Citrus greening, or huanglongbing, has been creating a serious threat to the U.S. citrus industry. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has quarantined nine states because of the spread of this disease. Citrus greening is caused by the Asian citrus psyllid which spreads a disease through citrus groves which turns citrus fruit bitter and lumpy before destroying the tree. Quarantines and pesticides have not helped. Farmers have turned to importing the Tamarixia radiata wasp. The Tamarixia which is native to Pakistan is a parasite which kills the psyllid by draining its blood or by laying eggs in its belly which they destroy the host organism. To date, 75,000 Tamarixia wasps have been released in California to attempt to save the $2 billion per year industry which supplies 80% of the U.S. fresh market citrus. In Florida a similar wasp from Vietnam had been imported but had proven ineffective. Now researchers are working on creating a genetically modified strain of citrus that is immune to citrus greening, however, consumer acceptance is in question. The Tamarixia wasp has been tested to see if it poses a threat to native species, humans or animals and has been given approval by the USDA. After 18 months of releasing wasps it is still too early to tell if it will completely solve the problem of citrus greening, however some areas show significant reduction of psyllid populations.
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