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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Fort Pierce, Florida » U.S. Horticultural Research Laboratory » Subtropical Plant Pathology Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #335685
Title: Florida CHMA performance and implications on citrus production and sampling design

Author
item LUO, WEIQI - North Carolina State University
item Gottwald, Timothy
item RILEY, TIMOTHY - Animal And Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)

Submitted to: Journal of Citrus Pathology
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/20/2016
Publication Date: 5/18/2017
Citation: Luo, W., Gottwald, T.R., Riley, T. 2017. Florida CHMA performance and implications on citrus production and sampling design. Journal of Citrus Pathology. 4(1):26/45.

Interpretive Summary: ACP population dynamics across different regions in FL are monitored from 2011 to 2016. A rating system is proposed that ranks each CHMA based on its performance in controlling ACP taking into account factors such as CHMA participation rate, among others. The relationship between production and performance is analyzed to underscore the economic benefit of effective pest management at the CHMA level.

Technical Abstract: Spatially interpolated Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) density population estimates were calculated from the Florida multi-pest survey (MPS). ACP density is summarized at 2km grid resolution across all commercial citrus plantations in Florida to provide an overview of ACP population change, i.e., dynamics. By investigating ACP changes through all cycles from 2011 to 2016, a new rating system has been designed for benchmarking and analysis of performance characteristics of each individual Citrus Health Management Area (CHMA). ACP density is classified into five different rating categories for each CHMA and cycle. A total rating value for each CHMA is calculated to rank its comparative efficacy of ACP control. Also, various relevant factors, such as grower participant rate, urban population size, abandoned grove acreage, ratio between commercial citrus and residential area, are analyzed to quantify their influence on CHMA performance. The relationship between citrus production (data collected from Florida Citrus Statistics) and CHMA performance is investigated, and this will help us understand the benefit of CHMA from an economic perspective. Accurate estimation of ACP population is also critical for future cost-effective pest management at the CHMA level. Related with CHMA performance scores, there are a number of CHMAs with high ACP uncertainty or ‘vague’ values. The amount of uncertainty is mainly influenced by the local variation of ACP observation in the field and the spatial pattern of ACP distribution within the CHMA. Bootstrap-based analysis has been implemented to address the suitable sample size for each CHMA, justifying realistically that the sample variance of the ACP population is not constant over time. The method is particularly useful for the MPS survey design as the project budget constrains the total number of citrus blocks that can be surveyed during a yearly time frame.