Research on Citrus Greening Disease Control

Research on Citrus Greening Disease Control

Tim Hammerich
Tim Hammerich
News Reporter
This is California Ag Today brought to you in part by Surround. Apply Surround Crop Protectant now to keep your high value crops 4-to-6 degrees cooler, while reducing damage from sunburn, heat stress and insects. Visit NovaSource.com for more information.

Citrus Greening Disease, also know as Huanglongbing, has devastated farms in places like Florida, and poses a serious threat in California. Researchers at the University of California Riverside are making progress on potential control. Dr. Hailing Jin describes what makes this pathogen so difficult.

Dr. Jin… “First, this is a very special bacteria, which cannot be cultured in vitro. So it's very hard to study. Second, they are ploem limited. They only stay in the phloem, the vasculature tissue of the whole tree. So it's not very easy to detect on. Another important thing is that they are transmitted by flying insects called Asian Citrus Psyllid, so can be spread very quickly.”

Dr. Jin and colleagues have been researching plants that are tolerant to the disease to identify genes that may lead to natural defense. They plan to publish their research in the coming months.

Previous ReportBlueberry Harvest Wraps Up
Next ReportPandemic Updates for California Agriculture