Read the advice the late Phil Stansly shared with Citrus Expo attendees on dealing with Asian citrus psyllid resistance.
Florida citrus growers have had a time combating citrus greening, such as with the growing Asian citrus psyllid resistance to neonicotinoid insecticides. Psyllids spread citrus greening, also called HLB, so stopping psyllids is one way to stop citrus greening. Stansly shared advice for dealing with psyllid resistance before he passed. See his advice below, as shared in a Citrus Industry article.
Stansly’s Advice on Psyllid Resistance
An entomologist with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences at the Southwest Florida Research and Education Center, Stansly shared his advice for dealing with resistance to neonicotinoid insecticides.
First, he maintained growers needed to stop using neonicotinoids for a while. “Basically you have to lay off the neonics, and we think maybe six months — it could be slightly less — and then go back to them and see if they work,” he said. During those six months or so, Stansly shared that growers should try other insecticides with various “modes of action,” such as:
- Reflective mulch. “Reflective mulch is not a replacement (for insecticides), but it will help a great deal,” he said.
- Individual tree covers. Mesh bags protect citrus trees from infection by psyllids
Stansly said to tailor treatments; “It’s all about economics and what works the best for the grower.”
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