USDA. APHIS. PPQ. CPHST. Identification Technology Program.

ITP and the APHIS PPQ S&T Beltsville Lab are pleased to announce the release of IDphy: Molecular and Morphological Identification of Phytopthora Based on the Types, ITP’s first pathogen tool. This website offers PPQ and its partners the most complete, valid, and up-to-date resource for identifying the culturable species of Phytophthora. IDphy includes detailed standard operating procedures for all steps involved in culturing, sequencing, and identifying suspect samples, covering both molecular and morphological methods. Some species of Phytophthora are devastating plant pathogens that have a significant impact on agriculture and natural ecosystems.

University of Arkansas. Cooperative Extension Service.

See also: Common Disease Problems for more fact sheets.

Cornell University. Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County. Horticulture Diagnostic Laboratory.

See also: Tree and Shrub Disease for more fact sheets.

USDA. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

APHIS offers the Defend the Flock education program to provide the tools and resources you need to make sure that you are doing everything possible to keep your birds healthy and reduce the risk that an infectious disease will spread from your property to other flocks. Biosecurity is the key to keeping our Nation’s poultry healthy!

USDA. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

The Defend the Flock program provides information and resources from USDA and other experts for keeping poultry healthy. It includes practical tips from growers like you, veterinarians, state agencies, scientists, and industry professionals for practicing biosecurity every day. Biosecurity is a team effort. We have to work together to defend our nation’s flocks. Resources include information needed to practice good biosecurity is available here -- checklists, resource guides, videos, and other tools.

USDA. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

Effective immediately, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is modifying the conditions under which citrus fruit may be moved interstate from areas quarantined for sweet orange scab (SOS) when destined for processing or packing in a commercial citrus-producing state without a state-wide SOS quarantine.

USDA. Agricultural Research Service.

Scientists from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) have identified a new way to detect the presence of live African Swine Fever Virus (ASFV) that minimizes the need for samples from live animals and provides easier access to veterinary labs that need to diagnose the virus. "We have identified a cell-line that can be used to isolate and detect the presence of the live virus," said ARS Scientist Dr. Douglas Gladue. "This is a critical breakthrough and a tremendous step for African Swine Fever Virus diagnostics."

This research, which is highlighted in this month's issue of Viruses, was funded through an interagency agreement with the Science and Technology Directorate of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. A provisional patent application for this research was filed in April 2020 and the technology is now available for license. ARS scientists at the Plum Island Animal Disease Center in Plum Island, N.Y. will continue to perform research and work towards finding tools to control the spread of ASFV in the nation.

USDA. Agricultural Research Service.

A genetic discovery by ARS and University of Florida scientists could speed the search for hybrid citrus trees that tolerate citrus greening disease (Huanglongbing) and produce orange-like fruit ideal for making juice.

USDA. Agricultural Research Service.

New clues to how the bacteria associated with citrus greening infect the only insect that carries them could lead to a way to block the microbes' spread from tree to tree, according to a study in Infection and Immunity by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and Boyce Thompson Institute (BTI) scientists.

USDA. Agricultural Research Service.

Dogs specially trained by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists have proven to be the most efficient way to detect huanglongbing—also known as citrus greening—according to a paper just published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Currently, the only solid hope of curtailing the spread of citrus greening is to eliminate trees with the disease as quickly as possible to prevent further spread. Early detection of the citrus greening pathogen is crucial because trees can be infected and act as a source to spread the disease months or years before showing symptoms that are detectable by the naked eye. ARS plant epidemiologist Timothy R. Gottwald with the U.S. Horticultural Research Laboratory in Fort Pierce, Florida, discovered that dogs can be trained to sniff out the presence of Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus, the bacteria that causes citrus greening, with greater than 99 percent accuracy.

USDA. ARS. Tellus.

Meet the Honeysweet Plum: A virus-resistant plum that ARS hopes to bring to market soon. They are large and oblong with a very sweet, flavorful taste. ARS created the Honeysweet variety using RNAi, a biotechnology method that makes them immune to the plum pox virus. Plum pox infects stone fruit trees: plums, peaches, apricots and cherries. Once infected, the fruit discolors and falls from the tree prior to maturation. There is no natural, genetic resistance to the virus.

CAB International. Invasives Blog.

The yield losses attributed to Asian citrus greening disease once established can be devastating. If the disease continues to spread unabated in the citrus growing regions of East Africa, the annual value of lost production could potentially reach up to US $127 million over the next ten to 15 years, according to a recent paper published by CABI. The paper, The Asian Citrus Greening Disease (Huanglongbing): Evidence Note on Invasiveness and Potential Economic Impacts for East Africa (Jun 2021) [PDF, 2.9 MB], provides a review of the global literature on Asian citrus disease or huanglongbing (HLB) and estimates its potential economic impact on East Africa. The paper also makes recommendations for biosecurity preparedness, surveillance and management options to help decision-makers and citrus growers.

California Department of Food and Agriculture. Plant Health Division.

University of California. Agriculture and Natural Resources.

Provides information to both growers and home gardeners, in two distinct sub-sites -- to get the basics on the insect and the disease it can vector, how to inspect your trees, how to treat your tree if you find ACP, critical things to do to help contain the insect population and deal with Huanglongbing (HLB), as well as additional information more specific to California.

University of California. Agriculture and Natural Resources.

University of Arkansas. Cooperative Extension Service.

South Dakota State University. Agricultural Experiment Station; Cooperative Extension Service.

University of California - Riverside. Center for Invasive Species Research.

Pennsylvania State University. Cooperative Extension.

European Food Safety Authority.