Kinnow' variety, it looks like there is hope in finding a variety that can be used to breed tolerance into other varieties. The fruit itself is noted for its juiciness and sweetness. But as you can see from the photo, it's got a lot of seeds.
- Author: Ben Faber
USDA Creates Multi-Agency Emergency Response Framework to Combat Devastating Citrus Disease | |||||
USDA Providing $1 million to Jump Start Citrus Response Framework | |||||
WASHINGTON, December 12, 2013 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture today announced the creation of a new, unified emergency response framework to address Huanglongbing (HLB), a serious disease of citrus that affects several U.S. states and territories. This new framework will allow USDA and its many partners to better coordinate HLB resources, share information and develop operational strategies to maximize effectiveness. "USDA listened to the citrus industry's request for more urgency and greater coordination on the response to HLB and is implementing an emergency response structure," said Secretary Tom Vilsack. "To jump start this initiative and affirm our commitment to industry, USDA is also providing $1 million to be used in support of research projects that can bring practical and short-term solutions to the growers in their efforts to combat this disease. Through the Specialty Crop Research Initiative of the Farm Bill, USDA has provided $9 million in research to blocking the ability of insects to spread HLB to healthy trees. We need Congress to quickly pass a new Farm, Food, and Jobs Bill that continues to support this kind of research to protect a crop worth more than $3 billion in the last harvest." The new framework will bring together USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), along with state departments of agriculture and the citrus industry into a Multi-Agency Coordination (MAC) Group for HLB. It will provide industry with a single contact for all the federal and state entities that work on citrus issues and better enable the collective to collaborate on policy decisions, establish priorities, allocate critical resources, and collect, analyze, and disseminate information. The HLB MAC Group will also help coordinate Federal research with industry's efforts to complement and fill research gaps, reduce unnecessary duplication, speed progress and more quickly provide practical tools for citrus growers to use. HLB, also known as citrus greening, is named for the green, misshapen, and bitter-tasting fruit it causes. While this bacterial disease poses no danger to humans or animals, it has devastated millions of acres of citrus crops throughout the United States and abroad. In the United States, the entire States of Florida and Georgia are under quarantine for HLB, and portions of California, Louisiana, South Carolina and Texas are also under quarantine for the disease. The U.S. Territories of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands are under HLB quarantines as well. You can find more information about HLB and the HLB MAC Group on USDA's Multi-Agency Response to Devastating Citrus Disease website. See the USDA Animal and Health Inspection Service's website for additional Q&A Contact: # Note to Reporters: USDA news releases, program announcements and media advisories are available on the Internet and through Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds. Go to the APHIS news release page at www.aphis.usda.gov/newsroom and click on the RSS feed link. USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (866) 632-9992 (Toll-free Customer Service), (800) 877-8339 (Local or Federal relay), (866) 377-8642 (Relay voice users). |
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- Author: Ben Faber
The weather is perfect for looking for Asian Citrus Psyllid. There is new flush and that is where the adults go to lay their eggs and feed. This is also the tissue where aphids and scale crawlers will be found, as well.
ACP has been active all this winter, but now is when they are going to be the most noticeable. Get out there and look and alert the CDFA Exotic Pest Hotline to confirm a find, 1-800-491-1899.
ACP adult and nymphs with waxy exudate from nymphs.
- Author: Ben Faber
At a recent conference on Postharvest Technology Advances, Cristina Davis from the UC Davis Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering presented information on the development of a device that can smell out trees infected with Huanglongbing (HLB).
Scientists at UC Davis are refining a mobile chemical sensor that can detect diseased citrus trees by sniffing their volatile organic compounds (VOCs). VOCs are emitted by all types of plants and contribute to their distinctive odors—such as the perfume of orange blossoms and pungent scent of garlic in the air. VOCs must exist at very high levels for humans to smell them, and there are some VOCs people cannot smell at all. The machine is able to figure out the signature smells of HLB infected trees, sort of the way people evaluate wines with terms like “grassy”, “plum”, or “austere”, and distinguish them from healthy or trees infected by other diseases.
Finding HLB-infected trees and eliminating them before Asian Citrus Psyllid (ACP) picks up the disease and spreads it to neighboring trees is a major challenge. The pathogen in the tree cannot be detected by leaf testing for three to nine months after infection, and the symptoms don’t show up in the tree for a year or more after infection. Meanwhile, the disease can be spread by ACP. Research is under way to develop early HLB detection so that infected trees can be rapidly removed. Early detection will also allow researchers to more rapidly assess treatment programs for controlling not only the spread of the disease, but also possible cures or rootstocks or scion varieties that might have some resistance to the disease.
HLB infected tree showing mottling in one part of the canopy
HLB backyard