David, I very firmly and strongly doubt that your Dade county Florida Citrus trees are not already, and have been for some time, infected with Citrus greening. It is true that citrus greening enters the tree via a tiny insect, the Asian citrus psyllid, which sucks on leaf sap and leaves behind bacteria that spreads through the tree. However, it is known that the bacteria quickly travels to the tree's roots, where the bacteria replicate, causing damage to the root system, then spreads to the rest of the host tree’s canopy. Root systems of infected trees become poorly developed and new root growth is suppressed. The disease starves the tree of nutrients. Most infected trees die within a few years. It was originally thought that the leaves and fruit were affected first, but research found that greening causes a loss of 30 to 50 percent of trees’ fibrous root system before symptoms ever become visible above ground. This early root loss means that the health of a citrus tree is severely compromised before the grower even knows it is infected. Wishing you the best possible outcome. - Millet
