Location: Foreign Disease-Weed Science Research
Project Number: 8044-22000-052-012-I
Project Type: Interagency Reimbursable Agreement
Start Date: Aug 1, 2023
End Date: Feb 1, 2025
Objective:
United States citrus production is affected by a number of different plant diseases, and new soilborne citrus pathogens have been identified in international locations in recent years. To assess the presence and potential impact of new citrus pathogens in conjunction with existing citrus pathogens, we will undertake the following objectives: 1) Evaluate oomycete communities, especially Phytophthora and Phytopythium spp., from Florida citrus soils and associate these with Huanglongbing (HLB), foliar and root disease levels; and 2) If found, isolate Phytopythium spp. from Florida citrus samples and screen for pathogenicity.
Approach:
For Objective 1, samples will be taken in Florida citrus groves and processed to identify the number and relative abundance of oomycetes and HLB bacteria present, and relate those to disease observations. For Objective 2, Phytopythium spp. will be isolated from Florida citrus soils and we will determine if it is pathogenic to citrus in greenhouse evaluations.
