A new method of identifying citrus greening disease (Huanglongbing) has been developed by scientists with the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS), according to reports in the US.
Scientists are using a technology known as 'Fourier transform infrared-attenuated total reflection' (FTIR-ATR) spectroscopy, which can quickly identify infected leaves with 95 per cent accuracy.
A collaboration on FTIR-ATR saw scientists from the Agricultural Research Service Subtropical Plant Pathology Research Unit in Florida, and the agency's Safety Assessment Research Unit in Georgia, test the technology on citrus greening in plants.
'Research leader Tim Gottwald and I had an idea to use spectroscopic methods to identify citrus greening before symptoms develop in the field, and our colleagues in Georgia were able to use their expertise to help us attack this problem,' ARS researcher Gavin Poole told local media.
No comments yet