This award supports cooperative research in plant pathology to be conducted by Ronald Brlansky of the University of Florida Citrus Experiment Station and Maria Julia G. Beretta of the Biological Institute of Sao Paulo, Brazil. They will characterize amorphous occlusions in citrus trees which have citrus blight in Florida and declinio in Brazil. These diseases cause a loss of 60 million dollars in the U.S. and 7 million in Brazil yearly through reduced water uptake caused by amorphous plugging. These plugs are similar in the two diseases. The chemical composition of the plugs will be determined which will help in the search for a causal agent. This problem is clearly of interest to both countries and therefore is a good example of how mutual benefits can be derived from a collaboration between scientists from the U.S. and Brazil. Previous work has resulted in progress on the enzyme degradation of the xylem occlusions and their formation in the xylem tissues. The methodologies of both researchers will be exchanged and both the blight and declinio compared to aid in the discovery of the causes and to develop tools for the detection of diseased presymptomatic trees.
