Training workshops in Samoa and Tonga recently looked at strategies to control the citrus pest and a recent introduction into the South Pacific Islands, the Asian Citrus Psyllid (ACP).
The ACP is dubbed the most destructive citrus pest and was first recorded in Samoa in 2014 and under the current project, its distribution has been monitored in collaboration with SROS research colleagues.
ACP is now widely distributed across both Savai’i and Upolu.
Citrus greening disease, or huanglongbing (HLB), is considered the principal threat to the global citrus industry, causing severe yield losses and reductions in fruit quality.
The disease is caused by the bacterium Candidatus Liberibacter spp., a pathogen that is vectored by the Asian Citrus
Psyllid (ACP) (Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Psyllidae)).
The wide distribution of an established ACP population in Samoa presents a significant threat to growers nationally and represents a significant biosecurity threat to the region.
Both the pest and disease originate from Asia, the native range of citrus.
Dr. David Morgan from California’s Department of Food and Agriculture highlighted in a presentation at the workshops the control of the ACP, with particular emphasis on the use of biological control as a pest management strategy.
Biological control has a long and successful history of success when used against invasive pests on islands.
Dr. Morgan is California’s Primary State Scientist in the field of biological control and oversees the state’s ACP biological control program.
The workshop targeted all stakeholders in the citrus industry in Samoa and provided background to the problem, describe research underway elsewhere to control the insect pest and the disease and discuss surveillance methods and biological control.
It also focused on biological control followed by field visits to citrus orchards.
Dr Morgan introduced the participants to the glassy winged sharpshooter, another invasive pest in the region, and described how it has been managed in parts of its invasive range.
The workshop ended with discussion sessions in which course participants proposed what the next steps need to be.