Citrus greening, a disease that reduces yield, compromises the flavor, color, and size of citrus fruit and eventually kills the citrus tree, is now present in all 34 Floridian citrus-producing counties. Caused by an insect-spread bacterial infection, the disease reduced citrus production in 2008 by several percent and continues to spread, threatening the existence of Florida's $9.3 billion citrus industry. A successful citrus greening response will focus on earlier detection of diseased trees, so that these sources of new infections can be removed more quickly, and on new methods to control the insects that carry the bacteria. In the longerterm, technologies such as genomics could be used to develop new citrus strains that are resistant to both the bacteria and the insect.

The nine billion dollar Florida citrus industry stands at a crossroad, poised at an economic precipice that, if ignored, could not only spell the end of an industry, but also significantly impact the state's economy. The above-mentioned crossroad stems from the appearance and rapid spread of the bacterial disease known as Huanglongbing (HLB) or what is commonly referred to as "citrus greening." The purpose of this paper is to examine the social and economic forces surrounding HLB and determine whether a mandatory tree eradication program is necessary. HLB is not the first threat that Florida citrus has faced over the years. The industry has encountered crises in the past in the various forms of other diseases such as the citrus tristeza virus, citrus blight, and citrus canker, as well as natural catastrophes such as hurricanes and freezes. What makes the threat of of HLB so serious, however, is that there is not only no cure to the disease, but also there is no current long-term industry-wide strategy in place to deal with this disease. If left unchecked, HLB renders a tree unproductive, and the current actions being taken to fight the disease by Florida growers are far from being universally accepted or applied. One reason behind Florida's uncoordinated response to HLB is rooted in the frustration still felt from the policies related to past attempts to eradicate citrus canker. With citrus, and particularly with respect to the production of juice oranges, costs have risen dramatically in the past few years due in large part to HLB management practices. It is crucial that a solution or at least a stopgap strategy be found to control the adverse effects from HLB. After an examination of both the economic and social forces at work behind both the disease and response to the disease, it is clear that a mandatory eradication program is necessary to combat the current crisis of HLB and safeguard the citrus industry from potential annihilation.

Responsibilities and job duties from a MAB internship with American Cyanamid are highlighted. Market activities were concentrated in the citrus and sugarcane markets, regarding PROWL herbicide. American Cyanimid had prepared a launch of this product in the fruit-bearing citrus markets for early 2000. The citrus market was studied, leading to a strategic marketing plan that would help American Cyanamid effectively launch PROWL into the Florida market.

Huanglongbing (HLB) or citrus greening, first observed more than a hundred years ago in Asia, is the most serious disease threat to the citrus-growing industry worldwide due to its complexity, destructiveness, and incalcitrance to management. First detected in Florida in 2005, HLB is now widespread in the state and threatens the survival of the Florida citrus industry despite substantial allocation of research funds by Florida citrus growers and federal and state agencies. As the HLB epidemic raged in 2008, Florida citrus growers began allocating funds for HLB research in hopes of finding short-, medium-, and long-term solutions. This effort created the Citrus Research and Development Foundation (CRDF), an organization with oversight responsibility for HLB research and development efforts in Florida. This report provides an independent review of the portfolio of research projects that have been or continue to be supported by the CRDF. It seeks to identify ways to retool HLB researchâ€"which, despite significantly increasing understanding of the factors involved in HLB, has produced no major breakthroughs in controlling the diseaseâ€"and accelerate the development of durable tools and strategies that could help abate the damage caused by HLB and prevent the possible collapse of the Florida citrus industry.