Posts Tagged: Asian citrus psyllid

Citrus greening threat covered by NY Times

The New York Times ran a rather technical article this week about a disease that is sending shivers down the spines of citrus growers in Florida and California - citrus greening. The disease is endemic in Florida. California growers are nervously watching the border with Mexico, where a pest that transmits citrus greening has already been found. That development was covered by the Los Angeles Times in July, as mentioned in this blog post.

This week's article, focused on Florida, included some dire predictions:

• On concerns over solving the problem by genetically modifying citrus for resistance, Jude W. Grosser of the University of Florida said, "It’ll probably come down to the point where people have to decide whether they want orange juice or not.”
• A Florida grower was quoted as saying, “Scientists have 10 years at the most to find a solution, or there’s not going to be a citrus industry in Florida.”

UC scientists are among those looking for solutions to managing the disease. The article said Abhaya Dandekar of UC Davis is working on an electronic nose to identify volatile organic compounds produced by infected trees.

UC citrus entomologist Beth Grafton-Cardwell also has her finger on the pulse of citrus greening. She is the author of an ANR publication about Asian Citrus Psyllid, which includes a lengthy section on citrus greening.

citrus psyllid

Los Angeles Times sounds citrus psyllid alarm

The Los Angeles Times yesterday ran a story about an exotic pest that is knocking on Southern California's door -- the Asian citrus psyllid. The pest was found in Tijuana backyard trees just blocks from the border. California citrus growers fear the psyllid's ability to spread citrus greening disease from tree to tree. Citrus greening causes trees to produce small, discolored and bitter fruit; and then eventually, the tree dies. There is no known cure.

Stephanie Klunk of the UC IPM program distributed a release on the threat two weeks ago. Both articles included comment from UC Riverside citrus entomologist Beth Grafton-Cardwell.

She told the LA Times that the psyllid probably has already crossed the border in cut flowers or oranges smuggled for sale at swap meets. The disease may be "in some backyard tree that someone brought in from Asia. It could be a time bomb just waiting for a psyllid," she was quoted.

Details about the pest and disease are on Grafton-Cardwell's citrus entomology Web site.

Asian citrus psyllid

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