Survey Says

WESLACO — Residents who own citrus trees may get knocks at their doors in the near future. On the opposite side will be two men dressed in United States Department of Agriculture uniforms.

The men won't be there to do harm. In fact, they are there to help local gardeners save some green, trees that is.

On Sept. 2, 28 employees from the USDA began surveying citrus trees across the Valley in attempt to find the source of a citrus greening disease. The disease was given to the trees by the citrus psyllid-an insect from southern Asia.
The psyllid was first discovered in the United States in 1998.

When infected, 3-4 mm creatures leave behind bacteria as it feeds on the underside of leaves. The result is the death of the infected tree.

Dr. John V. da Graca, Texas Agricultural Extension Service at Texas A&M University Center Director, doesn't have concrete figures on how much greenery has been lost in Florida, but he did mention that damages from the disease are in the million-dollar range.
"In the next 3-5 years, it will be huge," da Graca said. 

Da Graca said citrus growers in Asia had to deal with the disease for a long time as well as in Brazil in 2004 before affecting the U.S. in recent years. He added that greening was first reported in India in 1750.

The psyllid citrus are primarily located in the southeastern United States including Texas, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. The specimens are not harmful to humans and, although the insects have been found in the Valley in the last several years, the disease has not.

"What we're asking is for residence to cooperate with our surveying team," said U.S. Department of Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service specialist (USDA-APHIS) Larry Hawkins. "This is a voluntary survey, so when they go to a residence door and ask for permission to look at citrus trees to their property, if the resident says no, that's fine."

Hawkins said the survey will take about a year to complete and will cover 100 square miles over 72 sites.

The crewman will use a devise to know the exact location of the tree, should data be collected. Hawkins said all information gathered is not shared with any other agency. Any research taken from the location will then be examined at the laboratory at the Texas Agricultural Extension Service of The Texas A&M University System in Weslaco.

"We're there for one reason, we want to collect these samples get them in a lab," Hawkins said. "The desire to make sure that the trees are free of the disease and to deal with the problem ahead of time to make sure we're surveying and to try to find it and deal with it is very important."

If the problem is not taken care of soon, Hawkins believes it can reach a point where fresh product may not produce in the future.

"It's no longer worthwhile as a commercially produced crop," Hawkins said.

An obvious symptom of the disease is some yellowing on the leaves. Hawkins said another way is by doing a diagnostic test on the insect themselves and determine if it carries the disease.

"The purpose of the survey is to prove that this area has been thoroughly surveyed and is free of the disease," Hawkins said. "The reason that's so important is that psyllid has been detected in several southeastern states."

Hawkins said Florida is now in position where their ability to ship food and send nursery stock is all but gone. That takes a toll on pricing on the grocery stores due to restriction in supply including orange juice for which Florida is known for.

"Citrus is huge in Florida so this is potential devastating for the state of Florida," Hawkins said. "It's the single most devastating disease Florida has had to deal with in its history. It's the single most serious problem in agriculture."

Once the research is done by the USDA, Hawkins said a decision would be made determining whether the Valley is certified as free from the disease, but that conclusion may take longer to resolve.

"I think that you'll see the surveying will continue sportingly overtime," Hawkins said.