Fresh Citrus at Risk From Devastating Disease
(World News Science)

For the first time in 70 years, California has surpassed Florida in citrus production. Florida groves have been decimated by a disease called huanglongbing (HLB), or citrus greening disease, that threatens citrus production in California, too. `HLB is not just bad for farmers and the economy,` said Professor Carolyn Slupsky, a biochemist and nutritionist with the University of California, Davis. `The loss of fresh oranges and other citrus is a real possibility and that would seriously impact our health.` Slupsky and other UC Davis experts are working with farmers and fellow scientists to develop early detection methods, boost tree immunity and find a cure for the devastating disease....