Recap of March 2025 First Friday with Florida First Detector
This month, we talked about invasive pests on citrus. Historically, the citrus industry has a really big deal in Florida. So important that the orange is the official state fruit, orange juice is the state beverage, and the orange blossom is the state flower. Despite challenges in recent years, Florida is still a top producer of citrus. Over the years, introduction of invasive pests has impacted the citrus industry and created management challenges for farmers and gardeners alike. The two biggest invasive species have been the citrus psyllid (Diaphorina citri) and citrus greening (Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus).
As the story goes, citrus psyllid is a vector of the pathogen that causes citrus greening. The psyllid made its way to Florida and established prior to the arrival of citrus greening. With the vector well established in the state, citrus greening quickly spread throughout the state. This led to severe crop losses, decline in citrus acreage and associated jobs, increased cost of production and more. Currently, there is extensive ongoing research to improve the management of citrus greening in Florida citrus.
During the webinar, we covered a few pests that have not yet established in Florida that could be problematic if they arrive in Florida. We talked about lime swallowtail, citrus longhorned beetle, Mediterranean fruit fly, oriental fruit fly, and Mexican fruit fly. If you think you find these species in Florida, submit samples for confirmation. You can start with contacting your local county extension office for help. An important note, most of these species discussed are not currently found in Florida. Florida has a long history with several invasive fruit flies. While some invasive fruit fly species have been detected in Florida in the past, the ones we discussed are not currently present (excluding the Caribbean fruit fly). Lime swallowtail was recently found in Key West in 2022, but to date, has not been found elsewhere in Florida.
Resources on Invasive Pests on Citrus
FDACS information on Lime Swallowtail
FDACS Pest Alert for Lime Swallowtail
FDACS Snout Scale Pest Alert
USDA Resources on Citrus Longhorned Beetle
Citrus Psyllid Biological Control Information
ASK IFAS Citrus Greening Resources
FDACS Citrus Fruit Dealer Resources
2024-2025 Citrus Production Guide
Want to watch the recording?
What is the upcoming schedule?
We are meeting online via Zoom from 12:00PM-1:00PM on the First Friday of every month from Sept 2022-Aug 2025. Maybe longer too! Please visit this blog for registration information and the upcoming schedule for Sept. 2024-2025.
Questions?
Contact Dr. Morgan Pinkerton, morgan0402@ufl.edu
Or
Visit the Florida First Detector Website
The post March First Friday with Florida First Detector appeared first on UF/IFAS Pest Alert.
Recap of March 2025 First Friday with Florida First Detector This month, we talked about invasive pests on citrus. Historically, the citrus industry has a really big deal in Florida. So important that the orange is the official state fruit, orange juice is the state beverage, and the orange blossom is the state flower. Despite
The post March First Friday with Florida First Detector appeared first on UF/IFAS Pest Alert.
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Source: UF/IFAS Pest Alert
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