The fact that he has 2 trees infected and one has been there for 16 yrs makes me think either he or his neighbor brought in the disease--with psylids to spread it, but as you point out. it could have come from an imported ornamental like orange jasmine.

I live in utah. Is there anyother places i should be careful of buy citrus from besides FL? And should I never buy a citrus tree from FL?

The greening inspectors were at my house today; I don't know what they found since I wasn't there. Does anyone know if they take samples to test? It doesn't seem like a visual inspection would be enough.

JOE

I love citrus, Four Winds Growers is a good place to purchase citrus trees. - Millet (1,341-)

http://www.fourwindsgrowers.com/variety_list.html

I called the USDA about my citrus a few days ago. They came to inspect while I was on vacation. The person answering the phone called me back quickly with the report on my yard. They visually found nothing. I asked if they took any samples to test and they said that they were only doing a visual inspection. If the disease can be undetected for several years, what good is a visual inspection? It seems like they would have to do some DNA testing to really make some sort of impact on the spread of greening.

You are correct. Not only that............but when they came to do the visual inspection they pulled no leaves to take with them...the man that did the inspection had only seen pics of what the Psyllid looked like and had pics of the disease. He had really never seen either. In talking to him I explained the tiny size of the Psyllid and how hard it was to see. Explained that the disease could be harbored in trees for years without making itself known visually. He had no knowledge of citrus production or propagation and absolutley no knowledge of the citrus cutivars. He looked around and said that my trees looked healthy and gave me a clean bill of health and a permit to sell trees within the state. I gave him my information as to what I was drenching with and spraying with and he will send me the needed tags to ship out of state.

Heres the thing. I intend to ship nothing out of state for profit. His inspection was a waste of my time, his time and the USDA dollars that you and I pay. I asked him pointedly if he realized that the disease could be spread by mother nature in the form of hurricanes and such and he said that he did not think it could be. I did not say anything else as then I realized that I knew lots more that he did..................No wonder we will not be able to stop greening......as usual when the Feds get their finger in a pie the pie looses all value............................David

David,

I could be wrong, but I believe the ways in which greening is spread is by graftage and infected ACP. I suppose infected Psyllids could be blown around by strong winds, but I have not read anything to that effect.

Citrus Canker, of course, can, and has been spread by hurricanes.

Ned

I dont know Ned........If one (hurricane) blows infected Psyllids from Florida to Louisiana it appears that the infected Psyllid would have the opportunity to spread greening. I agree that graftage is a way of spreading greening...the disease itself. But from what I can gather from the Dept of Ag and LSU they feel that the Psyllid is the vehicle for the disease............It seems that the Psyllid came first then the disease..........is that not what you think??? I will try to post this link as it is the latest I can find on the psyllid. If you look at the transmission paragraph it is full of information. Hope this finds you well and happy and its good to hear from you. David

http://en/nem.ufl/edu/creatures/citrus/ac[su;;od/htm

If greening can be stopped, it will probably be by stopping the psyllid-- a difficult but not entirely impossible task --if they can do something like release sterile males, develop effective pheromone traps or find effective biological controls. It may also be possible to find a way to kill the bacteria in affected trees.

I do believe the psyllid is moved by wind, but probably more so by hitchhiking on infected plants. It is probably moved more by prevailing winds than by hurricanes, which is why I am more concerned about the greening in LA than the greening in So. Florida (and the psyllid in MS and AL).

Canker, on the other hand, is probably more difficult to stop at this point, but with prevailing wind to the east and the onshore breeze along the coast, it is not as big a threat to areas to the west of FL. However, hurricanes do create movement in all directions.

I think the point of David's post is not how Greening is spread, but the value, or the lack there of, of the USDA's inspector, and therefore the seemingly shallow caliber of the USDA's program. Some things never seem to change. - Millet (1,326-)

David said, "I asked him pointedly if he realized that the disease could be spread by Mother Nature in the form of hurricanes and such and he said that he did not think it could be. I did not say anything else as then I realized that I knew lots more that he did...."

I think the statement speaks for itself Millet. I don't mean to disparage David, and I truly hope he takes no offense, but I believe the statement is incorrect and the inspector was correct. I still do not believe wind is a significant factor in the spread of the disease.

I couldn't open your link David, but here is one I found with a little searching. Others abound on the web, and I have found no reference to the wind. http://www.aphis.usda.gov/publications/plant_health/content/printable_version/cg_pest_alert_2-06.pdf

I will say that the actions you describe of the inspector seem more like what I have seen in State Inspectors. They are often unfamiliar with what they are looking for, I think mostly because they haven't (are don't want to) got up to speed on the subject. Of course I am sure there are USDA inspectors that have the same problem, as you can find in any field, but the ones I know are very professional and dedicated to doing a good job. That is not to excuse any deficiencies on the part of any inspector. They should be able to perform the work, and do it correctly. If this one did not, he or she should be reported to their superior.

One problem I see with the USDA is that the scope of their work is very broad and their resources are limited.

David, I can't say which came first; I wasn't around when they appeared on the scene. Again, I am pretty sure that if wind was a significant factor in their spread USDA, or some other authority, would have written something about it.

Ned

I have not read anything that says the disease is spread by anything other than grafting and the psyllid, but the psyllid is a very small insect and it does have the ability to fly. Since it is so small, it does not seem likely that it can move great distance without some form of assistance either from wind or human transportation. Moderate prevailing winds probably aid steady small movement of a few miles, but tropical storms with strong steady winds may be able to move them much farther.

Ned, I would concur with you, that wind is not much of a factor in the spreading of greening. Wind becomes an important disperser primarily (or perhaps only) when one is talking about fungi that produce ascospores, such as greasy spot, melanose, black spot or alternaria, and wind blown rains in the case of canker. Greening is almost exclusively dispersed by the ACP. Ned, I did not mean to contradict the points you added, I was just saying that the main point was the lack of a valuable educated inspection. I should have phrased it better, I apologize for any unintended rudeness. Have a good day. - Millet (1,326-)