Australian department of Ag sees citrus greening as a serious threat
Costa Group business development manager Steve Burdette, who is also on the Citrus Australia committee, said Australia needed to be proactive about HLB, as it was only a matter of when, not if, the disease would be detected here.
“There are new techniques for breeding varieties that are resistance to HLB, but I’ve heard that in Florida they are not going to use their GM root stock because consumers have such a resistance to GM products. It’s not the ideal option going forward.”
“We need to have a very effective HLB contingency plan that is updated every year and, through that, everyone will know what their responsibilities are,” he said.
Department of Agriculture and Water Resources deputy secretary Lyn O’Connell said the department took the threat of HLB very seriously.
source: weeklytimesnow.com.au
