PREVENTING HLB EPIDEMICS FOR ENSURING CITRUS SURVIVAL IN EUROPE

Huanglongbing (HLB) is an incurable plant disease that is killing citrus trees worldwide. All commercial citrus species and cultivars are vulnerable to this disease. The arrival of the African citrus psyllid to Europe, a sap-sucking insect known to carry the bacterial causal agent of the HLB disease, has sounded the alarm. The psyllid has been reported in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Though extremely difficult to control, prevention of an HLB epidemic is key. The EU-funded PRE-HLB project will develop and implement a holistic contingency plan to protect Europe’s citrus sector. It will also co-create new solutions to manage the disease through a multidisciplinary approach. One of the project’s main goals is to improve current HLB surveillance, contingency and control strategies.