A research group has successfully synthesized the mating pheromones of the Asian citrus psyllid, the vector of citrus greening.
A research team recently published their success at synthesizing the love pheromones of the Asian citrus psyllid, the miniscule insect responsible for transmitting citrus greening from tree to tree, according to an article on ScienceDaily.com. Published in the journal, Scientific Reports., the discovery would allow for traps using the synthetic lure to capture Asian citrus psyllids and keep them from spreading citrus greening. The disease has devastated citrus industry industries in Florida and all over the world. See details below.
Synthesizing the Pheromone of the Asia Citrus Psyllid
Researchers who synthesized the Asian citrus psyllid’s pheromones were with the National Institute of Science & Technology based in São Paulo State, with support from São Paulo Research Foundation, and the National Council for Scientific & Technological Development, and he University of California, Davis.
“The discovery and synthesis of this sex pheromone should make monitoring and controlling the insect more efficient so that the incidence of HLB can be reduced,” said José Roberto Postali Parra, a professor at the University of São Paulo’s Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture, in the article.
“We now plan to estimate the number of traps needed per area in citrus groves and work out a correlation with the insects attracted by traps in order to verify the reduction in the incidence of the disease and map infected sites,” he also said.
The synthesized pheromones can be used as bait in inexpensive traps that will attract, trap, and kill the insects to reduce mating and transmission of citrus greening.
Read the full article here.
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