Preventive measures to limit the spread of Trioza erytreae (Del Guercio) (Hemiptera: Triozidae) in mainland Europe

Abstract

Trioza erytreae (Del Guercio) (Hemiptera: Triozidae) vectors the most important citrus disease, namely huanglongbing (HLB) or citrus greening. This vector has been recently found on the European mainland in the north-western region of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal), although HLB has not yet been detected in Europe. Thus, preventing the spread of the vector is currently an urgent priority. Here, we show two prevention methods to avoid the spread of this psyllid from areas where it is present to psyllid-free areas. Our results showed that two types of anti-insect mesh with a pore size of 0.4 × 0.77 mm2 and 0.27 × 0.77 mm2 were effective in excluding T. erytreae in two field experiments. These results have direct implications in the nursery plant production system, which should adopt meshes with pore sizes small enough to guarantee the exclusion of T. erytreae. Additionally, we evaluated the longevity of T. erytreae on fruit to understand the risk of dispersion of the psyllid with unprocessed fruit movement between infested and non-infested areas. The longevity of T. erytreae on mandarin and lemon fruit under winter conditions (13.8°C and 85.4% of relative humidity) was 11 days for both fruits. We anticipate that our results could help enhance the preventive measures in citrus fruit areas without a presence of T. erytreae.