Huanglongbing might not sound threatening, but the disease could mean disaster for Florida’s citrus industry.
Also known as citrus greening, the disease is the focus of a $9 million U.S. Department of Agriculture grant awarded Oct. 1 to the Citrus Research and Development Foundation, a UF direct-support organization.
The Asian citrus psyllid, an insect similar to an aphid, was first found in Florida in 2005. While alone it is an average pest, it also carries a bacterium, Candidatus Liberibacter, that infects citrus trees with huanglongbing. The nutrients for the plant are unable to travel, resulting in yellowed leaves, stunted growth and bad-tasting, prematurely falling fruit.
The organization, UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences and other research groups across the nation plan to use the grant money on research about limiting the ability of the Asian citrus psyllid to carry the citrus greening bacterium, said Jack Payne, UF’s senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources.
Through the modification of the insect and its ability to carry or pass on the bacteria, researchers aim to dilute the wild populations with ones that cannot infect citrus trees.
“We’ve sequenced the genome of the psyllid, the bacteria and samples of citrus trees,” Payne said. “The building blocks are there for developing an answer.”
Citrus growers are combating the disease now by quarantining and extensively spraying their fields, processes that can cost up to $500 an acre per year, Payne said. The grant money will help researchers produce a modified psyllid that won’t spread the disease within the next five years.
“I have no problem with it if it will help the agriculture industry and if proper research is done to ensure the new species won’t negatively affect other aspects of the ecosystem,” said Austin Dailey, a 19-year-old food science and human nutrition sophomore.
Researchers will work with Citrus Health Management Areas to coordinate the introduction and success of the modified insects in the citrus groves.
Another possible avenue the researchers may focus on is producing a virus that can neutralize the disease using peptides.
“Think of the virus as a gun, peptides as bullets, and we’re looking for the silver bullet,” Payne said.
In the meantime, the organization is focusing on other ways to limit the disease’s spread, which has already cost the industry more than $3.63 billion since 2006, according to a UF study earlier this year.
