Author Topic: Help! Citrus greening, now what?  (Read 2595 times)

bbates123

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Help! Citrus greening, now what?
« on: June 25, 2017, 09:57:31 AM »
On Feb 1 of this year we planted 2 new 15 gallon trees that we acquired from Fruitscapes in Pine Island FL.  The trees were very healthy looking.  1 Persian lime and 1 Meyers lemon.  Applied a root drench containing immidicloprid  about a month and a half after planting (the grower said do this once every 3 months).  I while ago now I started to notice the lime trees leaves were turning yellow and dropping.  It has now lost most of its leaves.  The lemon looks much better but we're also seeing some yellowing there as well as leaf curling and spots.  Upon closer examination I noticed a strange looking beetle under the leaves, as well as aphids and scales.  I researched the issue a bit more and soon discovered that it appears that my young trees are affected by citrus greening.  I have a gallery of photos here:

http://www.focusingonnature.com/Secondary-Galleries/Miscellaneous/Citrus-issues/

So my question is now what?  I understand that when a tree gets this disease it can never get rid of it.  But it also sounds like regular use of topical and root drench insecticides as well as tenting might keep the problem in check.  They are small trees so it wouldn't be a big deal to build tents for them and give that a try.  Has anybody on this forum successfully reversed a citrus greening infection?

I don't really want to rip them out and buy new trees because I'm afraid the same thing will happen to them.

edzone9

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Re: Help! Citrus greening, now what?
« Reply #1 on: June 25, 2017, 10:19:14 AM »
Citrus Greening (Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus) is one of the most serious citrus plant diseases in the world. It is also known as Huanglongbing (HLB) or yellow dragon disease. Once a tree is infected, there is no cure.

Sorry to hear about your trees ! ,

The only citrus tree I have planted is a Ponderisa lemon that is it , I see a lot of that stuff going around .

Good Luck Ed ..
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simon_grow

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Re: Help! Citrus greening, now what?
« Reply #2 on: June 25, 2017, 10:22:10 AM »
You should post this in the Citrus forum, you may get more help there. Let's not jump the gun yet, newly planted Citrus can take some time to establish and if the roots were damaged during planting into the ground, it may cause leaf loss and damaged feeder roots may have issues uptaking nutrients in the soil. It took my Citrus about two years before they really greened up and started growing with vigor but my soil has very high pH.

Try contacting the USDA or Ag department to see if they will come out and test your tree. In the meantime, you may want to try a foliar spray with something like Southern Ag Citrus Nutritional spray which can be found at Home Depot.

Simon

achetadomestica

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Re: Help! Citrus greening, now what?
« Reply #3 on: June 25, 2017, 11:49:53 AM »
Welcome to the new normal citrus world. If your trees didn't get greening then it would be a miracle.
I read 80% of citrus in Florida is now affected by greening. The only answer is to feed your trees extra
fertilizer and expect less fruit production. If your tree doesn't have the energy the fruit will be lopsided and
fall off prematurely. Some fruit may do this anyway but most backyard growers can get a decent crop
each year. Another drawback is the tree will probably only produce for 10-15 years, A tree in a grove
would produce for 50+ years. I live next to a grove and I live in Hendry County. I see more and more abandoned
groves. The added costs and the lower production is putting too much pressure on the small growers.
I have a friend that runs some small groves and his trees look pretty damn good considering. There is
also a grove very close to me with Sugarbelles and Tangos and his trees look Great! I asked him if he has
greening and he said Of Course! With only two trees you will do ok, but realize you will need
to have a more aggressive fertilizer program. I have citrus in my yard, mostly tangerines. I have a seedless
Kishu and it has over 150+ tangerines on it for the second year in a row. Without greening maybe it would have
had 300? There is a ton of info in the citrus section.

greenman62

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Re: Help! Citrus greening, now what?
« Reply #4 on: June 25, 2017, 12:21:12 PM »
i would definitely call your dept of AG.

the bug that carries it is a "Asian Citrus Psyllid"
https://www.google.com/search?q=Asian+Citrus+Psyllid&source=lnms&tbm=isch

and just because you have the psilid, doesnt mean you have greening.
i had the bug, but, didnt have greening
but, i am in Louisiana... in Fla you are probably more likely to get it.

there was a report that guava being planted nearby helped
not sure why
found a couple of links that might help about guava...

http://www.crec.ifas.ufl.edu/extension/trade_journals/2007/March%202007%20guava%20and%20greening.pdf

http://www.imok.ufl.edu/hlb/database/pdf/00002899.pdf

Donkeys4hire

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Re: Help! Citrus greening, now what?
« Reply #5 on: June 25, 2017, 03:14:12 PM »

the bug that carries it is a "Asian Citrus Psyllid"

and just because you have the psilid, doesnt mean you have greening.
i had the bug, but, didnt have greening... in Fla you are probably more likely to get it.

Anything we can do to keep them away from getting on the trees?

Any natural predators? I've heard wasps.

bbates123

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Re: Help! Citrus greening, now what?
« Reply #6 on: June 25, 2017, 03:15:03 PM »
Thanks for the replies everyone!  If you get a chance to take a look at the link I posted I'm 99% sure those are citrus psyllid.  But like Greenman62 said I guess it's not for sure I have greening.  As suggested I will do a more aggressive fertilization...along with more aggressive root drenches and topical insecticides and see what happens.  I'll also call my dept of AG as suggested.  Still debating on tenting but maybe I'll wait to hear what AG says.

shot

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Re: Help! Citrus greening, now what?
« Reply #7 on: June 25, 2017, 04:12:57 PM »
If you don't have greenings you will,research shows you can solarize 30 minutes at 130f degrees once a year .also use portable fan to even out temps
« Last Edit: June 25, 2017, 04:33:03 PM by shot »

greenman62

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Re: Help! Citrus greening, now what?
« Reply #8 on: June 25, 2017, 04:35:34 PM »

the bug that carries it is a "Asian Citrus Psyllid"

and just because you have the psilid, doesnt mean you have greening.
i had the bug, but, didnt have greening... in Fla you are probably more likely to get it.

Anything we can do to keep them away from getting on the trees?

Any natural predators? I've heard wasps.

Yes
when the Dept of Ag came to my house
they released hundreds of parasitic wasps.
not sure if that is something you can buy or not
i dont know if they do that in Fla, but, in Louisiana, the Dept of Ag does it free.

my yard has tons of places they can hide and procreate
they need habitat to stick around and be effective.
it did work though (for me)
the psilids disappeared for the most part
i will see 1 or 2 now and then, but otherwise, they are gone.





murahilin

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Re: Help! Citrus greening, now what?
« Reply #9 on: June 25, 2017, 06:36:45 PM »
Thanks for the replies everyone!  If you get a chance to take a look at the link I posted I'm 99% sure those are citrus psyllid.  But like Greenman62 said I guess it's not for sure I have greening.  As suggested I will do a more aggressive fertilization...along with more aggressive root drenches and topical insecticides and see what happens.  I'll also call my dept of AG as suggested.  Still debating on tenting but maybe I'll wait to hear what AG says.

Another option is to grow a tree that doesn't require all of those insecticides. I think it's better to work with the environment and to plant a tree that can survive in an area without a constant schedule of poisons.

bbates123

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Re: Help! Citrus greening, now what?
« Reply #10 on: June 26, 2017, 09:35:40 AM »
Another option is to grow a tree that doesn't require all of those insecticides. I think it's better to work with the environment and to plant a tree that can survive in an area without a constant schedule of poisons.

That's true.  Not sure what else to plant....I need to give that some thought.  Already have several mangos, an avocado, a banana, and a papaya.

murahilin

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Re: Help! Citrus greening, now what?
« Reply #11 on: June 26, 2017, 11:55:16 PM »
Another option is to grow a tree that doesn't require all of those insecticides. I think it's better to work with the environment and to plant a tree that can survive in an area without a constant schedule of poisons.

That's true.  Not sure what else to plant....I need to give that some thought.  Already have several mangos, an avocado, a banana, and a papaya.

You're in the right place to find some ideas on what else to plant. Here are some pretty hardy choices: jackfruit, sapodilla, Indian jujube, & carambola. Of course, there are many more options but those are a few off the top of my head.

WGphil

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Re: Help! Citrus greening, now what?
« Reply #12 on: June 27, 2017, 11:34:22 AM »
Citrus still makes a decent wood for a bar b q fire.  Its not a matter of if but when, with greening.

But if you can grow citrus you can grow mango.  Easier to care for but with the same threat of cold that you have with citrus.