Florida citrus growers test 'good bugs' to fight greening disease

LABELLE, Fla. (WINK)—A tiny insect has been spreading citrus greening through Florida groves for years, causing millions of dollars in damage to the state's signature crop, but researchers and consultants are now testing a different kind of defense by turning to nature itself for help.

The small flying insects are easy to miss but powerful enough to wreck an industry. They feed on citrus tissues and suck the sap, and in that process, if there is a greening bacterium present, they take it with them.

The disease is known as citrus greening. When insects feed on another tree, they infect it as well.

"It's very difficult. I mean, after it was found in Florida, pretty soon it was found in most of the county," said Dr. Jawwad Qureshi, University of Florida associate professor of entomology.

• RELATED: Is the Florida citrus industry on its way out?

The disease kills trees off one by one, but UF researchers are trying to turn the tables. Qureshi and his team found that three predators can take up to 90% of the population.

The twist is that these predators can feed on the eggs of the Asian citrus psyllid. The tiny predators eat the eggs of the bugs responsible for citrus greening.

Scientists call it a promising breakthrough, but for growers, it all comes down to whether these tiny predators work in the grove. Growers are using covers, injecting trees with oxytetracycline, and managing the vector that spreads the disease, which is the citrus psyllid.

"This is really something old; it is taking advantage of the beneficial insects that are out there, things like ladybugs and lace wings," said Gene McAvoy, agricultural consultant.

McAvoy knows these methods well, but he says using insects isn't simple. Some insecticides are broad-spectrum and kill every insect.

Good bugs, bad bugs, and everything in between can be eliminated by these insecticides. McAvoy's best advice is to use all the tools available.

"If you could use beneficial insects, you could use cover crops, less lethal insecticides, use the covers when the trees are young, use all of these techniques in combination to get the best control of the citrus greening and psyllid," McAvoy said.