Citrus Health
Response Program
Update
Richard Gaskalla, Director
Division of Plant Industry
Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services
Charles H. Bronson, Commissioner
Citrus Canker
Program History
 1995 found again near
Miami Int’l Airport
 1995-1998 trees w/in 125’
of infected trees removed –
canker still spreading
 1999 epidemiological study
concluded that trees w/in
1900’ need to be removed
for eradication to be 97%
successful (w/normal
weather patterns)
 2000, 1900’ law enacted
Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services
Division of Plant Industry
Citrus Canker
Program History (cont’d)
 Nov 2000 – Feb 2004 court
injunctions hindered
program: 200,000 additional
trees infected
 Feb 2004, FL Supreme Court
ruled in favor of program
and full scale eradication
efforts resume
 Hurricanes of 2004/2005
spread canker to over
80,000 acres of commercial
citrus
Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services
Division of Plant Industry
Citrus Canker
Program History (cont’d)
 Nov/Dec 2005, USDA
scientists estimate canker
could impact up to
220,000 acres of
commercial citrus due to
impact of Hurricane Wilma
 January 2006, USDA
deems eradication
unfeasible and withdraws
funding for eradication –
continue to support other
program activities
Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services
Division of Plant Industry
Citrus Canker
Exposure
Map
n Commercial finds
after 1/01/06
n Commercial finds
prior to 1/01/06
n Commercial citrus
groves
Once eradication program
stopped, canker spread rapidly
in commercial groves
Huanglongbing/Greening
Another Hit to the Citrus Industry
 Bacterial disease spread by
Asian citrus psyllid
(identified in Florida 1998)
 Greening found August
2005 during cooperative
survey
 Kills infected trees
 Scientists agree eradication
not feasible due to latency
of disease
 Long-term management
logical approach
 30 counties positive
Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services
Division of Plant Industry
Misshapen fruit
Asian citrus
psyllid
Leaf mottle
Citrus Health
Response Program
Developed in 2006 w/FDACS,
USDA and industry to help mitigate
impact of citrus diseases
Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services
Division of Plant Industry
CHRP Goals
 Determine best strategies for ensuring a
healthy citrus industry into the future
 Work cooperatively with gov’t agencies, research
institutions, and industry to build effective
management program
 Develop secure citrus germplasm and
citrus nursery program
 Work toward effective disease/disease-vector
management program for groves
 Provide defendable phytosanitary protocol that
allows fresh fruit movement to all markets
Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services
Division of Plant Industry
CHRP In Action
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Trips to Brazil,
Argentina, South Africa,
China, and Vietnam were
taken to determine what
others are doing to
control citrus diseases
Frequent surveys necessary
to determine disease/insect
prevalence
Disease/vector control
measures must be
implemented
UF/IFAS disease/vector
control management
strategies developed and
made available
Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services
Division of Plant Industry
CHRP In Action
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Group formed to discuss
level of regulatory oversight
necessary at production
level
Still uncertain about what
management practices will
work best
One disease management
strategy
“does not fit all”
Need for ongoing exchange
of information and
educational outreach
Program elements are
proposed to address these
issues
Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services
Division of Plant Industry
CHRP in Action
Citrus Nursery Certification Program
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Location: sites must be a
minimum of one mile from
commercial groves
Structure: approved
structure must have enclosed
sides and tops and positive
process double-door entries
Sanitation: all plant material
and soil must be removed
from equipment before
entering/exiting nursery
Decontamination: everyone
who enters nursery must
decontaminate with
approved products
Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services
Division of Plant Industry
CHRP In Action
 Survey Activities
• Multiple Pest Survey
• Export Surveys
• Nursery Environs Survey
 Regulatory Activities
• Compliance agreements
(CA) required
• Grower/caretaker CA
requires attachment of
business plan
• Outlines decontamination,
survey and disease
management
07-08 Fruit Harvest Season
Purpose of CA and Business Plans
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CA’s viewed as informational/educational
Compliance monitoring is instructional, no
penalties
FDACS/DPI works closely with UF/IFAS to
assist growers with business plans
Examples of business plans are available
Regional workshops have been held to
cover important information on disease
detection and control
Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services
Division of Plant Industry
07-08 Fruit Harvest Season
Key Priorities
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Completed construction of FDACS-DPI
citrus budwood-protection facilities in
Levy County; move foundation citrus
budwood stock into these facilities
Continued planning of redundant budwood
facility in Alachua County
Continue to work closely w/Florida citrus
industry to transition into insect-protected
structures
Inspect and certify citrus nursery stock on
30-day inspection cycle
Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services
Division of Plant Industry
07-08 Fruit Harvest Season
Key Priorities
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Conduct training sessions on disease
detection and management techniques
Continue to work cooperatively w/UFIFAS and USDA to develop science-based
regulations governing movement of
citrus fruit and nursery stock for
domestic and int’l marketplace
Provide industry with services that help
keep canker and greening to an
acceptable economic threshold
Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services
Division of Plant Industry
07-08 Shipping Season
Key Priorities
 Growers completed
application and submitted to
FDACS/DPI by August 1
 Applications indicated
shipping intention by grove
and by market for fresh fruit
 FDACS/USDA began grove
surveys in July for the EU,
August 1 for U.S., or as
required by the receiving
market
Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services
Division of Plant Industry
07-08 Fresh-Fruit Certification
Key Priorities
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Fresh fruit exiting the
packing house must be free
from visible evidence of
canker
Compliance agreements at
packing houses will be
required and administered
by USDA-APHIS
All shipments to US noncitrus producing states must
have a limited permit, no
shipments are allowed to
citrus producing states
Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services
Division of Plant Industry
07-08 Shipping Residential Citrus
Key Priorities
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USDA prohibits the
shipment of residential
citrus outside the state
without a limited permit
Currently nine packing
houses will accept
residential citrus for
certification
Shipping only allowed with
limited permit to noncitrus producing states
Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services
Division of Plant Industry
CHRP
Continuing Initiatives
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New Finds
Abandoned Groves
Research Efforts
– HLB
– Canker
Tools for Industry –
Interactive Maps
Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services
Division of Plant Industry
HLB in
Polk
County:
2 citrus nurseries
Positive
find near
citrus
nursery
7,640 feet
positive HLB find
Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services
Division of Plant Industry
Map of
Greening/
Canker
Infestations
Citrus groves in green
April 2008
Canker infestations
in blue
Greening infestations
in orange
CHRP offices denoted
w/
Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services
Division of Plant Industry
Abandoned/Volunteer
Grove Issues
 Scope of problem is
wide and diverse
 Varying degrees of pest
and disease risks
 Reasons for
abandonment
– Commercial groves no
longer in production
due to pest and disease
incursions
– Freeze damaged groves
– Changes in land use
– Planted pines with
under-story citrus
Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services
Division of Plant Industry
Abandoned/Volunteer
Grove Issues
 To address all
categories/areas would
require significant
funding resources
 Risk-based approach
might be more practical
 Incentives to participate
are needed
 Legislation and/or
rulemaking may be
required
Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services
Division of Plant Industry
Research Efforts
Huanglongbing/Greening
A Study of the Detection of HLB in Citrus Psyllids
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Department has developed a robust assay for citrus greening
in psyllid vectors
Over 1,200 samples of psyllid adults and nymphs collected
from various locations in Florida from visually healthy, as well
as HBL-symptomatic trees, were analyzed to monitor the
incidence and spread of HLB
Study suggests that discount garden centers and retail
nurseries may have played a significant role in the widespread
distribution of psyllids and plants carrying HLB pathogens
Spread of HLB may be detected one to several years before the
development of HLB symptoms in plants
20% of the psyllids sampled have been positive for HLB
Analysis of psyllids may provide
early warning about citrus
greening activity
Symptoms found
nine months after
positive psyllids
were detected
Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services
Division of Plant Industry
Research Efforts
Citrus Canker
FDACS/DPI’s Disease
Transmission Experiment
 Grapefruit infected with
canker placed outdoors in
proximity to healthy citrus
seedlings
 Experiment set up in
January 2007 and is
ongoing
 No sign of disease
transmission
Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services
Division of Plant Industry
Research Efforts
Citrus Canker
Additional Projects
(USDA, IFAS, Int’l Scientists)
 Genomics and resistance
 Citrus breeding and
transformation
 Economic analyses
 Survival and control
experiments
 Canker symptoms induction,
knowledge-based resistance,
and natural resistance potential
of citrus
Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services
Division of Plant Industry
CHRP Inter-active Maps
www.doacs.state.fl.us/pi
Features:
-General location of
canker and greening
-Major roads and TRS
-Commercial groves
-No multi-blocks
-DPI CHRP offices
www.doacs.state.fl.us/pi
8.6 miles
Add’l Inter-Active Map Features:
-Allows viewers to plug addresses in
to check distances from data points
CHRP
Where do we go from here?
 BMPs
 Fruit movement
issues
 Grower services
 08-09 growing
season
Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services
Division of Plant Industry
CHRP
Overview
Citrus Health Response Program
Working together
to produce healthy citrus
 Whether called recommendations,
regulations or guidelines; the
intention is to help Florida citrus
survive and thrive
 CHRP is a cooperative effort
w/industry
We are here to help
Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services
Division of Plant Industry
Citrus Health Response Program
Working together to produce healthy citrus
CHRP Helpline
800-282-5153
www.doacs.state.fl.us/pi
Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services
Division of Plant Industry