That is really bad news!

Like I said in another thread....."It was only a matter of time". I echo Skeet in that this is among the worst news California Citrus Growers could receive. The really danger of Greening is that it can take up to two years before symptoms begin to show. Therefore, a diseased tree can be in the grove for several years spreading the disease, before something can be done about it. I suspect, in the weeks and months ahead, this will show up in different areas of California and Mexico. - Millet

This link was buried in the article that I posted, but looks like it had some good information:

http://www.californiacitrusthreat.com/

Quoted from the website, I found this alarming:

Quote:

Most recently, the threat to California became even more severe, when the Asian Citrus Psyllid was found just four blocks south of the International border in Tijuana, Mexico. Similarly, if not more alarming, the Asian Citrus Psyllid has been intercepted coming into California in packages of fruit and plants, including citrus, ornamentals and bouquets of cut flowers, shipped through the mail system from other states and countries. So far, it has been intercepted, destroyed and not established in our state.

They make it sound like they have been able to intercept it coming into the State, but if it is as small as they say it is and with the quantity of produce and flowers coming from south of the border, I imagine it's like saying they've found every needle in the thousands of haystacks. I don't know if mi compadre Ramon-Tj is still monitoring this forum, but maybe he can share if he's heard anything from the growers down south.

It sounds like the bacteria also lags the Psyllid infestation and having the best doesn't necessarily mean you'll have the bacteria. Are there any systemic treatments that can be applied to the tree to prevent infestation? I'm using spinosad for leaf miners. I wonder how effective it will be to kill the Psyllid?

I'd hate to lose my trees, but I feel for the growers who make their livelihood off of citrus. In the last few years they've had to deal with frost, fires, drought, and now greening disease. I hope they'll be able to find a solution.

Phillip

There is no current known cure for the desease. = Millet

You can kill the Asian Citrus Psyllid with an insecticide. To be sure of "total"eradication it would take spraying vast areas of Southern California. However, my guess is that the California enviro's would be up in arms over the use of any insecticide. You can be sure, if they found one Asian Citrus Psyllid on the boarder, there are many more yet to be found. Remember, it is not every Psylid that carries the disease, it is the infected Psylids that pass the disease from tree to tree as they feed. Then again, infected trees look healthy for up to two years, so the trees are not cut out and burned, and the chance of the spread of Greening is exceptionally good. - Millet

Admire is used to some extent to controll the ACP. Use these words (or similiar words) in the search line, and you will find a great deal of info on controlling the ACP "admire citrus Asian Citrus Psyllid".

I imagine it is correct to assume the ACP, and greening will spread to their natural limits, like the imported fire ant, armadillo and many other creatures/diseases, including us humans. I also believe we will come to overcome or live with the problem, as we have many others.

Ned

The problem is not just the fact that the psylids are imported in various plant material, they do not respect borders and can fly, so it will be impossible to keep them from crossing the border if they are in Mexico.

There were some articles posted that suggest aspirin will help the infected trees some--not a cure but it apparently will slow it down. The other post that seems to offer some help is the report that interspersing guava with citrus seems to either kill or repel the psylid.

CA might do well to start some of the same protections as FL--like requiring all plants sold or distributed to be grown in a screen enclosure.

The use of pesticides may help slow the psylid, but will probably not stop infection if the psylid is infected and lives long enough to suck juice out of the plant--therefore systemics like Admire will only kill them after the damage is done.

I believe using chemicals to slow down the disease, could cause more havoc than cutting down and burning all infected trees, so that they cannot act as disease reserves. Do to the nature of the disease not showing symptoms for years, nothing short of a cure will actually stop the spread. When citrus get to the price of oil, Colorado citrus might be profitable. - Millet

I found several links about using tetracycline as a control measure, but after reading that it takes 20 gallons and compressors to inject it, I would think it would cost more to save a tree than to replace it.

Here's an extract from http://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/citrus/acpsyllid.htm
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Many workers in India have reported that D. citri can be controlled effectively with a wide range of modern insecticides. Bindra et al. (1974) reported that for overall effectiveness against nymphs and adults at different intervals after spraying several chemicals were effective. Injection of trees with tetracycline antibiotics to control greening disease has been effective where the vector can be kept under control. In countries where greening has spread over long distances, it has occurred because of the movement of infected and infested nursery stock; only clean and healthy plants should be transported. In areas of low incidence of greening, the relatively few infected trees should be removed to prevent them from being reservoirs of the pathogen. Tests in India by Raychaudhuri et al. (1974) showed that the greening organisms of infected budwood could be deactivated by either hot (moist) air, hot water, or 21 days in the heat therapy chamber.

Natural enemies of D. citri include syrphids, chrysopids, at least 12 species of coccinellids, and several species of parasitic wasps, the most important of which is Tamarixia radiata (Waterston). T. radiata was introduced in Florida (intentionally) and the Rio Grande Valley of Texas (accidentally) (Michaud).