Huanglongbing has a complex pathosystem (an ecosystem based on parasitism).
There are multiple strains, diverse hosts, several insect vectors, and different environmental conditions that affect the expression and spread of the disease.
Three forms of the disease are known (Asian, African, and American), and these are associated with different species and strains of Liberibactors that are disseminated by different species of citrus psyllid insect vectors.
The Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri, is a tiny, mottled brown insect about the size of an aphid. This insect poses a serious threat to California’s citrus trees because it vectors the pathogen that causes huanglongbing disease (HLB).
The Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri, is a tiny, mottled brown insect about the size of an aphid. This insect poses a serious threat to California’s citrus trees because it vectors the pathogen that causes huanglongbing disease (HLB). This disease is the most serious threat to citrus trees worldwide—including those grown in home gardens and on farms. The psyllid feeds on all varieties of citrus (e.g., oranges, grapefruit, lemons, and mandarins) and several closely related ornamental plants in the family Rutaceae (e.g., calamondin, box orange, Indian curry leaf, and orange jessamine/orange jasmine).
The Asian citrus psyllid (or ACP), damages citrus directly by feeding on newly developed leaves (flush). However, more seriously, the insect is a vector of the bacterium Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus, associated with the fatal citrus disease HLB, also called citrus greening disease. The psyllid takes the bacteria into its body when it feeds on bacteria-infected plants. The disease spreads when a bacteria-carrying psyllid flies to a healthy plant and injects bacteria into it as it feeds.
HLB can kill a citrus tree in as little as 5 years, and there is no known cure or remedy. All commonly grown citrus varieties are susceptible to the pathogen. The only way to protect trees is to prevent the spread of the HLB pathogen by controlling psyllid populations and destroying any infected trees.
The Asian citrus psyllid is widely distributed throughout Southern California and is becoming more widespread in the Central Valley and further north. The first tree with HLB was found in March 2012 in a home garden in Los Angeles County and a few years later was found in residences in Orange and Riverside Counties. Spread of the disease began to rapidly accelerate in these areas in 2017. Removal of infected trees by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) has occurred wherever they have been found.
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