ASIAN CITRUS PSYLLIDS (STERNORRHYNCHA: PSYLLIDAE) AND GREENING DISEASE OF CITRUS: A LITERATURE REVIEW AND ASSESSMENT OF RISK IN FLORIDA

The Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama, was discovered in Florida in 1998. It can be one of the most serious pests of citrus if the pathogens that cause citrus greening disease (huanglongbing) are present. Citrus greening recently has been reported in Brazil by Fundecitrus, Brazil. The establishment of D. citri in Florida increases the possibility that the disease may become established. Diaphorina citri can be separated from about 13 other species of psyllids reported on citrus. The biology of D. citri makes it ideally suited to the Florida climate. Only two species, D. citri and Trioza erytreae (del Guercio), have been implicated in spread of citrus greening, a disease caused by highly…

• UD
  U.S. Department of Agriculture
• CS
  Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service
• AA
  Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service