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Citrus Greening Treatment Worldwide

[Category : - Agriculture- Food- Lawn and Garden]
[Viewed 1652 times]

Antibiotics are a last line of defense for agricultural crops such as citrus where 50% of production has been lost over the past decade due to citrus greening disease. This disease is the result of a bacterial (Candidatus Liberibacter Asiaticus) pathogen that is communicated by an invasive insect from Asia, the Asian Citrus Psyllid. The feeding behavior of this insect makes it a particularly efficient vector of plant pathogens because it probes into the vasculature (phloem or xylem) of the plant whereby the bacteria can be rapid spread throughout the plant. The citrus industry in California, Florida and in other states are desperate for a solution because if production drops below a critical threshold, the industry risks partial shut downs, and possibly eliminating the demand for citrus production. It is therefore critical to treat this pathogen of citrus with a broad spectrum antibiotic as soon as possible. Furthermore, it is essential to treat the pathogen systemically due to its presence in the plant vasculature. The current regiment in citrus groves is limited to insect pesticide and currently does not consist of antibiotics. Streptomycin is a broad spectrum antibiotic approved for use in plant agriculture however the challenge has been to identify a formulation and application that will permit it to move systemically (as the pathogen is systemic). Foliar, bark, and root drench applications are inconclusive in terms of maintaining systemic levels of streptomycin in plants. In fact, there is currently no formulation of Streptomycin that has been shown to penetrate into the citrus vasculature. We are introducing a foliar spray streptomycin formulation that results in systemic levels of Streptomycin within three weeks and can sustain levels of 20-200ppm (by HPLC Mass Spectroscopy) in a single leaf extract for up to three months. This unique formulation is designed to penetrate the leaf cuticle in order to gain access to the leaf vasculature. Furthermore, the formulation acts as a surfactant to adhere to the foliar canopy reducing runoff and allowing slow release into the plant while also protecting the antibiotic against UV degradation. In the fourth month (16-20 weeks) post application, we see a reduction in bacterial titer to 10% of pretreatment levels by PCR. Due to the ability of PCR to detect static or lysed bacteria we believe that we can eliminate the pathogen entirely. The citrus growers are desperate for a solution and have already experienced loses in the hundreds of millions and have invested hundreds of millions into eradicating this problem. We therefore expect this one of a kind product to become an essential regiment in citrus cultivation for decades and to increase in its (prophylactic) demand when production begins to recuperate. It is also noteworthy that we have serendipitously discovered this foliar application to result in compelling psyllid (insect) mortality (80-100% mortality) days after treatment. This effect is possibly the result of disruption of the insect symbiotic microbial community or chemical toxicity. In order to prevent fruit residue of antibiotic we find that a cessation of treatment four months prior to harvest to be sufficient, or upon the first signs of flowering, leaving the fruit with undetectable residue. Our product is now patented as a dual action formula.

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chamonix (United States)

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