DOMINICA’S Ministry of Agriculture, with the assistance from two plant specialists from Florida, is in the process of putting together a management plan to fight the citrus greening disease.  The disease is also called the Yellow Dragon Disease. It was first sighted on the island of Dominica in April of this year.  And it has so far been found in villages such as Marigot, Wesley, Soufriere, Syndicate and Pointe Mitchel.

The Ministry of Agriculture of Dominica, with the assistance of Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI), called in the experts from the Florida Association for Volunteer Action in the Caribbean and the Americas (FAVACA) to assist with developing a strategy to fight the plague. According to a release from the Government Information Service of Dominica, this was made possible out of an existing Memorandum of Agreement between CARDI and FAVACA.

The citrus greening disease is caused by a bacterium and is considered by experts to be one of the most damaging diseases affecting citrus crops. The disease obstructs the flow of nutrients in citrus trees and leads many fruits to remain green, grow lopsided and taste bitter.

CARDI’s local Representative, Sharon Jones, expounded on the mission of the visiting specialists. “In April this year the greening disease was intercepted in Dominica. As a result the Ministry of Agriculture wanted some expertise to visit Dominica to assist them in developing their integrated development plan for the control of the disease”, she stated. The CARDI official said the experts have been making visits to affected fields across the island to assess the situation and to present workable solutions in managing the spread of the disease. “We have gone into the field, we have looked at the areas where the disease has been identified as positive and from that the experts are assisting to do a management plan to include the elimination of affected trees. They are also going to review our Citrus certification programme”, Jones revealed.

One of the specialists is Plant Pathologist, specializing in citrus disease, Dr. Xiaoan Sun. He has a wealth of experience working with the citrus greening disease in Florida. Dr. Sun has been charged to provide the Ministry of Agriculture with the technical assistance required in managing the disease.  Dr. Sun revealed that the disease has been identified in non-commercial parts of the island of Dominica. “From the surveys we have undertaken, it seems that we have not found any disease symptoms in commercial groves.”  Dr. Sun says the disease may have been introduced to the island by infected grafting planting materials. He is optimistic that there is a good chance for eradicating the disease. “Since the spread is based upon human activities, the movement of infected plant materials is not mainly caused by vectors. We will be focused on ensuring that the commercial areas of the island remain free of the disease hence the need for us to focus on the eradication of the diseases in residential areas. We still have a good chance to try to get rid of this disease. We have some time which is good”.

The citrus greening disease has affected countries such as Florida, Jamaica, Puerto Rico and Guadeloupe.