Bhutan is the latest country to fall prey to citrus greening disease, also known as Huanglongbing.
The disease has cast a shadow over the tiny Himalayan country’s citrus industry, which is Bhutan’s most important cash crop, reported the BBC.
Huanglongbing has been spreading throughout the country’s industry, reportedly due to neglect from farmers and poor implementation of government plans.
The disease is spread by the Asian citrus psyllid, and decreases yields and eventually kills the tree.
It has already hit hard; 70 per cent of orange orchards in the Punakha region have been destroyed, and there have been severe problems in other growing regions such as Wangduephodrang, Mongar, Zhemgang and Sarpang.
The entire orange industry in Chukha in the Baikuenza region has reportedly been wiped out.
“The forest used to produce around 200 to 300 truckloads per year but, right now, it’s hardly 10 to 15 trucks,” Dr Sangay of the national plant protection centre (NPCC) told Bhutanese newspaper Kuensel Online.
“Huanglongbing could devastate the whole citrus industry in the country, if appropriate measures are not taken soon,” said a Bhutanese agriculture ministry newsletter.
The country’s government has passed new legislation, creating a taskforce to deal with the disease threat.
