Scientists Battle New Threat To Alabama Citrus

Satsuma mandarins are a growing commodity in Baldwin and Mobile counties. But because they are a member of the citrus family, satsumas are vulnerable to a devastating disease called citrus greening. The disease, which is widespread in Florida and found in several other states, is carried by a small insect, the Asian citrus psyllid.

A team of scientists and professionals from the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, Auburn University, the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries and the U.S. Department of Agriculture are working together to prevent both this insect pest and disease from taking hold in Alabama.

Dr. Henry Fadamiro, Extension

While the psyllid has been in Florida and Texas for a few years, citrus greening had only appeared in Florida until June 2008, when both the psyllid and greening-infected trees were found in Louisiana. Citrus nurseries in Louisiana have been a primary source for satsuma mandarin trees in Alabama, and the appearance of the disease and its vector there prompted Fadamiro and colleagues to intensify efforts to find the insect, which later appeared in Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina and California.

Adult Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama.
Photograph by: Douglas L. Caldwell, University of Florida.

Posted by lawremc at February 4, 2009 11:20 AM | TrackBack