Use of antibiotics in fruit production is not a new idea, but it has only recently been applied on a larger scale in Florida citrus. The initial labels for huanglongbing (HLB) treatment with antibiotics in Florida citrus were approved in March 2016 in response to significant economic losses caused by HLB.
Antibiotics were formulated as foliar sprays, and growers cooperated with researchers to evaluate their efficacy in fairly large-scale evaluations. University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) laboratories became involved in this research in an effort to answer some practical questions, such as: How do timing and frequency of application affect pathogen (Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus, CLas) acquisition by Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) and infection of trees? These foliar antibiotic treatments were compared directly with insecticides as a method to suppress populations of ACP and HLB. Individual protective covers (IPCs) were included as a treatment that excluded vectors from trees completely and acted as a control in an experiment that started with newly planted and uninfected trees.
Read the full article at citrusindustry.net.